La Confédération des associations de football de l’Amérique du Nord, de l’Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes (CONCACAF) a annoncé aujourd’hui que le tirage au sort officiel pour le Tournoi qualificatif olympique de football féminin de la CONCACAF aura lieu le lundi 25 février prochain. Le tirage au sort commencera à 11 h à New York (New York) et la composition des groupes sera affichée sur le site Internet en début d’après-midi.
Le Canada et cinq autres pays participeront au Tournoi qualificatif olympique de football féminin de la CONCACAF. Les deux meilleures équipes du tournoi qualificatif olympique féminin de la CONCACAF, qui réunit six équipes, se qualifieront pour les Jeux Olympiques d’été qui se dérouleront à Beijing, en Chine. Le tournoi de la CONCACAF se déroule du 2 au 13 avril à l’Estadio OlÃmpico Benito Juarez de Ciudad Juarez, au Mexique. Les dates des matchs et la composition des groupes n’ont pas encore été dévoilées.
Canada’s men’s national team announced today that it will face Panama in an international friendly match on 6 June in Panama City. The match will be played at the Rod Carew National Stadium with a 20.30 kick-off. The friendly will act as a tune-up to their first 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifier in Saint Vincent & the Grenadines on 15 June. “The Panama game will be part of our preparations for the qualifying process through 2008,” says head coach Dale Mitchell. “It will provide us with a quality CONCACAF opponent in a tough place to play.”
Canada’s women’s national team residency camp in Vancouver, BC continues to progress under head coach Even Pellerud. The players have been training steadily since returning from the Four Nations Tournament in China last month. The team will take a four-day break starting Thursday afternoon before returning to camp next Tuesday 19 February.
“The team’s participation at the Four Nations Tournament in China last month provided the international games we needed,” says coach Pellerud. “It was a great basis for assessing our team and our players.”
Le camp résidentiel de l’équipe nationale canadienne féminine senior se déroule actuellement, à Vancouver, en Colombie Britannique, sous la direction de l’entraîneur-chef Even Pellerud. Les joueuses s’entraînent continuellement depuis leur retour de la Chine, où elles ont participé au Tournoi des Quatre Nations le mois dernier. À partir de jeudi prochain, l’équipe va bénéficier d’une pause de cinq jours, avant de revenir au camp le mardi 18 février.
« La participation de l’équipe au Tournoi des Quatre Nations en Chine le mois dernier nous a donné l’expérience du niveau international dont nous avions besoin, affirme l’entraîneur-chef Pellerud. C’est une bonne base pour évaluer l’équipe et ses joueuses. »
CONCACAF qualifying for South Africa 2010 began at the weekend with the Caymans’ shock draw on the road in Bermuda. The six fixtures on Wednesday kept the excitement levels going in North America.
The two early games saw a hopeful St. Kitts and Nevis get a lesson in efficiency from Belize, while the Netherlands Antilles pulled off an upset on the road.
Canada’s men’s national team has closed their first training camp of the 2008 season. The camp, directed by head coach Dale Mitchell, featured mostly players who were out of season from their North American-based teams. The two-week camp opened 20 January and concluded 3 February. The camp was run in Fort Lauderdale, FL with trips in between to Martinique and St. Lucia.
“We could not have asked for any more from the group of players we had in Fort Lauderdale,” says head coach Dale Mitchell. “With it being the off season for the majority of them, they were not expected to be in peak condition. The first week was quite demanding and it was designed to raise their fitness levels as well as get them used to playing again at a high standard.”
The Canadian Soccer Association released today its 2007 Demographics Report which highlights the total number of registered soccer players in Canada. Soccer is still the number-one participatory sport in Canada with 867,869 registered players across the nation.
The 2007 report shows a 1.53% increase from one year ago, or an additional 13,119 registered players in Canada. There are 501,359 registered male players (58%) and 366,510 registered female players (42%). Youth players (18 years or younger) make up 84% of the registered count.
Canada’s men’s national team will face Danish pro club Vejle Boldklub this Sunday morning in Fort Lauderdale, FL. The Sunday morning match will conclude Canada’s two-week January training camp under head coach Dale Mitchell.
The Canadians won 1:0 over Martinique on Wednesday night in an international friendly at the Stade Louis-Achille in Fort-au-France. After travelling to St. Lucia on Thursday, they have a morning training session today before heading back to Florida. The Sunday morning match will be played at 11.00.
The Alberta Soccer Association congratulated its 2007 award winners at its annual general meeting. Amongst the winners was former Canadian Soccer Association president Jim Fleming who was awarded the President’s Award in recognition and appreciation of long-time involvement in Alberta soccer.
Fleming served as president of the Edmonton District Soccer Association and then Alberta Soccer Association. He went on to become president of the Canadian Soccer Association, serving from 1982-1986 (when Canada qualified for the FIFA World Cup) and 1998-2002. In 2007, Fleming was inducted as a builder in The Soccer Hall of Fame.