Promising Future with the co-founder of Native Sons FC
Corey Bugler was about 15 when the older players in Red Pheasant First Nation brought him along to play men's soccer. He remembers getting "thrown around a whole bunch of times" and learning fast. In this episode, Corey looks back on summers spent travelling the tournament circuit between reserves around the Battlefords, and explains why FSIN is still the one everybody wants to win: "you can win all the other tournaments, but it's like, you didn't win FSIN, you know?"
Corey and his wife went on to found Native Sons Football Club. After both of their teams won gold at the North American Indigenous Games, they took a U19 team from across the region to Europe to play at the Gothia Cup in Sweden and the Dana Cup in Denmark, bringing their drums and regalia along the way. For more than 15 years, Native Sons has used soccer to promote positive lifestyles and give First Nations kids opportunities that aren't always there on reserve.
Corey also pays tribute to his late mother-in-law, Alorna, who he remembers as one of the matriarchs of First Nations women's soccer.
Have a soccer story of your own? Share it with us, donate photos or memorabilia, and visit the showcases at Kinsmen / Henk Ruys and the Saskatoon Soccer Centre.