Soccer's Big Boom - Winnipeg Free Press

Sun Dec 4 2005
* Soccer registrations have exploded by 137 per cent across Canada since 1992, to 825,031 as of 2003.
* One million Canadians are expected to be playing by the end of the decade.
* Largest growth area has been in female game, with 342,976 across the country, more than double the total in 1996.
* Overall registration in Manitoba has increased as well. The MSA says its most recent figures are 9,909 (12 and under); 5,439 (13-17); 5,075 (18-29) for a total of 20,423, not including referees and coaches (2,500).
* Manitoba's growth numbers, while significant, still lag behind most other provinces in Canada. (1.66 per cent of Manitobans play soccer, according to the Canadian Soccer Association; In Saskatchewan, the percentage is 2.28, Alberta is 3.00, B.C. 2.89, Ontario 3.03).
Soccer community attributes this to lack of facilities.

-- Chris Cariou