Canada welcomes China to Alliston

Canada’s women’s national team welcomed China PR on Sunday 26 September at the Nottawasaga Inn & Resort near Alliston, ON. Canada has been training daily at Nottawasaga since last week, but incorporated a training visit from China PR in its Sunday session. The two nations meet this Thursday 30 September in a Women’s International Friendly match at BMO Field in Toronto, ON.



The 30 September Women’s International Friendly match, presented by Winners, kicks off at 19.30 local (19.30 ET / 16.30 PT). Tickets for the match start at just $15 and are available via Ticketmaster (Ticketmaster.ca / 416.872.5000), the BMO Field box office and the Ontario Soccer Association (for group sales – contact Jamie Smith – JSmith@soccer.on.ca).



Still missing from the Canadian camp are Christine Sinclair, Candace Chapman, and Karina LeBlanc – all three of whom dressed for the Women’s Professional Soccer Championship on Sunday 26 September. Sinclair and Chapman helped FC Gold Pride win 4:0 over LeBlanc and the visiting Philadelphia Independence (LeBlanc did not feature). Sinclair scored two goals in the match, including the championship-winning goal just 13 minutes into the first half.



Following the WPS Championship, all three players are now on their way to Canada.



Also added to the Canadian camp this weekend was Diamond Simpson of the Dixie Dragons. The 17-year old midfielder is called into the full national camp for the first time. She recently competed in her second FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup earlier in the month.



Canada, whose title sponsor is Winners and presenting sponsor is Teck, is currently preparing for the 2010 CONCACAF Women’s World Cup Qualifier. Canada is looking to qualify for a fifth-consecutive FIFA Women’s World Cup (1995, 1999, 2003, 2007 and hopefully Germany 2011).