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Women's National Team September 21, 2023

Canada ready for start of Concacaf W Olympic Play-In series in Jamaica

#CANWNT

Just two matches separate Canada from a return to the Olympic Games next summer as the historic Concacaf W Olympic Play-In series kicks off this Friday night away in Kingston, Jamaica. Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team are up against Jamaica in a two-match, total goals series that wraps up Tuesday 26 September when the two nations meet in front of a sold-out crowd in Toronto, presented by CIBC & Visa.
 
“We all are itching to get back on the pitch and we want nothing more than to start our journey to the Olympic Games through these playoffs,” said Bev Priestman, Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team Head Coach. “We know it will be a tough challenge in front of us and it won’t be easy, but we are ready to rise to that challenge, the group feels fresh and excited, and we’re ready to go.”

Both matches will be broadcast live in Canada on OneSoccer with the Friday night match starting at 20.00 ET / 17.00 PT (19.00 local) and the Tuesday night match starting at 19.00 ET / 16.00 PT (19.00 local). OneSoccer is available on the fuboTV Canada platform, as a linear channel on Telus’s Optik TV (Channel 980), as well as online at OneSoccer.ca and through the OneSoccer app.  Fans will find extended coverage across Canada Soccer’s digital channels on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube featuring the hashtag #CANWNT.
 
This marks the first-ever Concacaf two-nation playoff for a spot at the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament. Canada, the reigning Olympic champions, qualified for the playoff after they reached the Final at the 2022 Concacaf W Championship. Jamaica, who have now featured at back-to-back FIFA World Cups, qualified for the playoff after they finished in third place.

This marks the first-time ever that Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team will play in Jamaica. The evening match set for Kingston’s National Soccer Stadium will also be the first competitive away match in the Caribbean since the inaugural Concacaf W Championship back in 1991.
 
Since the FIFA World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, Canada’s players have been back at their professional clubs with most of them either at the tail end of the 2023 National Women’s Soccer League season or the start of their 2023-24 season in Europe. The week-long camp in the heat of Florida ahead of the Concacaf matches has provided Canada with a reset to their international season on the road to the Olympic Games.
 
So far, only four nations have qualified for the Paris 2024 Women’s Olympic Football Tournament: hosts France, Concacaf champions USA, and CONMEBOL’s top-two nations Brazil and Colombia. Unlike the Men’s Football Tournament which features 16 nations, only 12 nations will qualify for the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament which means that only the one spot remains for a Concacaf nation.
 
From the two-match Canada-Jamaica series, the nation that scores the most goals across two matches will qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. If both nations have scored the same number of goals, then the nation with the most away goals will advance as the series winner. If both nations are tied on goals scored and tied on away goals, then 30 minutes of extra time will be played and, if necessary, potentially kicks from the penalty mark to decide the series winner.
 
To date, the two sides have met nine times at the international “A” level, be it the Concacaf Championship, Concacaf Olympic Qualifiers, or the Pan American Games. The last meeting was the Concacaf Semifinals at the 2022 Concacaf W Championship when Canada reached the Final with a 3:0 win. Since the Concacaf W Championship, Jamaica have posted an international record of four wins, three draws and eight losses while Canada have posted an international record of seven wins, one draw and five losses.

CANADA SOCCER’S WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM
Canada are Olympic champions (Tokyo in 2021), two-time bronze medal winners (2012 and 2016), and two-time Concacaf champions (1998 and 2010). In all, Canada have participated in eight consecutive editions of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ (1995 to 2023) and four consecutive editions of the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament (2008 to 2021). At Tokyo 2020, Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team became the first Canadian team to win three consecutive medals at the Summer Olympic Games and just the third nation in the world to win three medals in women’s soccer.
 
Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Youth Teams, meanwhile, have won four Concacaf youth titles: the 2004 and 2008 Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship, the 2010 Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Championship, and the 2014 Concacaf Girls’ Under-15 Championship. Canada have qualified for nine editions of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup (including a silver medal at Canada 2002) and all seven editions of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup (including a fourth-place finish at Uruguay 2018).