Joel Waterman: Aldergrove to the World Cup

In 2020 Joel Waterman told the Aldergrove Star he’d set himself a target: play for Canada at the 2026 World Cup. Then he moved it up to 2022. He made both squads.

Langley soccer from start to finish

Waterman was born in Surrey and grew up in Aldergrove. Wikipedia traces his youth career through Aldergrove Soccer from the age of five, Langley United from 12, and Surrey United. He was also part of Canada Soccer’s BC training-centre program.

For university he stayed close to home at Trinity Western in Langley. He played five seasons, 2014 to 2019, scoring 9 goals in 56 games. In his last fall, 2018, he captained the Spartans to a Canada West silver medal and a fourth-place national finish and was a conference first-team all-star. The Star says he was the first TWU player invited to a senior men’s national team camp.

A first for the CPL

Summers went to the old Premier Development League: Kitsap in 2016, TSS Rovers in 2017, Calgary Foothills (league champions) in 2018. Cavalry FC took him in the CPL-U Sports draft, and in 2019 he played 21 league games as they won both halves of the inaugural Canadian Premier League season.

In January 2020 the Montreal Impact (now CF Montréal) bought his contract. It was the first time a CPL club sold a player to MLS. He spent five seasons in Montreal, was traded to the Chicago Fire in August 2025, helped them to their first playoff win since 2009, and signed with the Portland Timbers on September 3, 2026.

For Canada

He debuted against Bahrain on November 11, 2022, and went to that winter’s World Cup in Qatar. Since then he has been part of the 2024 Copa América squad (as an injury replacement) and the 2025 Gold Cup. Chicago announced his call-up for the 2026 World Cup on May 29, 2026, with 17 caps to his name. The photo above is from Canada’s group match with Qatar in June.

Back home, Aldergrove Youth Soccer posted its own cheer for “Aldergrove’s Joel Waterman” before the Switzerland game.

Where to follow and where to play

• Portland Timbers roster
• Kids’ soccer where he started: Aldergrove Soccer and Langley United
• University soccer in town: Trinity Western Spartans

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