Soccer Kickoff

Adult soccer to start July 5th in Prince George

Jun 9, 2021 | 5:08 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – The Prince George Soccer Association (PGSA) is just about ready to kick off.

The league typically has their season start May long weekend. A year ago, they were gearing up to have both their men’s and women’s adult league seasons but then the pandemic hit. But with the green light from the Provincial Health Office for adult sports to get up and running, the PGSA will kick off its season on July 5th.

“We’ve all had to go through isolation and just trying to handle what new norms look like being stuck at home. To get outside and to socialize with your team, with your peers, with your friends, I think it’s huge,” said Connie Ratkaj, secretary for the PGSA. “It’s been a lot of Zoom lately, so this is fantastic.”

As soon as the association announced their start date, people have been eagerly looking to get they and their teams registered. Ratkaj says it’s great to see the excitement in getting back on the pitch.

“As soon as that announcement went out, we had a lot of emails and inquiries about it: when are we going to start? What’s happening? What’s the plan? We did meet the following week and hashed out the details. We got it out last weekend and since then the emails have been coming in. Registration has been going crazy and teams have been trying to get registered and everything prepared and ready to go for our July 5th start date.

In 2019, the PGSA had roughly 30 teams. The association isn’t expecting that many teams this year given the later start date, but without a doubt, there’s excitement just to be back playing.

“It’s exciting. Everyone has not been able to play for two years,” said Michael Amdini, Sponsorship Director with the PGSA. “Now, we’re finally able to go and get outside. We can get our therapy once a week and kick a ball around and have some fun. I’m very excited. A lot of my teammates are signing up so it’s exciting news.”

Registration for the 2021 season does close for teams on June 13th with the player registration deadline on June 20th. For more information, you can visit the association’s website at PGSoccer.ca as the pitch awaits July 5th.