Cavalry FC signs former Valour, FCE winger Fraser Aird

CanPL

Cavalry FC announced on Monday morning that the club has made its second new signing of 2022, inking Canadian international Fraser Aird to a deal for the upcoming CPL season.

Aird, a 27-year-old native of Toronto, comes to Calgary from Al Classico rivals FC Edmonton, for whom he played in 2021, providing five goals and five assists (the latter of which being joint-fourth most in the league) while appearing in all 28 league matches for the club. He led the CPL in total crosses and corners taken as well.

Prior to the 2021 season, Aird’s first foray into the CPL came at the Island Games in 2020, when he played six matches for Valour FC.

Before returning to Canada to play professionally, Aird spent many years playing in Scotland for a variety of club. His senior career began at Rangers FC, where he played for four seasons, helping them win promotion three times to climb from the Scottish fourth tier to the Premiership. Aird also went on to represent Falkirk, Dunfermline Athletic, Dundee United, and Queen of the South in the Scottish Championship as well as Cove Rangers in the league’s fourth tier, and in 2016 he had a brief loan stint in Canada with the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Internationally, Aird represents Canada, having done so eight times for the men’s national team. He previously represented Scotland at the U-17 and U-19 youth levels, but he ultimately joined Canada at the senior level, making his debut in 2015 under coach Benito Floro.

“We are delighted to add Fraser to our team,” said Cavalry coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. “He is a player that has exceptional quality and a great end product that will add more goal opportunities for our team. He is a fierce competitor with a wealth of experience from his time in Scotland, the Canadian national team, and has already made an impact here in the CPL. In signing Fraser, we have got a big character in the locker room and an impact player on the pitch that ultimately makes us an even better squad.”

Aird added: “I’m buzzing to join Cavalry, I’ve always admired how they played and their winning mentality. I’m looking forward to playing in front of the loud Cavalry faithful at ATCO Field. Hopefully, I can add the little bit to the squad that they were missing and we can go all the way and win the league this season.”

The dynamic Aird, who can play either as a winger or a right fullback, joins a strong cast of players in Cavalry, who have already announced 15 players returning from last year’s squad that finished second in the CPL regular season standings. Aird is the second newcomer so far, following New Zealand international Myer Bevan.