Canada Soccer celebrates excellence through 2023 award winners

Atiba Hutchinson was recognised with the Canada Soccer President’s Award at the annual awards banquet following the 2023 Annual Meeting of the Members in Saint John, New Brunswick. Hutchinson was honoured for his outstanding efforts in leading Canada back to the men’s FIFA World Cup for the first time in 36 years by Canada Soccer President Charmaine Crooks.

The Canada Soccer Awards Banquet celebrates excellent individuals on an annual basis for their service and dedication to the game. This year’s list of award recipients included Francine Mérette for the Aubrey Sanford Meritorious Service Award, Dr. Clare Rustad for the Brian Budd Award, Drew Fischer for the Ray Morgan Memorial Award, and Sylvie Béliveau for the Tony Waiters Coaching Excellence Award.

John Eatmon from New Brunswick was honoured with the Award of Merit while the family of the late Sam Donaghey was honoured for his recent induction to the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame. Six clubs were also recognised as Canada Soccer Organisations of Distinction and will be further celebrated locally in their respective provinces: North Shore United FC from British Columbia, Edmonton Ital-Canadians SC from Alberta, CNSC Croatia Windsor and West Indies United Toronto from Ontario, Lakeshore SC from Québec, and Feildians AA St. John’s from Newfoundland Labrador.

Canada Soccer’s 2023 Annual Meeting of the Members was the organisation’s 103rd since the Association was formed on 24 May 1912, with the first-ever meeting of the Dominion of Canada Football Association held in Winnipeg from 9-13 July 1912.

CANADA SOCCER PRESIDENT’S AWARD – ATIBA HUTCHINSON

The Canada Soccer President’s Award provides recognition and appreciation to a person’s outstanding and unique efforts for an extended period of time, resulting in the positive and constructive development at the national level across Canada.

Captain Atiba Hutchinson was the beating heart of a nation as Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team returned to the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 36 years. He led Canada to a first-place finish in the Concacaf Final Round of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers with 14 wins, four draws and just two losses across 20 matches in three rounds. A six-time Canada Soccer Player of the Year, Hutchinson set Men’s National Team records along the way for most international “A” appearances, most starts, most minutes played, most wins, most matches in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, and oldest goalscorer. At the FIFA World Cup, he featured in all three matches and made his 100th career international appearance on 27 November in Al Rayyan. Now in his 22nd international “A” season, he has made appearances for Canada in 37 different nations around the world.

AUBREY SANFORD MERITORIOUS SERVICE AWARD – FRANCINE MÉRETTE

The Aubrey Sanford Meritorious Award recognises a person’s outstanding service and overall contribution to soccer or to any one of or more of the game’s aspects – refereeing, coaching, playing, or administration.

Francine Mérette’s kind and caring soul made sure that everyone felt part of the Canada Soccer family. She was a dedicated employee for more than 25 years and her wealth of knowledge was beneficial to the organisation and especially the finance department where she worked countless hours to ensure that everything was always in order and up to date. She guided Canada Soccer financially through multiple cycles of FIFA World Cups and Olympic Games as well as international competition both at home and abroad, not to mention the regular day-to-day financial administration for the organisation. She was also very often one of the welcoming faces of Canada Soccer that greeted stakeholders in the game before the start of Annual Meetings across the country.

TONY WAITERS COACHING EXCELLENCE AWARD – SYLVIE BÉLIVEAU

The Tony Waiters Coaching Excellence Award recognises a person’s overall contribution to coaching in Canada for a minimum of 20 years.

A long-time technical leader in the game, Sylvie Béliveau successfully led Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team to their first FIFA World Cup in 1995 after a second-place finish at the 1994 Concacaf Championship. After four years in charge of Canada, Béliveau went on to serve as Canada Soccer’s Director for Women’s Soccer and later served as the organisation’s Long-Term Player Development Manager. On the world stage, she served on the Technical Study Group for five consecutive FIFA World Cups (USA 1999 to Canada 2015) as well as three Olympic Football Tournaments (2004, 2012, 2016). At the highest honour, she was the first female coach ever inducted to the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame.

RAY MORGAN MEMORIAL AWARD – DREW FISCHER

The Ray Morgan Memorial Award is presented to the referee who has shown the greatest progress at the national and international levels.

Now a two-time recipient of the Ray Morgan Memorial Award, Drew Fischer was appointed as a Video Assistant Referee for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. He was appointed to 11 matches including the Round of 16, Quarterfinals and Semifinals. In the last four years, he has been appointed in a similar role to the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019, the FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019, and two FIFA Club World Cups. Later this year, Fischer will serve as a Video Assistant Referee at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023.

BRIAN BUDD AWARD – Dr. CLARE RUSTAD

The Brian Budd Award recognizes outstanding individuals who have excelled both in soccer and in another endeavor, be it in sport or public life. The individual must exemplify good character, accomplishments, dedication and provide inspiration to present and future generations.

Olympian Dr. Clare Rustad returned home after her international football career and has since opened her practice as a family physician at the Saltspring Island Health Centre. On the football pitch, Rustad spent 10 years with Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team, notably winning two Concacaf medals and helping Canada reach the Quarter-Finals at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. She also won a youth silver medal at the FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championship in 2002 and then helped Vancouver Whitecaps FC win the USL W-League Championship in 2004. Beyond the pitch, she served as a member of the National Organising Committee for the record-setting FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 and was part of TSN’s broadcast coverage for the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019.

AWARD of MERIT – JOHN EATMON

The Canada Soccer Award of Merit recognises the efforts of those persons who have made a significant contribution to the sport of soccer in Canada in the area of promotion, growth and development.

John Eatmon has been involved in the game at both the national and provincial level for several decades, notably serving as a Canada Soccer National Referee Instructor for more than 10 years.  As a former referee, he was a recipient of the Soccer NB Referee of the Year award in 1995.

ORGANISATIONS OF DISTINCTION

Six Canadian soccer clubs from five different provinces have been recognised as Organisations of Distinction. These six clubs all made a positive impact on the game at the national, provincial, and/or community level and were established more than 50 years ago. The six Organisations of Distinction are: North Shore United FC, Edmonton Ital Canadians SC, CNSC Croatia Windsor, West Indies United Toronto, Lakeshore SC, and Feildians AA St. John’s.