This photo was taken at the 2019 Melba Jenkins Memorial Cup. (Ian Gustafson/paNOW Staff)

By Jeff D’Andrea

Beautiful game returns

Indoor soccer returning to Prince Albert in October, registrations open

Sep 3, 2020 | 4:36 PM

The spring soccer season wiped out due to COVID-19, but the beautiful game’s return to Prince Albert is just around the corner.

The Prince Albert Youth Soccer Association is currently accepting registrations online for its indoor soccer season, which is aimed to start around Oct. 17 and proceed into March.

“We look forward to having everybody sign on to soccer again. Let’s do what we love most,” Dr. Nnamdi Ndubuka, PAYSA’s president said. “I think we are excited in terms of returning to soccer, again. It’s been a long while. We missed the spring season on account of COVID.

All the games and practices will be in “mini-league” format, as laid out in Re-Open Saskatchewan Plan. That means a maximum of 50 players can be in one mini-league. That group can be split into teams, who can rotate and play each other throughout the season. Games can range from a one-on-one contest, to a bigger seven-on-seven.

The mini-leagues will be restricted to Prince Albert, as other communities won’t be able to join.

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“Unfortunately with the regulations at this point, we wouldn’t be able to register teams from outside of P.A. because we already have a bubble here,” Nbuduka said. “Until we see any changes from the current regulations, we will focus more on registrants who reside in P.A.”

Other changes PAYSA needed to make to get back onto the field during this pandemic was to make sure there was more time in between games to avoid crowding, physical distancing is maintained, players paying more attention to hygiene and sanitization, and coaches and volunteers making sure everybody is safe.

“We recognize that the situation is still very fluid during the pandemic, the pandemic has not gone out completely,” Nbuduka said. “Our plan is to continue to abide by the provincial and federal guidelines as they relate to COVID-19.”

Online registration has been live on PAYSA’s website since the middle of August. They will also have in-person registration at the Alfred Jenkins Field House on Sept. 8 to 9, from 5 to 7 p.m. each day. Other in-person registrations can be made by appointment.

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Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW