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The Canadian Soccer Association announced today that Christine Sinclair is the female selection for the 2009 Canadian Players of the Year award. Sinclair was honoured in a vote shared by Canadian media (50%) and Canadian coaches who have taken the Canadian Soccer Association’s national course at the B and A levels (50%).
L’Association canadienne de soccer a annoncé aujourd’hui que Christine Sinclair a été nommée la Joueuse canadienne seniore de l’année de la saison de soccer 2009. Sinclair a mérité l’honneur d’avoir été élu à la suite des nominations de la part des entraîneurs des équipes nationales (50 %) et de la part des entraîneurs canadiens qui ont suivi des cours de formation nationale (niveaux « A » et « B ») de l’Association canadienne de soccer (50 %).
The Canadian Soccer Association announced today that Nana Attakora and Chelsea Stewart have been named Canadian U-20 Players of the Year for the 2009 soccer season. The two stars were honoured in a vote shared by national-team coaches (50%) and Canadian coaches who have taken the Canadian Soccer Association’s national course at the B and A levels (50%).
Stewart split her 2009 international season between Canada’s national and U-20 teams. She made six appearances at the national level under new head coach Carolina Morace, making her debut on 5 March 2009 at the Cyprus Women’s Cup. At the women’s U-20 level, she made four appearances as Canada began preparations for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Germany 2010. She served as a team captain at the U-20 level.
Canada remains the fifth ranked team amongst CONCACAF nations on the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking. Canada has 573 points and is ranked 56th on the world ranking, one place better than a month ago. Canada trails USA, Mexico, Honduras and Costa Rica within its own confederation.
The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings looks at each country’s international results from the last four years. The ranking takes into account the result, the importance of the match, the strength of the opponent, the regional strength, the time period, and the number of matches per year.
Canadian teenagers Russell Teibert and Abigail Raymer have been named Canadian U-17 Players of the Year for the 2009 soccer season. The two stars were honoured in a vote shared by national-team coaches (50%) and Canadian coaches who have taken the Canadian Soccer Association’s national course at the B and A levels (50%).
Raymer is a member of Canada’s women’s U-17 team. She took part in the Canadian team’s first camp in October as the team began preparations for the 2010 CONCACAF Women’s Under-17 Championship in March. She started the 2009 season as a member of the Canadian Soccer Association’s National Training Centre in British Columbia, but also as part of Gordon Head Gold in the Lower Island Soccer Association’s 2008-09 Premier League. For the 2009-10 season, she joined the Vancouver Whitecaps FC Prospects development team.
Silvana Burtini, Gordie Ion and Dr. Walter Thomson head the list of 2010 inductees to The Soccer Hall of Fame. The three players will be inducted next year along with builders Brian Avey (executive) and Stuart Brown (coach). Also to be honoured is John Russell for the Pioneer Award, the 1976 Toronto Metros-Croatia for the Team of Distinction, and the Vancouver Firefighters for a new team award that celebrates notable success over many years.
The Canadian Soccer Association concluded its December Board of Directors meeting on Sunday 6 December in Montréal, QC. Highlights from the meeting included the approval of the Association’s 2010 budget, the approval in principal of the new governance framework, and the unanimous approval of Stephen Hart’s hiring as the new national head coach.
Of note, the approved budget promises greater programming for Canada’s national youth and development teams in 2010. That schedule not only includes the men’s and women’s U-20 and U-17 programs that will all take part in qualification matches this year, but also the renewed youth and Olympic development programs. In all, there will be 10 national programs in operation this coming year.
The Canadian Soccer Association announced today that Stephen Hart has been appointed head coach of Canada’s national team. Hart will be in charge of Canada’s qualification efforts as Canada works toward the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™.
“Stephen Hart is the man in charge with the task to lead Canada to the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil,” said Canadian Soccer Association president Dr. Dominic Maestracci. “He delivers an exciting brand of football that has proven to be successful against our CONCACAF opponents. He will have full support of our country as he builds a winning team that will qualify us for Brazil in four years time.”
The third phase of ticket sales for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ is underway at FIFA.com. Fans can purchase tickets to the world’s biggest tournament in this third sales phase from 5 December 2009 to 22 January 2010.
“It’s traditionally by far the most important sales phase, as the world’s football fans will by then know who will be playing whom in the group matches,” said Horst R. Schmidt, chairman of the Ticketing Sub-Committee, ahead of the start of the next sales phase.
