Canada heads for Florida, prepares for St. Lucia and Estonia

Canada’s men’s national team will open their first training camp of the 2008 season in Fort Lauderdale, FL next week. The team will run an 11-day training camp before heading to St. Lucia to play their first international friendly of the 2008 season on Saturday 2 February. The men’s national team also announced that it will face the Republic of Estonia (Eesti Vabariik) in Tallinn on 26 March 2008.



“The January training camp is largely about working with players who are in their off season,” says head coach Dale Mitchell. “Ultimately, we are looking to see who amongst the group could play a part in the qualifying process of our senior men or Olympic team during 2008.”



The Canadian training camp in Florida will feature mostly players from North American-based clubs. There will also be a few players from European clubs in off-season breaks. The group will feature a mix of veterans and young stars, perhaps even a couple of players who will be eligible for Canada’s entry in the CONCACAF U-23 Championship this March.



The 2 February match will be Canada’s first-ever meeting with the Staint Lucia. Geographically, Saint Lucia is next to Canada’s first opponent in the 2010 FIFA World Cup(tm) Qualifications – Saint Vincent & the Grenadines. While Canada doesn’t begin qualifications until 15 June (Stage 2), Saint Lucia plays its first match on 6 February (Stage 1) on the road against the Turks & Caicos Islands.



“It will be a benefit to players and staff to play in Saint Lucia as we look ahead to our first round series against Saint Vincent & the Grenadines.”



The 26 March match will be Canada’s second meeting with the Republic of Estonia. Canada lost 1:2 to Estonia on 29 March 2003, a match that also took place in Tallinn.