Edmonton Will Host T and T Game

Ottawa, Ontario – The Canadian Soccer Association is pleased to formally announce the opening match of Canada’s Men’s World Cup team semi-final play vs Trinidad & Tobago will be held at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium on Sunday July 16 at 6:00 pm local time.

“We are pleased to return to the City of Edmonton and to Commonwealth Stadium for this critical opening match against one of the most improved and exciting teams in our Confederation,” stated CSA President Jim Fleming. “We know this will be a most challenging round for all four teams and we are confident of our chances to be one of the two squads to emerge from this round on November 15 when play is complete.”

The possibility of staging this match was confirmed last week when stadium authorities guaranteed a natural grass pitch of at least 64 meters in width would be in existence.

Local Organising Committee Chair John Gill, a prominent Edmonton lawyer with both soccer and corporate connections, has confirmed significant interest in the match within the soccer community. “I am very pleased with the reactions so far with our initial preparations for this game,” confirmed Gill. “With Canada as defending Confederation Champion and now riding a 15-game unbeaten string during the past year, the timing is perfect to stage this game during the peak of summer.”

Barring unforeseen injuries, Canada is expected to be at full strength for this critical opening game against a T&T side which should feature the likes Dwight Yorke, the Manchester United striker who is generally regarded as one of the top goalscorers in the world today. An interesting note is the possibility of three club teammates potentially facing each other; goalkeepers Craig Forrest and Shaka Hislop from West Ham United, Jim Brennan and Stern John from Nottingham Forest and Paul Fenwick and Russell Latapy from Hibernian of Scotland.

CSA is also pleased to announce attractive first-come/first served ticket prices for the match which are all now available via Ticketmaster. Early bird prices until Canada Day for the best seats in the stadium are available for $19 (plus city surcharges and GST), group discounts are available at 15%.