In February 2010, FC Edmonton was launched by brothers Tom and Dave Fath as founding members of the North American Soccer League.

In December 2010, head coach Dwight Lodeweges and his assistant Hans Schrijver left the club before competing in a professional game to take a job in Japan.

[6] Edmonton finished their inaugural season in fifth out of eight teams and qualified for the 2011 NASL Playoffs quarterfinals, but were knocked out in a 5–0 defeat against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.

[16] On November 24, 2017, the club ceased professional operations citing the sustainability of the team and "continuous uncertainty being forced upon the NASL by the United States Soccer Federation".

[24] FC Edmonton struggled again on the pitch in 2021 with new head coach Alan Koch, finishing seventh of eight and consistently drawing crowds of fewer than 1,000 people.

[2] The team began playing its home games at Foote Field, a 3,500-seater stadium viewed as the centrepiece of a multi-purpose sports facility on the University of Alberta campus.

[31] Initially built as a legacy facility for the 2001 World Championships, it was named after University of Alberta alumnus Eldon Foote, who donated $2 million towards the construction costs.

[38] In June 2018, FC Edmonton announced they would play at Clarke Stadium for the 2019 season,[39] with seating capacity increased to 5,100.

A partial, stylized red maple leaf in the crest position, and a blue ribbon, bearing the club's name, was placed overall.

The club adopted the shade of blue used by City of Edmonton, and the shape of the shield mirrored the municipal coat of arms.

[21] The FCE is ensigned by the words FC Edmonton, and 2010 for the year the club was founded, with a single rabbit's foot print in the base between the 20 and 10.

[44] The group aimed to bring a 'European-style' atmosphere to games in a similar manner to the Red Patch Boys in Toronto and the Vancouver Southsiders.

[46] In December 2017, YEG for CPL was created as a group of passionate supporters hoping to persuade the club to join the Canadian Premier League.

[48] At his official unveiling as head coach, Jeff Paulus praised the group saying "I'm grateful to the YEG for CPL members and all those who fought to save this club".

Kyle Porter opened the scoring in the fifth minute but FC Edmonton looked likely to tire under the pressure of the Impact.

In the aftermath of the 2011 Slave Lake wildfire in Alberta, a Minnesota supporters group raised money for affected families.

This was reciprocated by an Edmonton supporters group who donated to the American Red Cross after a series of tornadoes which affected Minnesota.

[62] The series was suggested by supporters groups from the two clubs and dubbed "Al Classico", inspired by the El Clásico rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona.

[64] When the club competed in the North American Soccer League, FC Edmonton matches were broadcast by a variety of distributors on various formats.

Matches were also previously available to view free through the team's Ustream channel until the introduction of NASL Live, a paid-subscription service, which was subsequently abandoned.