Goooal! New Outreach Exhibit at the Prestige
With the FIFA World Cup taking place in Vancouver right now, we couldn't think of a better time to explore some of Rossland's soccer stories!
Sports in Rossland haven’t always been about powder and singletrack. For more than a century, Rosslanders have been chasing soccer balls across fields, school grounds, and maybe even a mine site or two. Although a formal soccer club wasn’t organized until the mid-1910s, Rosslanders have been hitting the pitch from the very beginning. From miners in the Industrial League to today's youth teams, more than a century of Rosslanders have laced up their cleats and left it all on the field.
2283.0082 - Centre Star Mine football team with the A.S. Goodeve Cup, 1913
2283.0081 - Le Roi Football Team with the A.S. Goodeve Cup, the championship cup for the Rossland Industrial League, 1915
Soccer was more than just 11 players running around a field. Like most sports in Rossland, soccer was a community sport through and through. Fans filled the sidelines of games, cheering on their favourite team or player, and by the 1910s, soccer was a regular part of community celebrations like Miners’ Union Day and Dominion Day. The games often drew large crowds cheering on their team to “make one more tally.” These special event teams were made up of players from the different league teams; visiting teams came from nearby towns. The teams also supported each other on and off the field. In 1913, the winners of the Miners’ Union Day game donated their $50 prize money to a Rossland player whose leg was broken in a game. In that moment, soccer was more than just a game – it was Rosslanders taking care of Rosslanders.
Since the 1990s, recreational youth soccer in the Rossland area has been organized by the Kootenay South Youth Soccer Association, giving hundreds of local children the chance to learn and enjoy the game. A huge shout-out goes to the KSYKA for providing us with some contemporary youth soccer photos!
Kootenay South Storm girls team huddle at the Eye of the Storm Jamboree, 2025. Photograph provided by KSYSA, taken by Jennifer Small
Goooal! Soccer in Rossland will be on display at the Prestige Mountain Resort from June to September 2026. This exhibit explores the anecdotes, athletes, and community spirit that have and continue to make the sport great. Featuring the A.S. Goodeve Cup from the Rossland Industrial League and a Rossland Youth Soccer jersey, Goooal! highlights the foundations and future of soccer in Rossland.
A big thanks to Dan and the team at the Prestige for always giving us a space to share unique Rossland stories with you in downtown Rossland! We couldn’t do our outreach exhibit program without amazing community partners like the Prestige!