From Queen’s to the professional ranks: Christie Gray reflects on the community that shaped her soccer journey

For Christie Gray, soccer has opened doors she never imagined.

The former Queen’s University standout has played professionally in Sweden and Ireland, returned home to compete in the inaugural season of the Northern Super League, and is now preparing for the next chapter of her professional career. Along the way, she has become a leading advocate for using sport as a force for good through the Canadian Cancer Society’s Soccer for Cancer initiative.

Gray says a key part of the foundation of her career came during her time as a U SPORTS student-athlete.

“I loved it at Queen’s,” she said.

Growing up in Vancouver, Gray first discovered soccer playing with friends on a gravel field at her local elementary school before progressing through Vancouver’s youth soccer system. She eventually joined Fusion FC in the B.C. Soccer Premier League before deciding to continue both her education and athletic career at Queen’s University.

She considered several universities, but immediately felt at home when she visited Kingston.

“I liked everyone I met,” she said. 

“When you're making the decision to move so far from home, you want to make sure you feel safe and accepted. I felt all those things at Queen's.”

The decision proved to be life-changing.

While earning a business degree at the Smith School of Business, Gray embraced opportunities both inside and outside the classroom. One of the most influential experiences came during an international exchange in France during her third year, where she trained with a professional soccer club in Bordeaux.

It was her first exposure to the professional game.

“It kind of opened my eyes to a whole world that I didn't know existed because it didn't exist yet in Canada,” she said. 

“I knew from then on that I wanted to make it my mission to play after school.”

At the time, however, the pathway for Canadian players remained limited.

Gray recalls competing alongside talented teammates who possessed the ability to play professionally but lacked opportunities to continue after graduation.

“There wasn't really a path or a chance for them to do it,” she said.

That reality has changed dramatically in recent years, something Gray has experienced firsthand.

After graduating from Queen’s in 2021, she signed professionally overseas, first in Sweden before spending two seasons in Ireland. While the transition brought exciting opportunities, it also came with significant challenges.

“There’s no glamorous transition,” she said.

Living thousands of kilometres from home meant navigating injuries, homesickness, language barriers and time-zone differences while missing important family moments.

“The sacrifice piece comes in because you start to sacrifice a lot of your personal life in order to keep chasing the dream,” she said.

Through those experiences, Gray leaned on one lesson she says Queen’s taught her better than anything else: the importance of community.

“I think throughout my time there, everything we did was pretty focused on community and maintaining that community,” she said. 

“It's kind of another form of family.”

Those relationships helped her build new communities wherever soccer took her, from Sweden to Ireland and beyond.

When the Northern Super League was announced, Gray saw another opportunity she once thought impossible.

After hearing rumours while playing in Ireland, she eventually signed with Calgary Wild FC and returned home to compete in the league's inaugural season.

“It was surreal,” she said of playing in front of nearly 15,000 fans during the league's opening match.

“I never really pictured the opportunity to do that.”

Gray says she feels fortunate to represent a generation of Canadian players finally able to compete professionally at home.

“It's a privilege that we get the chance to come home and do that,” she said.

While her playing career continues, Gray has also become deeply involved in growing the game beyond the field.

Earlier this year, she became a founding ambassador and strategic advisor for Soccer for Cancer, a national Canadian Cancer Society initiative designed to unite youth, university and professional soccer programs in fundraising and awareness efforts.

The idea grew from Kick for the Cure, a fundraiser she helped launch while attending Queen’s. Since then, similar initiatives at universities across Canada have inspired a broader national movement.

“How can we use our sport and the power for good to really change the world?” she said.

Gray believes student-athletes remain central to that mission.

She is working on connecting U SPORTS programs across the country to Soccer for Cancer and says it can be accomplished by appointing student leaders to organize annual match-day activations while educating teammates about cancer prevention and research.

For Gray, those leadership opportunities reflect one of the greatest benefits of the university experience.

“I think the best opportunities in life come from the ones that you create for yourself,” she said. 

“You have to put yourself out there.”

That philosophy continues to guide her both on and off the pitch.

Asked what success means to her today, Gray's answer has little to do with trophies or professional contracts.

“Success means making the world a better place,” she said. 

“Nothing worthwhile happens alone.”