Close to 200 young female soccer players took to the pitch and the newly unveiled artificial turf field at the Clareview Community Recreation Centre Sunday for the FIFA “Live Your Goals” Festival.

For local female soccer players, aged 12 years and under, the event offered a unique opportunity to meet some professional female soccer players, including Canadian Women’s National Team member, Brittany Baxter and Canada U-17 Women’s National Team member Avery Lakeman.

“It’s a great way to get kids out playing and get them excited about the games that are coming to Edmonton and Alberta,” said Carole Holt, co-chair of the women’s committee with the Alberta Soccer Association. “We have 200 females at a crucial age playing with the opportunity to be coached by provincial team players and some national team players — it’s a great opportunity that they’re not going to forget.”

Popularity surrounding Canadian female soccer is its highest, with half of the 30,000 registered soccer players in Alberta being females.

A lot of it, Holt admits, has to do with the recent success of the women’s national team, most notably the squad’s bronze medal finish in the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games.

“When you have a team at a national level doing really well it inspires other female players. They see that it’s possible, and that’s really important, that these young players see that there is an opportunity to be seen and given that opportunity as well,” said Holt.

The event serves as a kick-starter to the upcoming FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, on August 5 to 24. Edmonton will co-host the event along with Montreal, Toronto, and Moncton.

Organizing the games and bringing them to Edmonton has been an effort years in the making. But Edmonton is in a particularly unique position, being the only western city to host both the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, and the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

“It’s a huge opportunity for Edmonton and I think that says a lot about our city and about our ability to put on and host these events,” said Janine Helland, national organizing committee member and former Canada women’s national team player.

“Edmonton is known for it’s volunteer base, they have done a fantastic job, and the Alberta Soccer Association is very strong and very well known across the country for their ability to look after the game of soccer in this province.

“So when the opportunity arose for us, Edmonton was absolutely all-in and ready to go.”

Visit www.fifa.com/u20womensworldcup for more information.

trevor.robb@sunmedia.ca

@SunTrevorRobb​