OTTAWA (ONTARIO) The table is set for the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup after five more countries qualified through the Copa de Naciones Digicel 2007 de UNCAF (Central America). Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama all qualified this week in the Central American qualifiers and they join Cuba, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Trinidad & Tobago (all from the Caribbean), México, the United States and Canada.
The 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup takes place 6 to 24 June in the United States. Games will take place in Miami, FL (Orange Bowl, including the final), East Rutherford, NJ (Giants Stadium), Carson, CA (Home Depot Center), Houston, TX (Reliant Stadium), and Foxborough, MA (Gillette Stadium). CONCACAF will unveil the groups and the complete calendar for the tournament in early March.
OTTAWA (ONTARIO) The Canadian Soccer Association and the Football Association of Iceland (Knattspyrnusamband Íslands) have announced that their men’s national teams will face each other in an international friendly this Aug. 22, 2007 in Reykjavik, Iceland. A return Canadian date will be played in either 2008 or 2009.
This will be the first international match between Canada and Iceland. In the January 2007 FIFA world rankings, Canada’s men’s team was the eighth-ranked country in the CONCACAF confederation. While México and the United States were 1-2, Cuba, Honduras, Jamaica, Costa Rica and Panamá filled in the five places ahead of Canada. Canada’s next big tournament is the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup this June.
OTTAWA (ONTARIO) Canada’s men’s national team wrapped up a successful training camp in Sunrise, FL this week. Canada’s interim head coach Stephen Hart had 18 players in his 11-day camp, the team’s first of the 2007 season.
The attitude of all the players towards the camp was exceptional, says Hart. We played two close door games which were important for us to measure what we were working on consistently throughout the camp. Several players gave a good account of themselves and this is important in establishing the potential depth of the senior program.
OTTAWA (ONTARIO) Canada’s women’s national team will start training this Jan. 21 for the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup in China this September. The country’s best players are taking part in a new Canadian residency camp by which the players will train together as a team throughout the year in Vancouver, BC. Canada qualified for the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup in November when it reached the 2006 Gold Cup final in Carson, CA.
This residency camp will provide us the best opportunity ever to attend a World Cup Final with an optimum level of preparations, says coach Even Pellerud. For the first time, the team can, in principle, be run like a club team. This program allows us to set up daily, weekly and monthly schedules and technical programs that include fitness, tactics, skills, and psychology. The program will also reinforce team spirit and unity that is essential to a strong showing.
OTTAWA (ONTARIO) L’équipe canadienne féminine se réunira le 21 janvier prochain en vue de préparer la Coupe du Monde de la FIFA, Chine 2007, qui aura lieu en septembre prochain. Les meilleures joueuses du pays prendront part à un nouveau camp résidentiel canadien, durant lequel les joueuses s’entraîneront ensemble au cours de l’année à Vancouver, en Colombie-Britannique. Le Canada s’est qualifié pour la Coupe du Monde féminine de la FIFA 2007 en atteignant le stade de la finale de la Gold Cup, en novembre dernier, à Carson, en Californie.
«Ce camp résidentiel nous offrira la meilleure possibilité que nous ayons jamais eu de prendre part à une Coupe du Monde en étant préparés au maximum, explique l’entraîneur-chef Even Pellerud. Pour la première fois, la sélection nationale peut en principe être gérée comme une équipe de club. Ce programme nous permet de mettre sur pied un calendrier de travail journalier, hebdomadaire et mensuel, ainsi que des programmes techniques axés sur la condition physique, les tactiques, la maîtrise du ballon et la psychologie. Le programme renforcera aussi l’esprit d’équipe et l’unité, ce qui est toujours important si on veut réussir. »
OTTAWA (ONTARIO) Canada’s men’s national team arrived in Florida today for an 11-day training camp with interim head coach Stephen Hart. Eighteen Canadian players will be in Fort Lauderdale, FL from Jan. 15-25.
Many of the players invited into this camp are on Winter break or are presently between their playing season, says Hart. We view this camp as an ideal opportunity for us to have these players in a training camp environment for an extended period – before they return to their clubs.
OTTAWA (ONTARIO) Canada’s men’s national team will take part in its first training camp this season under interim head coach Stephen Hart in Florida. Hart will run an 11-day camp from Jan. 15-25 in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
While the full roster has yet to be confirmed, it is expected that the list will comprise mostly of North American-based players who are out of season as well as a few European-based players who are on a break.
OTTAWA, ONTARIO – The Canadian Soccer Association has received confirmation from FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) that 16 Canadian officials will be included in the International List of Match Officials for 2007 effective January 1st.
FIFA publishes a list of referees and assistant referees that are eligible to officiate at international matches. The list is drawn from the National Soccer Associations nominations for officials who meet the conditions required by FIFA.
Former men’s national team goalkeeper and television analyst Craig Forrest will be one of eleven new inductees into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame next April. Joining Forrest in the player category will be Glen Johnson, who played for Canada in the 1970s, and Connie Cant, who played 23 times for the women’s national team in the 80s. Also being inducted are two former players who have passed on. They are Domenic Mobilio, who played 25 times for Canada before his untimely death at the age of 35 in 2004, and Bill Findler, who was a star in the 1920s and 1930s with Edmonton C.N.R. and Westminster Royals.
Being inducted into the Builder category are long serving Canadian Soccer Association president Jim Fleming, national team doctor Rudy Gittens, former CSA Technical Director, Bill Thomson, Herb Capozzi, owner of the Vancouver Whitecaps, during the North American Soccer League years, and Gus Etchegarry long time administrator from the Newfoundland and Labrador Soccer Association.