The Airdrie and District Soccer Association (ADSA) is celebrating its 40th year of bringing the love of the world’s most popular sport to local youth. After years of practising in school gyms and struggling to find space in recreation centres, ADSA is ringing in its fourth decade with a permanent home — a new fieldhouse on Gateway Road on the city’s north side.
“It was really important to us that our space was inside the city limits of Airdrie,” says Jennifer Hogg, executive director of ADSA.
“We wanted a good location that was easy to get to where we could build a community and culture. It was far past time for us to have a dedicated space to call home.”
The 15,000-square-foot building opened in the fall of 2025 and has four high-quality artificial turf training fields designed to replicate outdoor playing conditions in an indoor environment and provide year-round access for athletes of all levels. The facility also includes office space and a classroom for team meetings, parent meetings, and classes on nutrition and mental health.
“It isn’t just about learning to play soccer and making good players, it’s about creating good humans and making good kids,” says Hogg.
“We want kids to go out and be active and have fun with their peers, rather than defaulting to a screen.”
The fieldhouse is also equipped to host a variety of additional programs year-round, from summer camps and sessions on professional development days, to community events.
“It is truly a space that we can come together and feel like a family,” says Hogg.
“We can build a community where the parents and coaches are just as involved as the kids.”
ADSA is the primary governing body for youth and adult soccer in Airdrie and surrounding areas, serving more than 1,500 players with recreational and competitive programs. ADSA offers grassroots, community and high-performance Airdrie FC programs, focusing on inclusivity, development and community engagement. The association offers grassroots (U4 to U9), community league (U10 to U18) and competitive Club (Airdrie FC) programs for youth, alongside adult co-ed recreational leagues.
“We are committed to being a community leader by providing a safe and inclusive soccer experience with opportunities for everyone to succeed in the areas of leadership, teamwork and personal development, both on and off the field,” says Hogg.
ADSA operates under the governance of both the Alberta Soccer Association — the provincial body that oversees standards, safety and competition structures across Alberta — and Canada Soccer, the national governing body that sets coach education, safe sport requirements and player-development pathways across the country.
The team of 12 staff coaches is one of the key reasons ADSA stands out. Every coach is supported through Canada Soccer with accredited training, ongoing mentorship and resources that help them deliver development‑focused, age‑appropriate programming.
“ADSA’s commitment to certified coaches, safe sport principles and high‑quality programming ensures that players in Airdrie receive a positive, structured and well‑supported soccer experience,” says Hogg.
She adds that 2026 will be a big year for soccer in Canada, with seven matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup taking place in Vancouver between June 13 and July 7.
“Soccer is the global game,” she says. “It is so accessible. All you need is a space to play and a ball. No expensive equipment, no prerequisite skills. Whenever you drive by a school at recess, what are they playing? Soccer, because anyone can play. Newcomers to Airdrie know how to play soccer before they know how to speak English.”
One of the ways ADSA will celebrate its 40th anniversary is with its annual tournament, the largest outdoor soccer tournament on the prairies. The Summit Cup takes place on the first weekend in June and last year’s event attracted 216 teams from all over Western Canada to our city.
“The event requires a massive amount of volunteer effort and is a big fundraiser for us,” says Hogg.
“Collaboration like this is what has made it possible for us to be around for 40 years and still going strong.”
Learn more about ADSA at airdriesoccer.com.
