Canada looking forward to home crowd

Canada’s women’s national team is looking forward to playing in front of a home crowd on Thursday 30 September. The Canadian team will be playing a Women’s International Friendly match on Thursday at BMO Field in Toronto. The match, presented by Winners, will feature Canada against long-time international rival China PR.



Tickets for the match (19.30 local kickoff) start at just $15 and are available via Ticketmaster (Ticketmaster.ca / 416.872.5000), the BMO Field box office and the Ontario Soccer Association (for group sales, contact Jamie Smith – jsmith@soccer.on.ca).



“It is a different feeling to have the crowd on your side,” said Diana Matheson. “We have played in front of some good crowds (recently) in Germany and China, but it is different when the fans are cheering for you. It will be exciting for us.”



The Canadian Soccer Association has made a commitment to playing more international matches on home soil. Earlier this month, Canada hosted two Men’s International Friendly matches – one at BMO Field on 4 September and the other at Stade Saputo on 7 September.



In 2011, Canada already has a commitment to host Germany in a Women’s International Friendly match after the FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011. Canada has also won the rights to host the 2012 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualification Tournament.



With more home matches come more home camps. On Wednesday 29 September, the women’s national team announced that it would host its next national camp from 4-14 October at the Nottawasaga Inn & Resort in Alliston, ON. The Canadian team is currently preparing for the 2010 CONCACAF Women’s World Cup Qualifier. As with all of coach Carolina Morace’s camps, the training sessions will be open to fans, coaches and media alike.



The October camp marks the 12th project hosted by Canada’s national teams in 2010. From January to September, Canada has featured camps in British Columbia (Victoria, Surrey), Ontario (Toronto, Vaughan, Alliston, Milton), and Québec (Montréal, Laval).



As for Thursday 30 September, the Canadian team is looking forward to a pro Canadian crowd in front of family, friends and fans from Toronto and the surrounding areas. The match will also be broadcast on Rogers Sportsnet East and Rogers Sportsnet Ontario.