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France
Women's U-20
Canada’s men’s national team announced the roster today for their international friendly match with the Republic of South Africa. The Canadian players will arrive on Thursday and then have four days of training before their 20 November match next Tuesday in Durban, South Africa. This will be Canada’s senior team’s tenth and final match of the year.
“We know that South Africa will be a strong opponent as they build towards hosting the 2010 World Cup,” says head coach Dale Mitchell. “For us it is an opportunity to test ourselves against a different style of play but in conditions we face regularly in CONCACAF. 2007 has been a positive year for the men’s national team and we would like to continue to build momentum towards the qualifying process that begins in 2008.”
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association has awarded the FIFA World Cup 2014 to the Confederaçao Brasileira de Futebol. FIFA president Joseph Blatter made the announcement today.
Brasil was the only country in the running for the 2014 event. Brasil made its formal presentation this morning at the FIFA House in Zurich. Originally, both Brasil and Colombia had shown interest in the FIFA World Cup 2014. The 2014 event had been promised to a South American country (CONMEBOL or Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol).
Canada’s men’s national team is still the third-ranked country in the CONCACAF region. Canada slipped up three more spots from 54 to 51 in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings which were released today. They remain third amongst CONCACAF countries, trailing both Mexico and the United States. The rankings look back at each country’s record from the past four years.
The countries below Canada switched spots as Costa Rica fell from fourth to seventh within CONCACAF and Honduras jumped from fifth to fourth within CONCACAF. Cuba (from 8th to 5th) and Panama (from 7th to 6th) also climbed the rankings.
The Canadian Soccer Association emerged from their Ottawa weekend meetings with a new leader and a renewed committment to promoting the growth and development of soccer for all Canadians. Newly-appointed chairman of the board Dominic Maestracci presided over the Friday executive meeting, the Saturday board of directors meeting, and the Sunday general meeting. Dr. Maestracci and the executive also took part in a Monday partners meeting in Toronto.
Dr. Maestracci has been involved in soccer from the regional to national level for more than 40 years. He was even a national referee from 1983 to 1989 and served as a FIFA nominee in 1988 and 1989. He was the president of the Québec Soccer Federation from 2003-2006 and vice-president of the Canadian Soccer Association since 2006. Dr. Maestracci will lead the Canadian Soccer Association until May 2008 when an open vote will be conducted to select a new president at the Annual General Meeting.
Dominic Maestracci has today been named chairman of the board of the Canadian Soccer Association. Maestracci will lead the Canadian Soccer Association until the next general meeting, presently scheduled for May 2008, when an open vote will be conducted to select the next president. He will serve as the chairman of the board, presiding over all meetings of the Association and the Board of Directors.
Maestracci was the vice president of the Canadian Soccer Association. He has served as the chair of the governance committees and has also served on the Canadian Soccer Association’s futsal committee, finance committee, national referee committee, senior amateur committee and FIFA U-20 World Cup national organizing committee. He previously served as vice-president and president of the Québec Soccer Federation. Dominic was both a player (up to the university level) and a coach (at the national level). He was a national referee from 1983 to 1989 and served as a FIFA nominee in 1988 and 1989. Dominic is a full professor of medicine at the Université de Montréal.
Canada’s Christine Sinclair has once again been shortlisted for the FIFA World Player of the Year award. Sinclair is one of 26 female candidates for the 2007 award that will be presented at the 17th FIFA World Player Gala at the Zurich Opera House on 17 December. Sinclair, captain of Canada’s women’s national team, has scored 16 goals in 13 international matches this year, including three at the recent FIFA Women’s World Cup China 2007.
Last year, Brasil’s Marta captured the prestigious FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year award. On the men’s side, Italia’s Fabio Cannavaro won the FIFA World Player of the Year award.
Christine Sinclair, membre de l’équipe nationale canadienne féminine senior, figure une fois de plus sur la liste préliminaire des candidates au titre de Joueuse mondiale de l’année de la FIFA. Sinclair fait partie des 26 candidates de l’édition 2007 du prix, qui sera annoncé au cours du 17e Gala du Joueur Mondial de la FIFA 2007, organisé le 17 décembre prochain à l’Opéra de Zurich, en Suisse. Sinclair, qui est capitaine de la sélection canadienne, a inscrit 16 buts au cours de ses 13 matchs internationaux cette année, dont trois dans le cadre de la Coupe du Monde Féminine de la FIFA, qui se déroulait en Chine en septembre.
L’année dernière, c’est la Brésilienne Marta qui a été récompensée par le titre prestigieux de Joueuse mondiale de l’année de la FIFA. L’Italien Fabio Cannavaro a remporté la version masculine du prix, étant sacré Joueur mondial de l’année de la FIFA.
Canada’s women’s national team remains the ninth-ranked country in the FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Rankings. Canada’s place in the latest world ranking, released today, is the same as it was in the last ranking posted in June 2007. Canada has posted five wins, two draws and two losses in full international matches since July and it finished ninth at the recent FIFA Women’s World Cup China 2007.
“I think that realistically we can go up a couple of spots next year,” says head coach Even Pellerud. “I think that the ranking was not surprising. I think we can go ahead of Denmark and France, but we need to prove that (with results) next year.”
L’équipe nationale canadienne féminine senior demeure au neuvième rang du Classement mondial féminin de la FIFA. La position de la sélection d’Even Pellerud dans le dernier classement mondial, publié aujourd’hui, reste identique à celle de juin 2007. Depuis le mois de juillet, le Canada affiche un dossier de cinq victoires, deux matchs nul et deux défaites dans le cadre des matchs internationaux compétitifs. Le Canada a également obtenu la neuvième place à la Coupe du Monde Féminine de la FIFA, Chine 2007.
« En étant réaliste, je crois que nous pourrons progresser de quelques places l’année prochaine, déclare l’entraîneur-chef de la sélection canadienne féminine Even Pellerud. À mon avis, notre position au classement n’a pas été surprenante. Je crois que nous pourrons devancer le Danemark et la France, mais il faut le prouver avec nos résultats l’an prochain. »
