Hall of Fame

The Canada Soccer Hall of Fame honours Canadian Players that have played the game with excellence at the international and club level. To be eligible, a player must have played professional, semi-professional, major amateur, and/or international football for a minimum of 10 years, unless special exception is granted by Canada Soccer’s General Secretary.

Players must not have played for any other Member Association national soccer team, at any level, unless a change of Association, in accordance with FIFA Statutes, to Canada Soccer was granted. From the years in which Canada did not play international football, the player must be a Canadian citizen and/or hold a Canadian passport.

To be eligible for the Nomination List of Modern Canadian Players, a player must have been previously active for at least one season the past 15 years and retired from competitive football (all competitions, club and country) for at least five years. A player can only be eligible for the nomination list of Modern Canadian Players for a maximum of 10 years (from five years after retirement until 15 years after retirement).

To be nominated, a player must be in good standing with the Canadian Soccer Association and must have either:

• Played 10 or more seasons of football at the professional and/or international level and participated in at least two cycles of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers with at least one official international “A” match played in each of those four-year cycles (FIFA World Cup, Concacaf Gold Cup, Olympic Football Tournament)
• OR have been inducted into a provincial sport or provincial soccer Hall of Fame

The Nomination List for Modern Canadian Players will be confirmed in the first week of each calendar year (published in the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame section on CanadaSoccer.com). For a player to remain on the nomination list of Modern Canadian Players, that player must receive at least one vote every two years. Any player that does not receive any votes in three successive voting years will be dropped from the nomination list.

Under these guidelines, to be eligible for the Nomination List of Modern Canadian Players in 2027, a player must have been previously active for at least one season between 2013 and 2022 and they must have been retired from professional and international football (all competitions, club and country) for at least five years (they were not active as a player in 2023).

The Voting Group for Modern Canadian Players will consist of 15-23 voters. With the exception of honoured members of the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame and the Chair of the Hall of Fame committee, any person currently or recently appointed to another Canada Soccer committee within the last three years is not eligible to vote on Modern Canadian Players.

The Voting Group will include:

• 1 Chair of the Hall of Fame Committee
• 4-6 alumni Men’s National Team
• 4-6 alumni Women’s National Team
• 2 retired International Referees (one male, one female)
• 1 active Men’s National Team (1 non-Technical)
• 1 active Women’s National Team (1 non-Technical)
• 6 media (mix, all from different outlets including news agency and TV/radio)

From each year’s nomination list, an eligible voter can select up to three men’s football players and up to three women’s football players. Each blank or non-vote will be counted against the overall totals (five points, three points, one point).

Male Footballers

• 5 points for 1st place vote (male footballers)
• 3 points for 2nd place vote (male footballers)
• 1 point for 3rd place vote (male footballers)

Female Footballers

• 5 points for 1st place vote (female footballers)
• 3 points for 2nd place vote (female footballers)
• 1 point for 3rd place vote (female footballers)

Each blank or non-vote will be counted against the overall totals (five points, three points, one point)

Players that are no longer eligible for the nomination list of Modern Canadian Players may be considered as Past Canadian Players at least 25 years after their retirement (which is at least 10 years after they were last eligible for the nomination list of Modern Canadian Players). The Canada Soccer Hall of Fame may produce a candidates list of Past Canadian Players every few years, but mostly on special occasions and not necessarily on an annual basis.

In future years, the Canada Soccer Heritage & Hall of Fame Committee may continue to consider retired Canadian players who are no longer eligible as Modern Canadian Players, including: candidates from the late 1960s through 1980s, and candidates from the pre-WW2 era, notably those that starred in Canada’s major leagues.

The Canada Soccer Hall of Fame honours Canadian Referees, Coaches-Managers, and Builders that have served soccer with distinction over an extended period.

The Canada Soccer Heritage & Hall of Fame Committee will manage the long list of nominations and determine, on an annual basis, the final list of nominations that will be presented to the Voting Group for Canadian Referees, Coaches-Managers, and Builders.

A person can not be honoured more than once, which means that a person already inducted as a Canadian Player will not be inducted as a Canadian referee, coach/manager, or builder.

To be eligible for the nomination list as a Canadian referee, the individual must have served at the international level for 10 or more seasons. A Canadian referee may be considered five years after their retirement as an active referee at the international or national level (be it as a referee or assistant referee but not counting their appointment as a video assistant referee).

To be eligible for the nomination list as a coach/manager, the individual must have served as a coach/manager for 15 or more seasons. A coach/manager may be considered after their 60th birthday or at least three years after their passing.

To be eligible for the nomination list as a builder, the individual must have served Canadian soccer at the international, national, or provincial level for 25 or more seasons. A builder may be considered after their 60th birthday or at least three years after their passing.

Nominations for Canadian Referees, Coaches-Managers and Builders can be made by Canada Soccer and/or its Member Associations. To be nominated, a person must be in good standing with Canada Soccer and the nominating Member Association. From the list of nominations, the Canada Soccer Heritage & Hall of Fame Committee will establish a final nomination list of 6-15 persons in the first month of each calendar year. The final nomination list is ratified by the Canada Soccer General Secretary.

For a referee, coach/manager, or builder to remain on the nomination list, that person must receive at least one vote every two voting years. Any person that does not receive any votes in three successive voting years will be dropped from the nomination list. If dropped, the nominated person cannot reappear on the ballot for at least the next two voting years.

A separate Voting Group for Canadian Referees, Coaches-Managers, and Builders may include 6-12 persons. From each year’s nomination list, an eligible voter can select up to three persons. In a typical year, only one person will be selected for induction from the collected votes (unless otherwise recommended by the Heritage & Hall of Fame Committee and approved by the Canada Soccer General Secretary in advance of the voting period). Each blank or non-vote will be counted against the overall totals (five points, three points, one point).

Canadian Referees, Coaches-Managers, Builders

• 5 points for 1st place vote
• 3 points for 2nd place vote
• 1 point for 3rd place vote

The above voting structure was established for the period of 2026 to 2028 after which the Canada Soccer Heritage & Hall of Fame Committee may suggest changes to the voting structure.

The Canada Soccer Hall of Fame may, in exceptional cases, consider removal, suspension, annulment, exclusion or cessation of its honoured members.

The Canada Soccer Hall of Fame may consider removal, suspension, annulment, exclusion, or cessation of an honoured member if that member brings the game into disrepute. The final decision for removal, suspension, annulment, exclusion, or cessation of an honoured member must be ratified by the Canada Soccer General Secretary.

An honoured member’s status in the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame will be reviewed by the Heritage & Hall of Fame committee if they are considered to have:

• seriously and/or repeatedly violated the Canada Soccer By-laws, Rules and Regulations, Code of Conduct and Ethics, Disciplinary Code, policies or decisions of Canada Soccer and/or the Statutes, regulations, directives or decisions by FIFA or Concacaf;
• is convicted of a criminal offence under the Criminal Code of Canada or any other domestic or international criminal statute.

Under outstanding circumstances, a former honoured member that withdraws by request from the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame may be reconsidered for induction no less than 15 years after his or her status was annulled. In such a case, the re-nomination of such a person must be ratified by the Canada Soccer General Secretary.