How to build a team: For the NSL's AFC Toronto, it begins with creating an identity

For AFC Toronto's sporting director Billy Wilson and head coach Marko Milanovic, the team's inaugural training camp on Feb. 3 can't come soon enough.

They're anxious to move forward from all the calls and meetings, watching film and scouring analytics services and get back on the pitch. They want to see first-hand what the inaugural team in franchise history will look like.

Over the past five months, the Northern Super League's six franchises have unveiled a steady stream of player signings as Canada's first women's professional soccer league prepares for kickoff April 16.

But what exactly goes into building a team from scratch when there's no template on how to do it?

In the case of AFC Toronto, it began with two things: shaping the club's identity and hiring their technical staff.

"There are no rules [on how to build a team]," Wilson said on a recent call with CBC Sports. "But I knew for me, I wanted a certain style of play and to do that I needed to have my technical staff in place for the process."

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Wanting an entertaining, attacking brand of football, the club turned to a familiar face in Milanovic to be its head coach.

The pair met through their involvement with the North Toronto Soccer Club, where the roots of AFC Toronto were established.

"What was really helpful was that we started very early together. I know some of the other clubs didn't have this luxury. Every club has a different template," Milanovic said.

"We had a really good idea of how we wanted to play more or less, what the formation will be, although that would be flexible, but more the style offensively and defensively. Then we built several player profiles that would be able to fit in that style nicely and build from there.

"We're on the same page when it comes to players. We joke around the ones that don't work out, that's probably Billy's choice. The ones that really excel? That was me," Milanovic laughed.

No stone left unturned

No stone was left unturned during the process. They went through their mental catalog of players in Ontario and League1. They went on the road, travelling anywhere from Colombia for the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup to the NCAA finals in Cary, N.C. They built connections with federations, coaches and player agents.

They watched hundreds of hours of video and combed through Wyscout, a football analytics site.

"They're working hard and put together an amazing group and I know they really care about the people," said Helena Ruken, the team's CEO and co-founder.

"They're bringing a new team together and most of the players don't know each other, but they're working very hard to bring together a cohesive group that gets along not just on the pitch, but also off the pitch."

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An early signing for the club was budding Canadian national team midfielder Emma Regan, who returns to Canada from playing overseas in Denmark.

"[AFC Toronto] came to the table and I was really encouraged by everything I heard from Marko and Billy," Regan said.

"It was interesting talking to a Canadian team and it not being [my hometown] Vancouver, but I was quickly really impressed, just the values of the club and the opportunity to play in Canada is such an exciting thing for me. Toronto is just the right fit."

Just as important as finding quality players was making sure those prospective athletes aligned with and believed in the club's values.

"We are really looking to create an environment for women to achieve greatness and greatness on their own terms. That's something of a tagline for us," Wilson said, a notion that's reflected in the team's branding, "Run It Our Way."

"What that means from an on-field perspective, we're looking at players who want to buy into the culture. That's where we start with all the signings before we talk about the actual sporting aspect, 'do you want to be a part of this?'

The 'this' Wilson refers to involves three things: community, tenacity and legacy. It's at the basis of every decision they make.

Developing a sense of community

Community was at the forefront of the team's latest three signings — midfielder Ivymae Perez, defender Sarah Rollins and goalkeeper Sierra Cota-Yarde, all former members of North Toronto Soccer Club.

Rollins, a 19-year-old Toronto native, returns home after two successful seasons with the UBC Thunderbirds where she won back-to-back national championships and was named the 2023 U Sports Rookie of the Year.

She grew up playing OPDL, the top level of youth soccer in Ontario, with North Toronto and later playing on their League1 team. Wilson was her coach for four years.

19-year-old defender Sarah Rollins won back-to-back national championships as a member of the UBC Thunderbirds program, where she was named 2023 U Sports Rookie of the Year. (Submitted by AFC Toronto)

"He's always been the one who's seen the potential in me and helped me push myself to get to the next level. He's made a huge impact in my career. They're both really great people who I respect," said Rollins, who is leaving university early to turn pro.

"I'm just excited to grow as a player. I'm playing with all these amazing players who are older, wiser, and have so many more skills in their toolbelt. I'm just excited to learn from them."

Ruken and a few of the team's players have referred to Wilson and Milanovic as a 'dynamic duo,' something both men laugh off.

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Asked whether he was convincing in recruitment, Wilson said his main goal was giving prospective players one thing: honesty.

"I'd like to think that players leave a call or a meeting with us with real clarity on what this project is and what this project isn't," he said. "We're clear on what the player's gaps are and what they have to do to take that next step, whether that's in Toronto or elsewhere. Top players want to know the truth. They want an environment that's going to challenge them."

Milanovic is on the same page from a coaching perspective.

"I want our players taking some risks and really taking ownership because that will be important for their development. I'm really passionate about that part of the game. I really want players leaving our program to be better players. That's just as important as winning games."

Training camp on the horizon

Next for the team is training camp and getting players settled into the city.

They'll be training inside the bubble at the York University campus, where they'll be playing in their inaugural season.

While only 13 players have been formally announced so far, Wilson reveals they are in the high teens in terms of players locked in for April.

Each squad is allowed to carry a maximum of 25 rostered players, though Wilson and Milanovic believe they'll carry between 22 and 23 players just to keep the group tight chemistry-wise, making sure players get minutes and leaving room for the transfer window.

As for an early goal for AFC Toronto?

"To connect authentically with our community. That's more important to me than winning silverware, but you don't get one without the other," Wilson said.

"You don't get that without having a competitive team on the field."

The NSL, Canada's first women's professional soccer league, comprising of AFC Toronto, Halifax Tides FC, Ottawa Rapid FC, Montreal Roses FC, Calgary Wild FC and Vancouver Wild FC, begins its inaugural season in April.