.svg){kind=icon}
The Canadian Soccer Association announced today the list of nominees for its 2008 player awards. Canadian media and coaches will be asked to select two players – one male and one female – for the Canadian Soccer Association’s top prize, the adidas Canadian Players of the Year award. The award will celebrate Canada’s top-two soccer players in recognition of their 2008 achievements with both the national team and their respective club teams.
In 2008, Canada’s women’s national team made its first appearance at the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament. It reached the quarter-final stage before losing to the United States in extra time. Along the way, it won the Cyprus Cup and finished second at the Peace Queen Cup. In 24 games (an Association high), Canada posted a record of 10 wins, seven draws and seven losses. Canada’s title partner is Winners while its presenting partner is Teck.
Ali Gerba was named professional soccer player of the year at the annual awards gala hosted by the Fédération de soccer du Québec. Gerba, who finished the season with MK Dons in England, was named the 2008 award winner ahead of finalists Patrice Bernier and Nevio Pizzolito.
Gerba was one of a number of award winners on the night. Olivier Lacoste-Lebuis (male) and Rhian Wilkinson (female) were named senior players of excellence while Francesco Augustin (male) and Geneviève Richard (female) were named youth players of excellence.
Eighteen Canadian youth players have been named recipients of the Impact de Montréal’s 2008 athletic excellence bursary program (the Fondation de l’athlète d’excellence du Québec). The program now promises $90,000 over the next three years, $27,000 of which will be split by the 18 players recognised at this Saturday’s Fédération de soccer du Quebec annual general meeting.
“We are excited with this partnership renewal, which will allow the expansion of the Impact de Montréal bursary program for the next three years,” said Claude Chagnon, president of the Fondation de l’athlète d’excellence du Québec. “This not only represents significant financial support for the young recipients, but it also serves as a major source of motivation, encouraging athletes to pursue their dreams and strive for excellence.”
Neil Ellett, John Limniatis, Joan McEachern and Mike Stojanovic head the list of 2009 inductees to The Soccer Hall of Fame. The four players will be inducted next 6 June along with builders Bob Sawtell (referee), Derek Wisdom (administrator) and Colin Jose (historian). Also to be honoured is Pioneer Award winner, the late Ted Slade, and the Team of Distinction Award winner, the 1986 Canadian FIFA World Cup™ team.
Limniatis represented Canada in three FIFA World Cup™ Qualifiers campaigns and three CONCACAF Gold Cup competitions. He made 44 appearances for the national team between 1987 and 1997. He played professional soccer in Canada, the United States and Greece and was an original member of the Impact de Montréal. McEachern represented Canada at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Sweden 1995, Canada’s first-ever appearance in the women’s world championship. She made 32 appearances for the national team between 1987 and 1995 and was a two-time Jubilee Trophy winner with the Edmonton Angels in club football.
The Newfoundland Labrador Soccer Association has announced its 2008 award winners. The awards were announced at the annual general meeting, which featured Canadian Soccer Association president Dr. Dominic Maestracci in attendance. The two big award winners were 2008 Senior Players of the Year Mike Howlette and Nichole Adams.
Other award winners were Junior Players of the Year Sean Edwards and Michelle Ward, Coach of the Year Scott Betts, Executive of the Year Shane Howlett, and Team of the Year EPR Kirby / The Dock.
The Saskatchewan Soccer Association announced its award winners at its Annual Banquet this Saturday night. The two big award winners were Senior Players of the Year Amy Vermeulen and Josh Northey.
Other award winners were Youth Players of the Year Brett Levis and Courtney Hilkewich, Senior Coach of the Year Tom Lapointe, Youth Coach of the Year Dale McFee, Referee of the Year Steven Pollock, Volunteer of the Year Blair Kardash and David Newsham Volunteer Award winner Bruce Cowan. The Senior Team of the Year was Yorkton United FC while the Youth Team of the Year was Celtic U-14 Boys.
For more information on this match, please visit the following fixture link.
Canada lost its sixth and final match tonight in the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ Qualifiers. By a score of 0:3 against Jamaica, neither Canada nor Jamaica could climb the rankings within CONCACAF Group 2, otherwise dubbed as the “Group of Death”. Both teams were eliminated from the qualification phase.
“We are disappointed,” said coach Dale Mitchell. “We started off with the two home games. You start with the first two games at home and you have some pressure. Jamaica came to Canada and got a point from us. We were clearly under some pressure to win the second game and maybe we didn’t handle it as well as we should have, although we had the lead. I believe our team was competitive with all three teams in the group, we played them close, but haven’t had enough to get the wins. That has been the story of our campaign.”
Will Johnson’s superb blast on 18 October has been selected Major League Soccer’s Goal of the Year. The Real Salt Lake midfielder scored this illustrious goal in a 3:1 victory over FC Dallas. He is the second Canadian player to be honoured with scoring the MLS Goal of the Year.
Three-time Canadian Player of the Year Dwayne De Rosario scored the MLS Goal of the Year in 2004 and 2005. De Rosario was then a member of the San Jose Earthquakes.
For more information on this match, please visit the following fixture link.
Canada will play Jamaica tonight on match-day six of CONCACAF Stage III in the the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ Qualifiers. It will Canada’s last game of the campaign after which it will be eliminated. Regardless of tonight’s outcome, Canada will finish fourth in the so-called “Group of Death” and will not proceed to the CONCACAF final group in 2009.
The match will kickoff at 20.00 ET at the National Soccer Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica. Jamaica still has an outside chance to catch second place in the group, although it will also need some good luck from the Mexico-Honduras match (which is being played simultaneously).
