Canadian women training in Vancouver

Canada’s women’s national team residency camp in Vancouver, BC continues to progress under head coach Even Pellerud. The players have been training steadily since returning from the Four Nations Tournament in China last month. The team will take a four-day break starting Thursday afternoon before returning to camp next Tuesday 19 February.



“The team’s participation at the Four Nations Tournament in China last month provided the international games we needed,” says coach Pellerud. “It was a great basis for assessing our team and our players.”



Canada’s women’s senior team is currently preparing for the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualification Tournament in early April 2008. The six-team tournament takes place in Mexico.



“The team played well, although we realised that our back four (defenders) needed to improve,” says Pellerud. “Since returning to camp, our defensive shape has been a high priority and daily sessions and weekly scrimmages against boys teams have certainly helped our defenders. We have also seen a higher number of recovering athletes returning to play, which has made it easier to maintain a high intensity level in all the team’s sessions.”



Canada’s women’s senior team – whose title sponsor is Winners – is working towards qualifying for this summer’s Olympic Football Tournament. Two teams from the CONCACAF region will qualify for the event in Beijing.