Silvana Burtini Gerela

née Silvana Burtini... her parents are Cheryl and Joe Burtini... married husband Metro Gerela on 1 January 2001... grew up participating in soccer, basketball, volleyball... she was six years old when she started playing soccer for Williams Lake YSA... favourites have included Michael Jordan...

honoured by the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2010... honoured by the Soccer Hall of Fame of British Columbia... recognised in 2005 as a FIFA Ambassador for Women’s Football... she was part of the first Canadian team to play at the FIFA Women’s World Cup (Sweden 1995), recognised as a Canada Soccer Team of Distinction... as a police officer, was honoured with the British Columbia Award for Valour in 2004 (for saving a life)... she was part of the Canadian team that won the 1998 Concacaf Championship, recognised as a Canada Soccer Team of Distinction... Canada Soccer Player of the Year in 1998...

Concacaf champion with Canada (1998)… represented Canada at three FIFA Women’s World Cups (Sweden 1995, USA 1999, USA 2003), including a fourth-place finish at USA 2003... in all, won four Concacaf medals with Canada (1993 bronze, 1994 silver, 1998 gold, 2002 silver)... represented Canada at the International Women’s Football Tournament (China 1988)... career 77 international “A” appearances across 17 years from 1987 to 2003 with Canada Soccer's Women's National Teamwhen she left international football, she ranked third in international “A” appearances (63) with Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team... from Sweden 1995, was noted by the FIFA Women’s World Cup Technical Study Group as one of Canada’s outstanding players... from USA 1999, was noted by the FIFA Women’s World Cup Technical Study Group as one of Canada’s outstanding players...

club career in Canada and USA... with Surrey Marlins SC, a two-time Canada Soccer National Championships winner (Jubilee Trophy in 1992 and 1993)... with Raleigh Wings, a USL W-League Championship winner (1999)...

attended the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 in Vancouver...

said Suzanne Muir in 2021 of teammate Silvana Burtini, “she was a player that led, not just in her actions on the field, but also such a leader off the field, too. Her accomplishments are tremendous, but she was just so humble. She was a great player, teammate and athlete”....