Canada Soccer Earns Brandon Hall Group Gold Award

As the official governing body for soccer in Canada, our mission is to foster the growth and development of the sport from grassroots to high performance. This commitment recently culminated in a moment of pride as Canada Soccer, in partnership with Neovation Learning Solutions, were awarded the prestigious Brandon Hall Group™ Gold Award for Excellence in the Best Blended Learning category.

On 22 August 2024, it was announced that Canada Soccer’s collaborative training initiative had been recognized among the best in the industry. This award is not just a testament to the effectiveness of the new training program, but a celebration of the hard work and innovative spirit shared between Canada Soccer and Neovation.

When Canada Soccer engaged Neovation, the objective was to revolutionize the way we train our community coaches and referees—over 32,000 dedicated individuals across 1,200 clubs in Canada. With soccer being the most played participatory team sport in the country, creating an accessible and impactful training program was essential.

Working closely with Neovation’s Custom Learning team, Canada Soccer transformed the existing in-person training content into an engaging blended learning experience. By leveraging their expertise, bite-sized, easy-to-digest modules were developed that maintained the integrity of our original curriculum. The result was a significant reduction in training time by 50%, leading to a significant increase in the number of coaches accessing the training.

Manager of Coach Education, Jim Louglin, explains: “The Neovation team put the eLearning courses into readable, bite-sized pieces where we didn’t lose the content or the intent of what we had.” 

This consistency across courses has enhanced the learning experience for Canadian coaches and referees, allowing them to access valuable training anytime and anywhere.

The Brandon Hall Group’s evaluation process is rigorous, considering factors like program design, user experience, and measurable impact. Being recognized alongside industry leaders validates Canada Soccer’s commitment to excellence in human capital management and highlights the innovative strategies being implemented to enhance the learning journey of our community.

As we look to the future, Canada Soccer will use this achievement as motivation to continue enhancing our training programs. This award is a reflection of our organization’s ongoing commitment to our members and the sport, and we are eager to explore new avenues for growth and development.

In partnership with Neovation, Canada Soccer is excited to keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in coach and referee education, ensuring that the beautiful game continues to thrive across Canada. This is just the beginning, and this honour is shared with our community and partners who make soccer in Canada a vibrant and inclusive sport for all.

Here’s to more successes on and off the pitch!