Soccer: An Edmonton Game

Remarks by Hon. David Kilgour, MP for Edmonton Southeast

Opening ceremonies, Edmonton Soccer Centre South

18 March 2004

Dignitaries, President Bill Gilhespy and all the volunteers, including many of the 30,000-strong Edmontno Soccer Association who made this centre possible.

Who here today can disagree that soccer is the most respected and most popular sport in the world? It’s bigger than American football, baseball, and basketball combined. Traveling around the world, I’ve seen this first hand-- from the Philippines to Kenya to Guatemala, soccer is the game of choice. It is also the fastest growing sport in Canada, and Edmonton is no exception to the trend-- this center is evidence of that.

The biggest challenge with soccer in Edmonton would appear to be keeping up with its popularity. There are 1,262 teams registered for the 2003-2004 season, up from about 900 last year. Only nine years ago, Edmonton Soccer Centre West was completed. In 1999, Edmonton Soccer Centre East was added to the city. But Edmonton’s love of the game could not be contained by these two facilities, so here we are.

Not only do we have quantity, we have quality. The University of Alberta Golden Bear’s Men’s soccer team won the CIS National Championship last fall. Sasha Andrews  and Breanna Boyd, members of the Women’s World Cup team, are from Edmonton, as are Tam Nsaliwa and Lars Hirschfeld, members of the Men’s World Cup Team. Think about it— with only three percent of the national population, we’re home to four of the top soccer players in the nation. 

Soccer in Edmonton is for everyone. Alberta ranks among the top provinces in offering a sport for both men and women, and female players make up 45% of the people registered to the Alberta Soccer Association.

Many thanks for inviting me today. Here’s to many years of great play in the Edmonton Soccer Centre South.

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