The Alberta Soccer Association has revealed an updated identity in an attempt to drive attention to the sport with the FIFA World Cup set to descend on Canada next summer.

The brand refresh was led by Brandish, which took a data-driven approach in developing Alberta Soccer’s new strategic and creative direction. The agency conducted a survey of 1,700 Albertans that found just 15% of respondents described themselves as “very familiar” with the governing body of the sport in the province.

Lisa Grant, Alberta Soccer’s executive director, tells strategy that the numbers hinted at the potential for a popularity boom for Canada’s fastest growing sport in the country’s fastest growing province.

“This project was identified as a priority moving into the vast opportunity of hosting the World Cup in Canada,” Grant says. “It is an opportunity that Alberta Soccer did not want to miss with the world’s eyes on our country. It is an exciting time to move the organization forward.”

With Alberta welcoming more than 168,000 newcomers in 2024 alone, according to Statistics Canada, Brandish placed its focus on the sport’s potential as a unifier amid a multicultural landscape.

According to Alexandra Martin, partner and director of strategy at Brandish, while the survey showed that awareness needed to be amplified, respondents also expressed a strong belief that Alberta Soccer has an important role to play in the province’s development, particularly for those seeking accessible, community-driven opportunities.

With that in mind, the agency aimed for a welcoming brand tone of inclusivity and empowerment, Brandish creative director Jon Manning tells strategy.

“Our approach started with the simple truth that Alberta Soccer uses the game as a way to move communities forward,” Manning says. “Soccer is accessible, inclusive and played by people from every background. When led well, it becomes a force for unity. That’s what the brand needed to reflect.”

Brandish scoured the soccer world for visual inspiration and worked with the association to develop a visual language for the brand, Manning says. The result, above, touches on visual cues similar to some of soccer’s most popular modern brands while retaining elements of the previous design – such as the Alberta wild rose – that resonate with local audiences.“What we landed on is a composition of familiar cues – shapes, forms, ideas – that have been reimagined through the lens of Alberta,” Manning says. “That tension between familiarity and originality is what led us to a mark that feels like it belongs locally and on the national stage.”

With the one-year countdown to the World Cup on as of yesterday, Grant says Alberta Soccer is moving into the public-education phase of the rebrand campaign. Toronto and Vancouver are among the host cities for the event that will be played in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. from June 11 to July 19 next year.

“Soccer’s greatest strength lies in its power to forge meaningful and lasting connections within our community. Team sports, especially soccer, unite people of all ages through shared goals,” Grant says. “As the voice of soccer in Alberta, we aim to cultivate and strengthen these connections, bringing together both new and lifelong fans to build a more inclusive and enduring soccer community.”