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Geraldine Donnelly... soccer family (brother Vince)... she was seven years old when her family moved from England to Port Moody, BC, CAN in 1972... grew up playing soccer and basketball... enjoys carpentry, renovating, hanging out with friends and family... she was eight years old when she started playing soccer in Port Moody... favourites have included Peter Beardsley... she graduated with a Bachelor of Education from Simon Fraser University in 1987...
honoured by the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2014... honoured by the BC Sports Hall of Fame, the Soccer Hall of Fame of British Columbia and the Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame... 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... she was part of the Canadian team that won the 1998 Concacaf Championship, recognised as a Canada Soccer Team of Distinction... a two-time Canada Soccer Player of the Year (1996 and 1999)... recipient of Canada Soccer’s Aubrey Sanford Meritorious Service Award in 2002...
Concacaf champion with Canada (1998)... one of seven footballers that was part of the first two Canadian teams to feature at the FIFA Women’s World Cup (Sweden 1995 and USA 1999)... in all, won four Concacaf medals with Canada (1991 silver, 1993 bronze, 1994 silver, 1998 gold)... represented Canada at the World Invitational Women’s Tournament (Chinese Cup 1987) and International Women’s Football Tournament (China 1988)... one of six original members of Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team in 1986 that also participated in Canada’s first FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1995 (Annie Caron, Carla Chin, Geri Donnelly, Charmaine Hooper, Michelle Ring and Cathy Ross)... career 71 international “A” appearances across 15 years from 1986 to 2000 with Canada Soccer's Women's National Team... when she left international football, she ranked first in international “A” appearances (71) 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... in the program’s early years, was often part of Canada’s “Marvelous Midfield” (Joan McEachern on the right, Connie Cant and Geri Donnelly in the centre, Annie Caron on the left)...
club career in Canada... a three-time Canada Soccer National Championships winner (Jubilee Trophy in 1990, 1994 and 2006)...
in 2017, one of four co-founders of the Canada Women’s Soccer Alumni Association (Geri Donnelly, Charmaine Hooper, Nicole Sedgwick Stewart, Helen Stoumbos)... attended the Final Match at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 in Vancouver...
wrote Sylvie Béliveau in 1995, “the best player for Canada at the 1995 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Gerri Donnelly is a great ambassador for Canada both on and off the field... a true professional player for Canada in her attitude and performance... she was the playmaker, the leader, the goalscorer... being a true athlete in her mind, Ger always looked to become a better player during the preparation phase”... said Donnelly in 2006, “being able to motivate yourself and have the discipline to go out and train each day has helped me realize that anything in life is possible if you put the time and effort into it”... said Martin Foden in 2009, “she has had phenomenal success, kept herself in very good shape with very high standards, and always maintained a professional approach to the game”... said Nicole Wright in 2009, “she was quality and class: a class player, a class teammate, a perfect role model for a lot of the younger players coming onto the Canadian national team”... said Donnelly in 2014, “in football, the friendships you form within the team are probably the most lasting and memorable; yes you have some great games and bad games, but the thing that you remember at the end of the day are the people with whom you played”...
said Suzanne Muir in 2021 of teammate Geri Donnelly, “I don’t think you can say enough of her contributions. Her level of dedication and love for the game is just infectious”... said Annie Caron in 2021, Geri “was a leader and a great captain. She was one that could really redirect the team’s focus when needed”...
she was one of 23 footballers that participated in the first-ever Canadian women’s national camp in July 1986 in Winnipeg... she was 20 years old when she made her debut for Canada (9 July 1986)... she scored her first international “A” goal for Canada on 9 July 1986 in Blaine, MN, USA (North American Cup)… represented Canada at the 1988 Women’s International Tournament in China PR... won a silver medal with Canada at the 1991 CONCACAF Women's Championship / FIFA World Cup Qualifiers for China 1991... finished third with Canada at the 1993 CONCACAF Women’s Invitational Tournament... won a silver medal with Canada at the 1994 CONCACAF Women's Championship / FIFA World Cup Qualifiers for Sweden 1995... represented Canada at the FIFA Women's World Cup Sweden 1995... she was the first women's footballer to reach 50 appearances for Canada (12 May 1996)... won a gold medal with Canada at the 1998 CONCACAF Women's Championship / FIFA World Cup Qualifiers for USA 1999... represented Canada at the FIFA Women's World Cup USA 1999... she left international football after making 71 appearances for Canada, at the time a national record...
