Breagha Carr-Harris’ First 60 Days

As part of Canada Soccer’s renewed commitment to provide more regular updates, informing fans of matters pertaining to Canada Soccer’s National Teams, and the state of soccer in Canada, the organisation released another update. 
 
Canada Soccer’s Head of Women’s Professional Soccer, Breagha Carr-Harris, was hired on 7 May, 2022 and has already had a busy few months since her appointment. In the midst of Phase 1 of her new role, Breagha has spent a significant portion of her first two months on foundational acumen and global research, including interviewing key stakeholders, building relationships and examining global soccer strategies within the women’s game. 
 
“The amount of support and interest around the development of a Canadian pro women’s ecosystem has been tremendous so far,” said Breagha Carr-Harris, Canada Soccer’s Head of Women’s Professional Soccer. “The women’s game is an essential piece of the soccer landscape in Canada and the work so far is being anchored on finding ways to build a sustainable growth model designed specifically for the women’s game.”
 
In her initial conversations, Carr-Harris has received diverse opinions on the proposed way forward for the women’s game. Interviews at this early stage have included: Bev Priestman, Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team Head Coach; Staff from the Women’s National Team; former members of the Women’s National Team; technical and operational staff from Canada Soccer; professional clubs in membership of Canada Soccer; Canadian Soccer Business; and League1 Canada.
 
“I want to thank Breagha for hitting the ground running, and for her continued commitment to building the future of women’s soccer in our country,” said Dr. Nick Bontis, Canada Soccer President. “The important work being done today will act as a foundation for what is going to be an exciting future for our sport.”
 
During Phase 1, the emphasis has been on what Carr-Harris is calling “a national listening tour” where listening, learning, identifying the best practices and establishing what the Canadian identity will look like has been at the core of her first 60 days on the job. 
 
Carr-Harris will soon shift her focus to three key areas: creating the inaugural Women’s Professional Soccer Task Force, which will draw on support from exceptional industry experts; understanding the women’s pro-soccer Canadian identity; and taking a deeper dive into existing best practices from around the globe that share similarities with the Canadian experience. 
 
This work will be guided by a seven-phase framework:
 
•   Phase 1: Research and Methodology 
•   Phase 2: International Benchmarking
•   Phase 3: Financial Modelling
•   Phase 4: Development
•   Phase 5: Standards and Sanctioning
•   Phase 6: Pre-Execution / Pre-Launch
•   Phase 7: Launch
 
Carr-Harris joined Canada Soccer with 15 years of broad-based experience as a sports professional, having worked with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) across all six brands (Toronto FC, Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, Toronto Argonauts, Toronto Marlies, and Raptors 905). As an NCCP certified coach, Carr-Harris brings to the role more than 10 years of experience as a coach with youth and university level teams. A retired university level soccer player, Carr-Harris’ professional experience spans a range of key operational areas within the professional game from a technical focus on sport development and match operations, to relationship management through membership engagement and player relationship management.

This update is part of a renewed Canada Soccer communications effort, meant to increase awareness and transparency for fans and Canadians during some of the most important months in the organisation’s history.