Tony Fonseca: new High Performance Director – Men’s

The Canadian Soccer Association is pleased to announce today that Tony Fonseca has been named High Performance Director – Men’s.

In this newly created role, he will be responsible for expanding and enhancing the development of high performance programming in Canada for the Men’s National Team Program from U-15 through to the U-20 levels as well as the Futsal and Beach Programs. Fonseca will also continue in his role as the Men’s Olympic (U-23) Team Head Coach and Assistant Coach to the Men’s Senior National Team.
“We are excited to have such an experienced authority in international soccer as both a player and coach enhance his current role with the Canadian Soccer Association in such an important portfolio,” commented Canadian Soccer Association General Secretary Peter Montopoli. He added that “the true value of having Tony join our senior management team is that he not only has the international experience but is one of the country’s top technical minds that will bring our game to the next level.”
A former Portuguese international with playing experience at the top levels of European soccer including participation in the UEFA Champions League, Fonseca began his youth career in 1978 with S.L. Olivais and moved on to famed club S.L. Benfica at both the youth and senior levels. He moved to Canada in 1999 to play for the Vancouver 86ers before starting his coaching career in 2000 following his retirement as a player. He became Head Coach of the Vancouver Whitecaps in 2002 and took on the role of the organization’s Technical Director in 2004. Fonseca holds a Canadian Soccer Association License A Coach certification.
“I believe in the potential for soccer in this country and am honored to have the opportunity to play a key role in influencing its development and ultimately Canada’s performance on the international stage,” commented Fonseca. “I look forward to working with our provincial partners, National Training Centres and professional teams to ensure that the pathway for player development ultimately leads Canada to success on the pitch within CONCACAF and FIFA.”
With Canada’s National Teams, Fonseca served as Assistant Coach at the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup (Canada reached the semi-final stage), the 2008 CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualification Tournament (the team finished third), the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup (Canada reached the quarter-final stage) and most recently at the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup and Round 2 of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Brazil. He has also served as Canada’s Head Coach at the 2009 Jeux de la Francophonie in Beirut, LIB and the 2009 CONCACAF Men’s U-20 Championship in Port of Spain, TRI.