Hamilton was linked to a professional soccer team as early as June 2013, when reports first emerged of a professional soccer league launching in Canada.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats owner
Bob Young was part of a group of investors, predominantly from the
Canadian Football League, working with the
Canadian Soccer Association and president
Victor Montagliani. In February 2016, the ownership group sought permission from Hamilton City Council to erect a dome over the
Tim Hortons Field playing surface to allow for year-long activity, including soccer. When the
Canadian Premier League was officially announced, it was revealed that Hamilton's club would be the flagship franchise. On May 6, 2017, Hamilton was one of two cities accepted by the Canadian Soccer Association for professional club membership when the Canadian Premier League was unanimously approved. Forge FC was officially unveiled as the league's sixth team on July 12, 2018. The club revealed its crest, colours and branding, as well as its place in the league for the 2019 launch season. The name was chosen to represent city's industrial heritage and forging ahead building its future.
Bobby Smyrniotis era On October 1, 2018, Forge FC announced that
Bobby Smyrniotis would be its first head coach and technical director. On November 29, 2018,
Kyle Bekker and
Chris Nanco were announced by the club as its first signings, coinciding with event that consisted where each team unveiled its initial player signings.
2019 season during the
2019 CPL season The club played its first ever game on April 27, 2019, in the
CPL's inaugural match against
York9 FC (now known as Inter Toronto FC). As one of the league's 'inaugural teams', the club competed against
FC Edmonton and
Valour FC for a spot in the
2019 CONCACAF League, qualifying after defeating Valour 2–0 on June 16, 2019. In their debut international match, Forge defeated
Antigua GFC 2–1 on aggregate in the two-leg preliminary round series to advance to the round of 16. There, Forge FC was eliminated 4–2 on aggregate by Honduran club
Olimpia. Forge FC won the league championship in their inaugural season after defeating
Cavalry FC 2–0 on aggregate in the
2019 CPL Finals.
Golden Boot winner Tristan Borges scored the opening goal during the first leg on October 26 in Hamilton.
David Choinière scored the final goal late in stoppage time during the second leg, held on November 2 in Calgary.
2020 season Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, the CPL delayed the
2020 Canadian Premier League season and played it as a shortened
bubble tournament at the
University of Prince Edward Island. There, Forge defended their title, defeating
HFX Wanderers FC 2–0 in the
CPL Final with goals from
Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson and
Maxim Tissot. In the
CONCACAF League, Forge defeated
Municipal Limeño and
Tauro in single-leg away matches before falling to Haitian club
Arcahaie on
penalties in the quarter-finals. The club had one final chance to qualify for the
CONCACAF Champions League in a play-in match, but were defeated by Honduran club
Marathón.
2021 season In the club's
2021 season, Forge competed in the
CONCACAF League for a third consecutive season. This year, the club advanced to the semi-finals for the first time, coming from behind in the quarter-finals to defeat
Santos de Guápiles 4–3 on aggregate to qualify for the
2022 CONCACAF Champions League. Domestically, Forge finished first in the
CPL and qualified for the
CPL Final, but were defeated 1–0 by
Pacific FC, ending the club's quest for a third consecutive title.
2022 season On January 2, 2022, the club reorganized its ownership under the newly announced
Hamilton Sports Group, an entity that also owns the
Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the master licence for
Tim Hortons Field.
Bob Young continues to serve as chairman and the largest shareholder while also welcoming new investment from Hamilton-based steel company
Stelco, club CEO Scott Mitchell, and
Jim Lawson. On February 16, 2022, Forge FC became the first Canadian Premier League team to participate in the
CONCACAF Champions League, hosting
Cruz Azul in a 1–0 loss, and eliminated by them in the first round, 4–1 on aggregate. During the CPL season, captain Kyle Bekker and four other players recorded their 100th match with the club. Each of these players was presented with a commemorative Forge jersey with the kit number 100 at a home match. On October 30, Forge FC defeated Atlético Ottawa 2–0 in the
2022 Canadian Premier League Final to claim their third CPL title.
2023 season In the spring of 2023, the club announced affiliations with ten local youth clubs, including
League1 Ontario clubs:
Sigma FC,
Hamilton United, and
St. Catharines Roma Wolves. In May, Forge signed head coach Bobby Smyrniotis to a four-year contract extension which also made him the club's
sporting director. Forge finished second at the end of the
2023 CPL regular season, qualifying for the play-offs once again; they eventually reached the
final, which saw them lift their fourth league title through a 2–1 win over Cavalry FC at Tim Hortons Field.
2024 season In the Canadian Premier League, Forge were regular season winners for the second time, and the first time since the introduction of the
CPL Shield. Forge reached the CPL Final for a sixth consecutive season but lost 2–1 to Cavalry FC.
2025 season Forge had a historic start to the
2025 Canadian Premier League season, which began with a record breaking 20 match unbeaten streak. This streak was part of a 22 match undefeated streak across all competitions. For the second consecutive season (and third time overall), Forge finished first place in the regular season and hoisted the
CPL Shield. In the playoffs however, Forge fell short and did not reach the championship finals for the first time in league history, falling 0–1 at home to Cavalry FC in the semi-final. == Stadium ==