VIDE: Langley gets Canada’s first FIFA mini-arena

Young players prepared to play on the new FIFA mini-pitch that officially opened at Langley Events Centre on Wednesday, April 29. (Dan Ferguson/Langley Advance Times)

Yorkson resident Joel, 12, demonstrated good form while he and other young payers awaited the official opening of the FIFA mini pitch at Langley Events Centre on Wdeneday. (Dan Ferguson/Langley Advance Times)

Councillor Margaret Kunst said the new FIFA mini-pitch was going to be an “awesome” addition to Langley sports facilities. (Dan Ferguson/Langley Advance Times)

Bill Cooper, Chief Commercial Officer for Vancouver Football Club, called the FIFA mini-pitch ‘a great community facility.’ (Dan Ferguson/Langley Advance Times)

B.C. Soccer CEO Gabriel Assis said the Langley FIFA mini pitch will encourage more kids to take up the sport. (Dan Ferguson/Langley Advance Times)

Members of Vancouver FC were on hand for the official opening of the FIFA mini pitch for young players at Langley Events Centre (Special to Langley Advance Times)

Langley Township Mayor Eric Woodward opened the FIFA mini pitch for young players at Langley Events Centre (Special to Langley Advance Times)

Langley Township has become the first Canadian city to get a FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) mini-pitch, with the official opening of the smaller-than-regulation playing field at Langley Events Centre on Wednesday.

Canada's first FIFA mini pitch has opened in Langley pic.twitter.com/iSaC1ZPGQK

— Langley Advance Times (@LangleyTimes) April 29, 2026

FIFA Chief Member Associations Officer Elkhan Mammadov said the timing was deliberate, with the FIFA Congress taking place in Vancouver on Thursday, and Canada co-hosting the FIFA World Cup 2026 alongside the United States and Mexico.

Langley Mayor Eric Woodward called it a “fabulous coincidence,” that the new facility was arriving when the FIFA World Cup was being played – and in a year when Langley United Soccer Association was celebrating 100 years.

Woodward has requested a second FIFA arena, for Aldergrove Athletic Park.

Councillor Margaret Kunst said the new mini-pitch was going to be an “awesome” addition to Langley sports facilities.

“Kids can just come and do their training or they can just come and pick up a ball and play,” Kunst said.

Also present was Bill Cooper, Chief Commercial Officer for Vancouver Football Club, who said the FIFA mini-pitch was “about harnessing the moment and giving people a place to direct their enthusiasm after the World Cup is gone.”

B.C. Soccer CEO Gabriel Assis said the Langley mini-pitch would will help “raise and improve the infrastructure” of the sport.

“We’re excited that we’re launching this,” Assis said.

Canada Soccer President Peter Augruso said it took roughly two months from initial conversation to completed pitch.

“It warms my heart when I see so many kids out having the ability to play this game that we all love,” Augruso said.

In 2024, during the Paris Olympics, FIFA President Gianni Infantino pledged to build more than 1,000 mini-pitches around the world by 2030.

FIFA mini-pitches are funded through partnerships between governments, soccer organizations, and private donations. In B.C., 20 pitches are planned, costing a combined $13 million, with about $4.5 million paid for by the province, $5.5 million by viaSport and $3 million in in-kind contributions from the Vancouver Whitecaps.