Veteran fullback Fraser Aird looks forward to third straight CPL final with Cavalry

Cavalry FC's Fraser Aird, right, and Forge FC's Béni Badibanga during first half soccer action in the Canadian Premier League Final in Calgary on Saturday, November 9, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Stuart Gradon

Fraser Aird’s third straight trip to the Canadian Premier League championship game with Cavalry FC has come with a long runway.

The Calgary-based side’s first game this year was Feb. 6 against Mexico’s Pumas UNAM in CONCACAF Champions Cup play. Camp opened Jan. 3.

“It’s been a long season for us again this year, starting in CONCACAF and coming in in January,” Aird said. “But the fact that we have a chance to play in another final come Sunday makes it all worth it.”

Struggles against Atletico FC

Defending champion Cavalry has struggled against Atletico Ottawa, its opponent in Sunday’s final at TD Place Stadium. Cavalry (11-8-9), which finished 14 points below second-place Ottawa (15-2-11) during the regular season, went winless in its four meetings with Ottawa.

Ottawa won both games in Calgary, 3-1 on April 26 and 2-0 on June 28. The teams drew 2-2 at TD Place on Aug. 23 with Ottawa winning 3-0 there on Sept. 27. Cavalry did not lead in any of the four meetings.

“We had this conversation at training today,” Aird said this week. “It doesn’t matter what happened in the regular season now. It’s a one-off, playoff game … Both teams are going to come out fighting and whoever shows up better on the day is going to win the game.”

“It’s definitely going to be a battle,” the 30-year-old fullback added. “It might take 90 minutes, maybe 120 minutes, maybe penalty kicks, you never know. But we’re going to be ready for it.”

Ottawa is unbeaten in league play at home this season with an 8-0-6 record.

Surviving football cauldrons

Aird has survived more than a few football cauldrons. At 16, he left Toronto to join Glasgow Rangers, making his first-team debut in September 2012 after spending time with the U-17 and U-19 sides. The following season, Aird was named the club’s Young Player of the Year after scoring seven goals and adding 10 assists in 37 appearances.

Aird returned to Canada in 2016, joining the Vancouver Whitecaps on loan. After a season in MLS, he returned to Scotland for stints with Falkirk, Dunfermline, Queen of the South, Dundee United and Cove Rangers before returning to Canada to join the CPL’s Valour FC in January 2020.

He spent the 2021 season with FC Edmonton before signing with Cavalry in February 2022.

At the time, Cavalry coach and GM Tommy Wheeldon Jr. called Aird “a big character in the locker-room and an impact player on the pitch that ultimately makes us an even better squad.”

“Fraser brings a lot of leadership,” said Cavalry captain Marco Carducci.

3rd straight CPL final

Cavalry made it to the CPL final in 2023, losing 2-1 after extra time at Forge. The two teams met again last year in the championship game, with Cavalry winning 2-1 on home turf.

Cavalry has gone unbeaten in five games (2-0-3) since its September loss in Ottawa, most recently dispatching York United (4-1) and league-leading Forge (1-0) in the playoffs.

“We’re peaking at the right time,” said Aird, who marked his 100th appearance for Cavalry last month despite missing most of the 2022 season after surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

“Here we are in another final,” he added. “We have experience in our squad, we have a lot of the same players that were here last year that lifted the trophy, with a few additions that have made us a little bit better.”

A former winger, Aird is now a presence from his post as fullback. One of four Cavalry players named to the 2024 CPL Best XI, the gritty defender can still deposit a cross on a dime.

“It’s one thing I pride myself on, that’s for sure.” he said.

“The way that the modern game is nowadays, I feel like everyone attacks, everyone defends,” he added.

Born in Toronto to Scottish parents, Aird grew up a fervent Rangers fan. It’s a family tradition given his parents met at a Rangers supporters group in Scarborough, as members of the North American Rangers Supporters Association.

The association continues. His mother still works behind the bar when the group meets.

Aird’s devotion to Rangers cost him in December 2019 when he was caught on camera making a rude gesture from the away stand during an Old Firm Derby match at Celtic. Aird’s gesture was apparently aimed at the Celtic fans.

Aird was playing for Cove Rangers FC, a Scottish lower-tier club, at the time and the incident promoted the team to release him ahead of the January end of his contract. On the plus side, Rangers won the top-of-the-table clash 2-1.

Aird apologized in the aftermath.

Aird represented both Canada and Scotland at youth level, eventually winning eight caps for Canada at senior level. He scored his lone senior goal against Scotland in a 1-1 draw in Edinburgh in March 2017.

“A night I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” he said.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2025.

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press