Fusion Coed Soccer - Calgary

If you don't mind playing on some of the worst fields in Calgary (some so bad that aren't even used for little kids) AND you don't care about how bad the refereeing is, this is the league for you. Referees in this league are not even certified because soccer organizations don't want their refs associated with Fusion. Even better, during the winter this 'Calgary' based league plays a large amount of games in Okotoks, Airdrie and Falcon Ridge (may as well be out of Calgary it's so far away) because they are too cheap to get good fields. Nothing like driving an hour in winter EACH WAY for a soccer game. Seriously, this is the league that gets the leftover scraps and fields that no one else wants because they are THAT bad. In a world where you get what you pay for, there is a reason this league is cheaper than the rest; and once you play in this league, you'll feel that you still over paid. Fusion Coed Soccer is an insult to soccer in every way.

This is a league full of meatheads run by one as well. I have had the privilege to play in this league for four seasons now. I have numerous issues with this league. Some of these issues include: 1. Never being placed in the correct league 2. Overly aggressive players resulting in serious injuries 3. Players not knowing the rules 4. Rude and terrible comments being said to each other by players 5. Teams and referees unaware of actual rules 6. Lack of quality fields The league started off great however it has continued to become a league of overly aggressive players, poor refereeing, and increasingly dangerous plays. if you are looking for a safe and fun coed league look else where

I’ve been playing in fusion for the last year and I can honestly say this is the most poorly managed league in the city. The owners of the league have their own team and they treat opposing teams and their own referees like absolute garbage. When playing against their team, it is quite common to be verbally abused, physically threatened and sworn at throughout the game. They do this to the referee as well when they don’t feel they’re being favoured. They run their business like they run their team, full of disrespect.

This league has terrible inconsistent reffing (even if some of the refs are certified). You have to learn to play according to the individual refs rules, not FIFA rules. We have even gone to the point of pulling up the rules on the website and the ref disregards then. The owners of the league don't do anything about it, even when we bring them proof of how the refs act. They send back a vague reply saying they will look into it, then nothing happens. Guys get called for going shoulder to shoulder with a girl all the time, when often I find that the girl is the one going in hard when I'm standing my ground. I've been taken out more times from girls than guys but rarely will the ref ever call the girl on it. To quote what one ref said to me after I was tripped from behind in the penalty box, "She tried to block you." What does that even mean, if not that she fouled me???? The league doesn't care about yellow and red cards (the red card creates a two game suspension, which is followed only if the ref takes the players card). The same players continuously get tons of red or yellow cards and nothing is ever done except for the occasional suspension with red cards. Its ridiculous that dangerous players are allowed to continue playing in this coed rec league. There is also a rule that if a team defaults on a game, the other team that shows up should receive $50. Our team has shown up to games where the other team defaults and not once have we received $50. According to the rules, a teams roster has to be set permanently by the 4th week into the season. Most teams do not even put their roster up, but nothing is ever done about it. Then teams stack up players in playoff games that are not on their teams, but are good players. When we go to the ref to say that the players aren't on the opposing team, they have no way of knowing and never do anything about it. The other rule is that players must have an 8 inch number on the back of their jersey, but that is not followed up on. Players play without numbers all the time. Overall, this is just a money pit for the owner. They do not care about players safety, rules, or regulations. They rarely communicate and not once have they followed up on any complaints that we know of. I have even asked other teams if they have received follow on their complaints.

I have played in this league for a few years because in the past the indoor facilities have been pretty good. Indoor typically is less intense than the outdoor so you avoid a lot of the meathead players that accumulate in this league. However, the real problem is Stephen (Just look at some of his responses to these reviews). He refuses to listen to any complaints made by players. Instead, he tends to brush them off as personal or team problems (FYI its constructive criticism). Lately, my team had the following occur: Week 1 -> Forgets to properly record the game in the schedule and then adjusts it later the day of leaving our team to scramble to fill in spots. Week 2 -> Arrive to no referee. Our opponent did not want to play a full game because they did not have enough girls. For which Stephen never contacted us about for whatsoever and awarded the final score as zero - zero Week 3 -> Referee takes off before the game even started because the other team did not have the correct cards. The team forfeited and the referee agreed to stay but left immediately after. Additionally, I have noticed that skillful girls are hesitant to join/play in this league because they are afraid of being injured. Unfortunately, many of the referees are not adequately trained to handle competitive coed. This leads to unnecessary confrontation and injuries as the differences between men and women can be very apparent. Again discussing this with Stephen is like talking to a wall. My advice is to pull together a larger team and play in Calgary Coed or have a small one and play turf at CSSC.

We played an outdoor season last year and the disorganization was painful, we were scheduled at fields that were basically lakes post rain and the refereeing was consistently suspect. Worst of all come playoff time we played a team that was lower seeded than us in the regular season and the game had to be called off near the start of the second half as it was getting very dark out, the game was tied and the referee had no idea how to end the game, whether a shootout should have been conducted or not so he just ended the game. The league never contacted us with a resolution, we only found out that we'd lost the game by checking the schedule and seeing that we were playing for 3rd rather than first place, when contacted the coordinator indicated he'd done a coin toss in his office in the presence of absolutely no one and that all the typical means of tie breaking did not apply because the playoffs are separate from the regular season. No condolences were offered, not that any would've sufficed, just a lot of shoulder shrugging, the coordinator refused to admit how arbitrary and unfair his "decision" was, offering only that "we had to do this before and that team was mad too". The rampant stupidity with which this league is ran is embarrassing and from the looks of things our experience wasn't a one-off, the owners incredibly unprofessional responses reinforce this, unbelievable.

Genuinely confused by all the negative reviews here. I’ve been playing in this league for about 3 years now and it’s great. Good competitive soccer without becoming aggressive. The organizers are responsive and great and getting everything ready. Refs are good, and I’ve yet to see them biased or handle situations badly. Well worth the money in my opinion.

I've only played in two co-ed soccer leagues in Calgary, and Calgary Fusion is much better than the Calgary Sport and Social Club. The competition level is much higher and at least you have refs. You actually feel like you are playing a competitive game of soccer, as opposed to pick-up soccer. I've always had a lot of fun playing in this league. I've never really had any problems with the refs. Considering how they have no real linesmen, I think they do a pretty good job (aside from maybe being a bit too lenient on bad throw-ins). Most of the outdoor fields are fine, with the exception of the Bridgeland field which I have always hated. The city needs to do a better job of maintaining these fields.