The Edmonton Scottish Soccer Club, better known as Edmonton Scottish, is a Canadian semi-professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

club based in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. Competing continuously in the

Alberta Major Soccer League The Alberta Major Soccer League (AMSL) is the highest level of amateur soccer in Alberta. It is roughly level 4 on the Canadian soccer league system, Canadian soccer pyramid although levels below 3 are not formally designated by the Canadian Soccer ...

(AMSL) since 1992, the club also fields reserve squads and

adult An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...

teams across several leagues within the Edmonton and District Soccer Association (EDSA). The first team trains at the

Edmonton Soccer Dome The Edmonton Soccer Dome is an air-supported structure located in Edmonton, Canada. Predominately used for soccer, the facility stands tall and features a FieldTurf CORE artificial turf playing surface that covers , making it the largest spo ...

and plays its home matches at

Hamish Black Field Hamish is a Scottish masculine given name. It is the anglicized form of the vocative case of the Gaelic name ''Seamus'' or ''Sheumais''. It is therefore, the equivalent of James. People Given name * Hamish Bennett, retired New Zealand cricketer ...

, both of which are located at Grant MacEwan Park in the Ellerslie area of

southeast Edmonton Southeast Edmonton is a residential area in the southeast portion of the City of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada. It was established in 2005 through Edmonton City Council's adoption of the Southeast Area Structure Plan, which guides the overall devel ...

. In

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, Edmonton Scottish completed the

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

domestic treble, capping off an undefeated season by winning the Challenge Trophy to become

Canada Soccer The Canadian Soccer Association (Canada Soccer) is the governing body of soccer in Canada. It is a national organization that oversees the Canadian men's and women's national teams for international play, as well as the respective junior sides ...

national champions for the first time — having previously finished as runners-up in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, and

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

. They are six-time

AMSL Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

league winners and twelve-time provincial champions, capturing the Bennett Shield in

1913 Events January * January 5 – First Balkan War: Battle of Lemnos (1913), Battle of Lemnos – Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it will not ven ...

and the Alberta Soccer Challenge Cup a total of eleven times since 1972. The club was recognized by the

Canada Soccer Hall of Fame The Canada Soccer Hall of Fame honours people and institutions for their contributions to Canadian soccer. It was founded in 1997 by the Ontario Soccer Association and was originally located in Vaughan, Ontario. As of 2019, the Canada Soccer Hal ...

in 2019 as an ''Organisation of Distinction'', and in 2021 it was announced that they have formed a semi-professional team and would begin seeking entry to an interprovincial league. The club is affiliated with nine-time

Jubilee Trophy The Jubilee Trophy is the Canadian national championship for women's amateur soccer teams, first held in 1982. It is held concurrently to the national men's amateur Challenge Trophy. Participants Eight teams are granted entry into the competi ...

champions,

Edmonton Angels The Edmonton Scottish Soccer Club, better known as Edmonton Scottish, is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta. Competing continuously in the Alberta Major Soccer League (AMSL) since 1992, the club also fields re ...

History

The club was founded in 1909 by Scottish immigrants who settled in the Edmonton area. The senior men participate in the

(AMSL), where they have won multiple league titles. In 1972, they participated in the Challenge Trophy, the Canadian national amateur championship, reaching the quarter-finals. In 1987, they won the bronze medal in the Challenge Trophy, followed by silver medal performances in 1992, 2012, and 2015. In 2016, following an undefeated outdoor season in the AMSL, they were able to capture their first title as Canadian amateur champions. The Angels Scottish women's team has won nine Jubilee Trophies as women's national amateur champions, including the inaugural title in 1982, which was the first of five consecutive national titles. In 2021, the club announced their intention to launch semi-professional men's and women's teams with the goal of participated in a new interprovincial league in 2022.

Facilities

Grant MacEwan Park

As part of a 1967 Centennial project, the Edmonton Scottish Society acquired a 20-acre parcel of ancestral land in the Ellerslie neighbourhood of Edmonton — an area that had been previously settled by Scots, dating back to as early as 1895. Constructing six soccer fields and a fully fixtured soccer pavilion for its senior teams on the land, the society would officially open the park in 1970 and name it after

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Grant MacEwan. In 2018, the grounds were named in the

United 2026 FIFA World Cup bid United 2026, also known as the North American 2026 bid, was a successful joint bid led by the United States Soccer Federation, together with the Canadian Soccer Association and the Mexican Football Federation, to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup in ...

as a potential team base camp. In 2019, plans to build a new, banquet hall and clubhouse (including twelve changing rooms, a bar, and a restaurant) were announced, with further plans to build a microstadium revealed in 2021.

Hamish Black Field

Located within Grant MacEwan Park, Hamish Black Field is a natural grass pitch that measures long by wide and serves as the home field for Edmonton Scottish teams. For ticketed matches such as the

2021 Summer Series The 2021 Summer Series was a series of friendly soccer matches played between six clubs from Alberta, British Columbia, and Manitoba. The eight matches were held to showcase a potential national second division within the Canadian soccer league ...

, the club sets up

beer gardens A beer garden (German: ''Biergarten'') is an outdoor area in which beer and food are served, typically at shared tables shaded by trees. Beer gardens originated in Bavaria, of which Munich is the capital city, in the 19th century, and remain co ...

and brings in temporary seating, increasing the capacity to 1,612 spectators.

Edmonton Soccer Dome

In October 2018, construction was completed on the

, a

air-supported structure An air-supported (or air-inflated) structure is any building that derives its structural integrity from the use of internal pressurized air to inflate a pliable material (i.e. structural fabric) envelope, so that air is the main support of the str ...

that features a FieldTurf CORE

artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commer ...

playing surface. Located in Grant MacEwan Park, the dome is the club's primary training facility and is occasionally used for matches that may have otherwise been impacted by inclement weather.

Club culture

Rivalries

Since 1907, the Callies, and later Edmonton Scottish, have maintained three distinct rivalries. Most prominently, the club has had a century-long rivalry with their Scottish Battle of Alberta counterparts, the

Calgary Callies The Calgary Caledonian Football Club, better known as the Calgary Callies, is a Canadian association football, soccer club which currently plays in the Alberta Major Soccer League. History This club was founded on April 26, 1904. Over the years ...

, and throughout the 1950s, developed a cross-city rivalry with 1st DFC Victoria following consecutive meetings in Dragoon Cup Finals. A third rivalry with Edmonton Ital-Canadians emerged in the 1970s, with the teams often competing for league titles in

EDSA Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, commonly referred to by its acronym EDSA, is a limited-access circumferential highway around Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. It passes through 6 of Metro Manila's 17 local government units or cities, ...

, and later the first iteration of

Supporters

Supporters of Edmonton Scottish are known collectively as the

tartan army Tartan ( gd, breacan ) is a patterned cloth consisting of criss-crossed, horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Sc ...

. For ticketed matches, they are joined by the Clan MacNaughton

pipe band A pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of Bagpipes, pipers and drummers. The term pipes and drums, used by military pipe bands is also common. The most common form of pipe band consists of a section of pipers playing the Great Highland b ...

, who provide a

guard of honour A guard of honour ( GB), also honor guard ( US), also ceremonial guard, is a group of people, usually military in nature, appointed to receive or guard a head of state or other dignitaries, the fallen in war, or to attend at state ceremonials, ...

as teams walk onto the pitch.

Team colours and crest

Edmonton Scottish SC's crest is inspired by the crest worn by Scotland's national soccer team. A roundel encloses a shield, with the words "Edmonton Scottish Soccer Club" written around the outside. In the shield's background lays a

lion rampant The lion is a common charge in heraldry. It traditionally symbolises courage, nobility, royalty, strength, stateliness and valour, because historically the lion has been regarded as the "king of beasts". The lion also carries Judeo-Christia ...

surrounded by 11

thistle Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves. ...

, representing the national flower of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and the number of players on a soccer pitch. The club's official colours are Big Stone Blue and Polo Blue, which symbolize loyalty, strength, trust, and their connection to Scotland, as well as Maroon Flush, which pays homage to the autumn colours of the nearby Ewing Trail

tree tunnel A tree tunnel is a road, lane or track where the trees on each side form a more or less continuous canopy overhead, giving the effect of a tunnel. The effect may be achieved in a formal avenue lined with trees or in a more rural setting with rando ...

Kits and sponsorship

Beginning in 2009, Edmonton Scottish have signed deals with specific kit manufacturers, with Macron currently supplying the club until at least 2024. The club wore

replica kits throughout the '80s and '90s, but have since moved back to their traditional dark blue shirts with white shorts and white socks as its home kit — reversing the colours for its change strip. Having previously partnered with local businesses, the club has gone without shirt or sleeve sponsors since moving to Macron in 2019. The club has permanently

retired number Retiring the number of an athlete is an honor a team bestows upon a player, usually after the player has left the team, retires from the sport, or dies, by taking his or her former number out of circulation. Once a number is retired, no future pla ...

20 in honour of midfielder

Chris Kooy Christopher John Kooy (June 11, 1982 – August 21, 2020) was a Canadian soccer player who played for FC Edmonton in the North American Soccer League. Career Professional In 2004, Kooy played a championship season with Mount Royal College (Vote ...

, who died from

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel mo ...

in 2020.

Players and staff

Roster

Current squad

Current staff

* Kevin Poissant – ''Head Coach'' * James Black – ''Assistant Coach''

Notable players

''This is a list of players who have played for a national team or have played professionally, either before or after joining Edmonton Scottish.''

Player development

Scottish United

Founded in 2004, Scottish United serves as the youth extension of Edmonton Scottish. Among the inaugural recipients of the

National Youth Club Licence, its youth teams compete in the Alberta Youth Soccer League (AYSL) and within the Edmonton Minor Soccer Association (EMSA). As of 2022, its youth teams encompass over 1,300 players — with over 40% of the female teams in the Greater Edmonton Area playing for the club. Players training in the youth stream receive MLS homegrown player benefits and are generally eligible to play for the first team or reserve squads as youth trialists by age 16. In recent years, Scottish United players have gone on trial with FC Edmonton, joined

Whitecaps FC Academy Whitecaps FC Academy is a Canadian soccer team, the academy of professional team Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as ...

, or have graduated from youth soccer to the senior club's

teams.

Broadcasting

In order to provide programming to its members during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Edmonton Scottish began its own free, in-house streaming service called Fitba.TV along with its youth affiliate, Scottish United in 2020. While the club has since began using its Fitba.TV service to broadcast its

home matches, its

matches are live-streamed by CFN Media.

Honours

Record

Alberta Major Soccer League

Challenge Trophy

References

External links

* * {{Soccer in Edmonton 1907 establishments in Alberta Association football clubs established in 1907 Diaspora sports clubs in Canada Scottish-Canadian culture Soccer clubs in Alberta Soccer clubs in Edmonton