Indoor Soccer is Getting Bigger in Winnipeg

The Winnipeg Youth Soccer Association (WYSA) is excited to announce that its U11 and U12 developmental league and U13 - U18 premier league will begin 9v9 half-field play this indoor soccer season. This change represents a significant shift from previous years where teams played 6v6 on a quarter-field and is made possible by the addition of new indoor soccer facilities.

With the completion of the Winnipeg Soccer Federation’s Garden City facility, there is now enough quality indoor field space to accommodate this change and allow the League to take one step closer to replicating the outdoor game all year long.  

“Playing on a larger field will give players in our competitive programs an edge in developing their skills,” said Adam Dooley, President of WYSA. “This is exciting for our players and for our league.”

Half-field play gives teams enough space to consistently practice set pieces, corner kicks, and attacking strategies they could previously only do during the summer. A poll of players, parents and coaches last year showed there was tremendous support for half-field play, with approximately 75 per cent indicating support for the change even if that meant higher fees.

The WYSA League intends to keep its days of play as in past, female and male on Thursday nights, females only 8AM - 8PM on Saturdays, and male only 8AM - 8PM on Sundays. The indoor soccer season begins after the thanksgiving weekend in October. Player registration for competitive club teams is underway now. Recreational league player registration begins in September. U9-U18 recreational leagues and U9 and U10 developmental teams will continue to play on quarter-fields with smaller sided teams.

 “With the addition of the new WSF Soccer North facility, we are poised to take a huge step forward in the growth and development of the beautiful game here in Winnipeg,” said WYSA Executive Director Carlo Bruneau. “We want to thank the Winnipeg Soccer Federation, the city and province for building these facilities. We hope to see more indoor facilities in the future so we can move to a full 11v11 game throughout the year.” 

ABOUT WYSA: The Winnipeg Youth Soccer Association (WYSA) manages the largest youth recreational and competitive soccer leagues in Manitoba, comprised of over 12,000 U9-U18 players during its indoor and outdoor seasons. WYSA also organizes three major tournaments per year, including our 3v3 Tournament, The Golden Boy Tournament and The Boston Pizza Players Tournament which attract over 300 total teams including rural Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan and North Dakota. In recent years WYSA has added the management an indoor high school soccer league and has played a key role in bringing free soccer programming to Winnipeg’s inner city through its Mobile Mini Soccer Program.  In addition to managing leagues, WYSA has also embraced and implemented the Canadian Soccer Association’s (CSA) Wellness to World Cup Long Term Development Model and player pathway, with the goal to provide even further opportunities for growth and development of players and coaches advancing through the WYSA system.