The Edmonton Scottish Soccer Club, better known as Edmonton Scottish, is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta.
Competing in League1 Alberta since its inaugural exhibition season in 2023 using its youth affiliate's moniker Scottish United, the club has also competed continuously in the Alberta Major Soccer League (AMSL) since 1992 – while also fielding reserve squads and adult teams across several leagues within the Edmonton and District Soccer Association (EDSA). The teams train at the Edmonton Soccer Dome and play home matches at Hamish Black Field, both of which are located at Grant MacEwan Park in the Ellerslie area of southeast Edmonton.
In 2016, Edmonton Scottish completed the amateur domestic treble, capping off an undefeated season by winning the Challenge Trophy to become Canada Soccer national champions for the first time — having previously finished as runners-up in 1992, 2012, and 2015. They are eight-time AMSL league winners and twelve-time provincial champions, capturing the Bennett Shield in 1913 and the Alberta Soccer Challenge Cup a total of eleven times since 1972. The club was recognized by the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame 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 – eventually joining the League1 Canada pyramid in 2023.
The club is affiliated with nine-time Jubilee Trophy champions, Edmonton Angels.
History
The club was founded in 1909 by Scottish immigrants who settled in the Edmonton area. The senior men participate in the Alberta Major Soccer League (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. In 2023 they became part of the new League1 Alberta, competing under the name Edmonton Scottish United SC.
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 Grant MacEwan.
In 2018, the grounds were named in the United 2026 FIFA World Cup bid 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 club sets up beer gardens and brings in temporary seating, increasing the capacity to 1,612 spectators.
Edmonton Soccer Dome
In October 2018, construction was completed on the Edmonton Soccer Dome, a air-supported structure that features a FieldTurf CORE artificial turf 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, 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, and later the first iteration of AMSL.