Canada opens FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in Montréal

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The Canadian Soccer Association has announced that the Canadian leg of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ Qualifiers series against Saint Vincent & the Grenadines will take place on Friday 20 June 2008 at Stade Saputo in Montréal, QC. The match will kick off at 19.30.



“The Association, in collaboration with the Fédération de soccer du Québec and the Impact de Montréal, is happy to announce that the first FIFA World Cup™ Qualifiers match will be in Montréal at Stade Saputo,” says Dominic Maestracci, the Association’s Chairman of the Board. “This first match represents a new step in the relationship between the Canadian Soccer Association, the member associations and the professional clubs in Canada.”



Canada is facing Saint Vincent & the Grenadines in a two-match series in Stage II of CONCACAF qualifications for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. The first match will be played on 15 June in Kingstown, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines. The 20 June match will be the first-ever FIFA World Cup™ Qualifiers match hosted by the city of Montréal. The winner of the series will advance to a four-team semi-final round-robin group (Stage III) that will play six games from August to November.



“The City of Montreal and the whole province of Québec are very proud to host the very first home match of the Canadian men’s team as it starts on the road to qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™,” says Dino Madonis, president of the Quebec Soccer Federation.



Stade Saputo is a new 13,000-seat stadium built in the east end of Montréal in the heart of Olympic Park. The stadium is the home for the Impact de Montréal of the United Soccer Leagues First Division. The stadium will open on 19 May for a league match against the Vancouver Whitecaps.



Canada’s men’s national team last faced Saint Vincent & the Grenadines on 8 March 1985 in an international friendly in Kingstown. Canada won the match 2:1 under coach Tony Waiters in what was a preparatory match before four qualifying matches in April and May. Canada went on to qualify for the FIFA World Cup™ Mexico 1986 in September 1985, the first and only time Canada has qualified for the senior tournament.