NASL FC Edmonton

Eddies Visit Special Olympics Edmonton

Published on April 9, 2016 under North American Soccer League (NASL)
FC Edmonton News Release


FC Edmonton took a break from match day preparations last Tuesday evening to make a special visit to a group of Special Olympics Edmonton (SOE) athletes. The entire Eddies team, along with several staff arrived at Kinsmen Field House and Courts to participate and support SOE athletes.

The Eddies and the SOE Track & Field athletes split into several groups to compete in long distance, short distance, and obstacle courses over the course of just over an hour. The evening of activities was followed by photos between Special Olympic and Eddies athletes.

In 1974, Special Olympics Edmonton (SOE) was formed in response to the Edmonton community asking to create sport opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities. SOE started with 20 athletes who participated in programs comprised of floor hockey, swimming, track & field, and downhill skiing.Today, over 550 athletes participate year-round in 37 sport programs.

"I thought it was very humbling to see our players interact with the Special Olympic athletes," FC Edmonton head coach Colin Miller stated. "There wasn't one player who was holding anything back. Our players were raving about it and talking about it the morning after...It was just a great experience for our players. Our owners would be very proud, our GM is very proud and I am very proud as the head coach to have our players represent the club the way they did."

Each year, SOE organizes fund raisers, tournaments, and other events to raise funds and increase awareness in the Edmonton area. SOE receives only 1.5% of its budget from institutional grants therefore other costs must be dealt with through additional fund raising initiatives.

"My objective is to ensure we do more things like this," FC Edmonton general manager Jay Ball added. "I need to thank our awesome players for supporting the Special Olympics Athletes. It was quite inspiring to see. We must connect our team to the community with authentic enthusiasm and passion. Groups like Special Olympics truly reflect the core values of our club. We will be doing more with them as the year goes on."

Check out the FC Edmonton Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



North American Soccer League Stories from April 9, 2016


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central