Tony Waiters

Anthony Keith Waiters... married to wife Anne (they had children Scott and Victoria)... grew up playing rugby and football... served in the Royal Air Force... earned his Teacher’s Certificate in Physical Education from Loughborough College in 1959... graduated from the British Institute of Personal Management in 1971... earned his English FA Coaching Preliminary Award in 1960... earned his English FA Coaching Full Award in 1964...

honoured as a Canada Soccer Life Member... honoured by the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame (he was was shortlisted as an alternate builder in the inaugural year of 2000 and later honoured in 2001)... honoured by the BC Sports Hall of Fame... recipient of Canada Soccer’s Aubrey Sanford Meritorious Service Award in 1996... named in his honour, the Tony Waiters Coaching Excellence Award was first presented in 2022 (coach Gary Miller was the first recipient)...

served as Canada's Head Coach at one Men's Olympic Football Tournament (Los Angeles 1984) and one FIFA World Cup (Mexico 1986)…

as noted on the back of his 1962-63 football card, “tall and fearless, Tony is a boss in the penalty area”... as noted on the back of his 1963-64 football card, he was “an agile keeper for such a big man”... said Canada Soccer president Jim Fleming after Canada qualified in 1985, Tony “was always well prepared for the task at hand and nothing appeared to worry him; his outward calm spread to his support staff and they were all organised in a very effective and efficient way”.... said Bruce Wilson in 1985 after Canada qualified for the FIFA World Cup, “I give credit to Tony Waiters: he looked after all the players on and off the field and made sure we all had jobs”... said Tony Lettieri in 1985 after Canada qualified for the FIFA World Cup, “Tony has done a tremendous job in finding the right players and moulding them into a winning team despite the injuries and the suspensions (to which) we've had to adjust“... wrote Kevan Pipe in 1986, “he took players with varying styles and molded them into a unit that played the only type of game he knew would make Canada competitive on the world stage; on 1 June, he and his team were 11 minutes, or one goal, away from the first upset of the 1986 FIFA World Cup”...