Charlie Trafford | Top 40 Under 40 2025

by Riley Fonger

Age: 33

Occupation: Former professional soccer player; Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Trafford Farms

Despite a 12-year pro soccer career — including three consecutive appearances with the Canadian national team — Charlie Trafford’s journey wasn’t easy. A late bloomer who also bounced back from a major knee surgery, Trafford credits his career to one thing: resilience.

“I came across hundreds of players with more talent and skill than me. But I never quit,” says Trafford.

In 2022, Trafford left Europe, where he was playing professionally, to join Cavalry FC, Calgary’s professional men’s soccer club. As co-captain, he led the team to finish first in the league during the regular season in 2023 and secured the club’s first Canadian Professional League (CPL) championship win in 2024.

In 2025, he helped Cavalry FC win a match against Mexican team Pumas UNAM, the first time a CPL team has won a game in the international Concacaf Champions Cup. After three impactful seasons, he retired on March 25, 2025, but still remains actively involved in the sport. He’s part of the ownership group of Calgary Wild FC, Calgary’s first professional women’s soccer club, and co-founder of Carefest, an annual charity soccer match that helps support KidSport Alberta.

Off the pitch, Trafford co-founded Trafford Farms with his sister, Sya, in 2023, with the goal of supplying high-quality, nutritious food to the community. Launched from a converted shipping container to grow specialty mushrooms, the company has since expanded into a 60,000-square-foot facility. In 2024, Trafford Farms acquired Deepwater Farms, which produces greens, expanding its vision for local and sustainable agriculture.

Today, Trafford Farms supplies nearly 100 restaurants and 100 grocery stores across Alberta, is projected to surpass $1 million in sales, and has signed a letter of intent with Sobeys for Western Canadian distribution.

“We want to try to help change the food system in Canada,” says Trafford. “I think it’s going to become harder to protect ourselves and have food security. We need to be able to produce locally.”

Thank yous
“My business partner and little sister Sya; my supportive, loving motivating wife who puts up with me and our crazy dreams; my incredible family Tom, Danuta, Sam, Ash and kids; everyone who’s supported us, Tommy Wheeldon Jr. and the Cavalry organization, Paul Shumlich, our investors and all the incredible suppliers and restaurants in Alberta who support local!”