But, the reviews from FC Edmonton’s coach Colin Miller and the players weren’t all that positive. A day after the paint was applied to the test patch, the turf had matted down and become very hard — and sticky, too.

The city was named one of four hosts for the 2014 tourney. The announcement was made at BMO Field ahead of Canada’s sold-out women’s match Sunday against the United States. The other host cities are Edmonton, Montreal and Moncton.

“It’s a long flight, especially coming out for a single game,” said Ledgerwood. “It’s a 12-hour flight and, as soon as you get off the plane, you step on the field. But, as national-team players we know the long travel comes with it. We’re willing to sacrifice the hours for the long flights to do it.”

The worst-kept secret in domestic soccer was confirmed Tuesday, when the Canadian Soccer Association announced that it has booked a friendly against Costa Rica for May 28 at Commonwealth Stadium. This has been on the radar since the middle of March: FIFA posted the match on its international calendar and the Costa Rican federation announced the game officially, then retracted …

But, if even a 2026 bid launch is going to become a reality, we’ll need to have a good look at ourselves. On Thursday, when the Women’s World Cup schedule was unveiled, all the plums went to Edmonton and Vancouver.

National team coach John Herdman said he has visions of 60,000 fans, all decked in red, packing Commonwealth for the first two Canada matches. “In 2002, at that special tournament, you saw them as babies. Now, you will see them again as women.”

But, FIFA does have Canada slated to play Costa Rica on May 28 in Edmonton on its master schedule.

But, there’s also a real need to look at the prep for the Women’s World Cup. As Toronto isn’t a host city, this game against the Americans isn’t fulfilling a promise that the CSA has made to Canadians.

Also included in the release was an artist's rendering of an envisioned stadium, giving fans a taste of what a new home for the Eddies could look like.

While the four members of the Canadian women’s national team who were in Edmonton Monday will all soon head Stateside to report to their NWSL teams, they still dream of playing pro soccer in their home and native land.