Christine O’Connor and Leeta Sokalski honoured by the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame

Christine O’Connor and Leeta Sokalski have been named to the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2024. O’Connor and Sokalski are the first two female administrators ever honoured in the Builders category of the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame and they will be celebrated on Saturday 4 May during Canada Soccer’s Annual Awards Banquet.

“This is an important milestone for our sport as we honour the first two female Builders inducted to the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame,” said Charmaine Crooks, Canada Soccer President. “Christine O’Connor and Leeta Sokalski were pioneers for the women’s game in the 1980s, but they grew into remarkable leaders across multiple decades and they’ve left a lasting legacy for our sport from the local game to the national level and beyond.”

The Canada Soccer Hall of Fame celebrates the individual and team achievements and traditions in the game of soccer in Canada. Since 2000, the Hall has already welcomed 142 players, 13 coaches, 10 officials, and 45 builders as honoured members. Honoured members, by their achievements and passion, have made a positive impact to soccer in Canada and have left a legacy for the sport in our country and around the world.

CLASS OF 2024

O’Connor was a Manitoba Soccer President from 2010 to 2012 during which time she helped lobby Winnipeg  to become an Official Host City for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015. In Winnipeg, that record-setting tournament drew 194,632 cumulative spectators across seven matches, hosted 33 training matches on three community fields, and generated combined $78.3 million in industry output for the province and municipality. Her time as Manitoba Soccer President was the highlight to her lengthy administrative career at the club, league and provincial level. She has since been honoured as a Manitoba Soccer Life Member.

An honoured member of both the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Manitoba Soccer Hall of Fame, O’Connor was the first female Board Member of Manitoba Soccer in 1983 when she also served as the first President of the Manitoba Women’s Soccer League. She was then at the heart of organisation for Canada Soccer’s first Women’s National Team in 1986 and served as the program’s first tour manager from 1986 to 1990.

Sokalski was a BC Soccer President and later a Canada Soccer Board Member, but her first big role came in the newly established Metro Women’s Soccer League in the early 1980s, which grew to 72 clubs across as many as five divisions. The league brought together the best players from across British Columbia and was considered one of the best major leagues for women’s soccer in the country. During her time with the league, the first BC Soccer Women’s Provincial Championship was established in 1982 and Canada Soccer’s first National Team was formed in 1986. She also served on Canada Soccer’s Women’s Advisory Board.

Later honoured as a BC Soccer Life Member, she was President of BC Soccer from 1987-1990 and she was part of the task force that led to the amalgamation of the BC Soccer Association and the BC Youth Soccer Association. She served BC Soccer as the Treasurer from 1990 to 1998, a Board Member in 1999-2000, and a Vice-President from 2000-01 to 2001-02. She served on Canada Soccer’s Board of Directors from 2003-04 to 2005-06.

The Canada Soccer Hall of Fame honours athletes, coaches, referees and builders of the game in Canada. As part of our sport’s Heritage and Hall of Fame, Canada Soccer celebrates individual and team achievements as well as the traditions in the game in Canada, both protecting and preserving the history of Canadian soccer.