Fifteen-year-old Adalyn Fairweather is already making a name for herself in Canadian soccer.
She's a standout player with the St. Albert Impact Football Club and has already participated in national training camps. This April she was also called up as an alternative for Canada's U-17 women's team for the Concacaf Women's U-17 Qualifiers tournament.
"It's an incredible opportunity to represent Canada," Fairweather said. "I'm so honoured to have it."
Fairweather was in San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain, in February with the U-17 women's national team for the U-17 Costa Cálida MIMA Cup 2025. She was one of 24 players selected and one of only two from Alberta. During the tournament, the team played three matches, with Fairweather scoring twice against Scotland.
"Spain, it was fun. I liked it," she said. "It was an opportunity to share what different kinds of football is like around Canada, with different players."
The MIMI Cup was an opportunity for Canada's U-17 women's team to prepare before the Concacaf Women's U-17 Qualifiers tournament.
Fairweather said attending the Concacaf Women's U-17 Qualifiers tournament has been one of the best experiences of her soccer journey so far.
"That was probably the best experience I've ever had with travelling the camp before, because it was really fun, and I was a lot more comfortable with the girls and coaches," she said.
However, in terms of training, Fairweather has a slight disadvantage. Many other players are part of National Development Centres (NDC) in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, where they participate in full-time development programs.
While Fairweather plays year-round in St. Albert, she only gets to play with 11 people on the field in the outdoor season. In winter, she plays indoor soccer, where they only play with nine people, unlike some of her peers on the national team, who compete in games with 11 people on the field year-round.
Due to this, she has to step up her own training and put in twice the work to keep up with the other girls.
"I train every day, no day off," she said. "Probably, training, training, lift, training, training, day off."
Fairweather says her goal is to someday play on the national team.
"My goal is to play on the national team and play with my idol, Jessie Fleming. She's been my idol ever since I've started playing," said Fairweather. "I've always been following her, seeing what she does on the pitch."
Aside from looking up to Canadian women's soccer player Fleming, Fairweather also looks up to Trinity Rodman, a professional soccer player in the U.S. who plays as a winger, the same position Fairweather plays.
With her sights set on one day playing for Canada's women's national team, Fairweather is committed to working to get there.
"Next step is getting invited to the next camp and then potentially making the World Cup team," said Fairweather.
