.svg){kind=icon}
Annual awards.
Canada Soccer has paid tribute to some key individuals who have helped the game grow both at home and abroad. This year’s winners are Percy Hoff and Kevin Holness for the Canada Soccer President’s Award as well as Leslie Blyth, Percy Hoff, Jeannette Kuc, and Huw Morris for the Canada Soccer Award of Merit.
For referees, Suzanne Morisset has been recognised with the Ray Morgan Memorial Award while Carol Anne Chénard has been acknowledged with the International Achievement Award.
The awards were celebrated as part of the annual banquet at Canada Soccer’s 2016 Annual Meeting of the Members in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Along with the award winners, former General Secretary Kevan Pipe was presented with Canada Soccer Life Membership.
Former Canada Soccer President Andy Sharpe of Saskatoon, meanwhile, was celebrated for winning the 2015 Aubrey Sanford Meritorious Service Award. Mr. Sharpe was unable to attend last year’s awards banquet in Ottawa.
The 2016 annual player awards – the Canadian Players of the Year, the Canadian U-20 Players of the Year, the Canadian U-17 Players of the Year, and the Canadian Para Soccer Player of the Year – will be celebrated in December.
Ms. Leslie Blyth has helped the growth and development of the game of soccer at the local, provincial, and national level. She served as a board member with the Regina Soccer Association and later Saskatchewan Soccer Association. From 2007 to 2012, she served on the Canadian Soccer Association’s Competitions Committee. She then served as President of the Saskatchewan Soccer Association from 2012 to 2015.
Mr. Percy Hoff has served as long career as coach in Canada, serving at the club, provincial and national levels for more than 30 years. With Saskatoon Hollandia, he has coached teams from the adult to youth levels, winning provincial titles on both the men’s and women’s sides. In 2012, he led Saskatoon to a national bronze medal, the first Saskatchewan club to finish top three in the Jubilee Trophy women’s finals.
Ms. Jeannette Kuc has served Canadian Soccer and Saskatchewan Soccer for more than 20 years, serving in different roles as director, vice president, and president at the club, provincial, and national levels. She served as Saskatchewan Soccer Association president from 2006 until 2011 and served as a board member with the Canadian Soccer Association. She is a Saskatchewan Soccer Association Life Member and currently a board member with Sask Sport.
Mr. Michael “Huw” Morris has spent more than 40 years in Canada as a player and coach, serving in Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories. A long-time member of Saskatoon United, he was part of the first Saskatchewan side to reach the national final, winning a silver medal at the Challenge Trophy finals in 1982. He has since enjoyed a long coaching career and the club and provincial levels, currently serving as Technical Director of Saskatoon United.
Canada Soccer International Achievement Award
Ms. Carol Anne Chénard has served on the FIFA List of Referees for 11 years, one of just three Canadian female referees to serve for that many years. A referee since age 15 at Ottawa Gloucester SC, she made the national list at age 27 in 2005 and the FIFA List one year later in 2006. She has since refereed in both professional and international soccer. At the international level, she has been appointed to two editions of the FIFA Women’s World Cup finals and three editions of the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament, including the upcoming Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Ms. Suzanne Morisset has served on the FIFA List of Referees since 2008. A referee since age 13 in La Prairie, Québec, she was just 23 years old when she earned her national badge. She has since progressed at both the national and international levels, with appointments to numerous CONCACAF and FIFA youth competitions. After serving as an Assistant Referee at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Canada 2014, including the Final Match, she has since been appointed to both the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 and Rio 2016 Women’s Olympic Football Tournament.
Aubrey Sanford Meritorious Award
Mr. Andy Sharpe was a soccer player, coach, administrator, and director at the club, provincial, national, and international level, in fact serving as Canada Soccer’s 30th president from 2001 to 2005. Both a Saskatchewan Soccer and Canadian Soccer Life Member, he is an honoured member of the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame. As a player, he was part of the first Saskatchewan side to reach the national final, winning a silver medal with Saskatoon United at the Challenge Trophy finals in 1982. As a coach, he was part of the Winnipeg Fury staff that won the Canadian Soccer League title in 1992, the Mita Cup. During his tenure as President of the Canadian Soccer Association, Canada hosted the record-setting and inaugural FIFA U-19 World Championship and subsequently were awarded the FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007.
Mr. Kevan Pipe served as Canada Soccer’s ninth General Secretary, serving for more than 20 years from 1985 to 2006. During that time, Canada Soccer won three CONCACAF titles, twice on the men’s side and once on the women’s side, participated at the 1986 FIFA World Cup finals in Mexico, and participated in three FIFA Women’s World Cup finals, including a fourth-place finish at USA 2003. Canada Soccer successfully hosted both the FIFA U-16 World Tournament in 1987 and the inaugural FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championship in 2002, as well as won the rights to the FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007 which laid the groundwork for the construction of Canada’s national soccer stadium in Toronto, BMO Field.
Mr. Percy Hoff is well known in Canadian and Saskatchewan soccer circles, so much so that the City of Warman named one of their fields the Percy Hoff Soccer Field. A Canada Soccer “A” Licence coach, he has also served as a coaching instructor and has participated in several national youth team camps. The 1994 Saskatchewan Coach of the Year after winning his first provincial title, Mr. Hoff is a Saskatchewan Soccer Life Member and, earlier tonight, Canada Soccer Award of Merit winner. He is tonight one of two winners of the Canada Soccer President’s Award.
Mr. Kevin Holness has served Canada as a player and coach for more than 30 years, starring at the club, provincial, national, and international levels. He represented Canada at the FIFA U-16 World Tournament in 1987 – the first FIFA tournament hosted in Canada – and then won a gold medal at the Jeux de la Francophonie in 1989. He then won a national title in the Canadian Soccer League with Winnipeg Fury, capturing the 1992 Mita Cup. A member of both the Regina Sports Hall of Fame and Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame, he is currently Technical Director for Regina Soccer Association.
Share Article