2025 Awards Night celebrates excellence in Canadian soccer
Alex McKechnie, Micheal Barwegen, Linda Whitehead, Greg Bay, Diana Matheson, and Michelle Pye honoured
The Canada Soccer Awards Banquet at the Annual Meeting of the Membership celebrates excellence on an annual basis for their service and dedication to the game. This year’s list of award recipients, honoured on Saturday night in Niagara Falls, ON., included Alex McKechnie for the Brian Budd Award, referee Micheal Barwegen for the Ray Morgan Memorial Award, Linda Whitehead for the Tony Waiters Coaching Excellence Award, and Greg Bay for the Aubrey Sanford Meritorious Service Award. Diana Matheson was recognized with the Canada Soccer President’s Award.
Former referee Michelle Pye was also celebrated for her recent induction to the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2025. The night was emceed by RDS' Meeker Guerrier.
“Canada Soccer is proud to honour these five remarkable individuals for their decades of education, leadership and achievements to our game. Diana, Greg, Linda, Micheal and Alex have each made significant contributions that have elevated our sport at every level, and we were delighted to celebrate their legacies.”
- Peter Augruso, President of Canada Soccer
BRIAN BUDD AWARD – ALEX McKECHNIE
The Brian Budd Award recognizes outstanding individuals who have excelled both in soccer and in another endeavor, be it in sport or public life. The individual must exemplify good character, accomplishments, dedication and provide inspiration to present and future generations.
Alex was a key staff member that helped Canada Soccer win the 2000 Concacaf Gold Cup before he embarked on a career in the National Basketball Association where he won multiple championships with the Los Angeles Lakers and Toronto Raptors. Alongside his work with Canada Soccer’s National Teams as a physiotherapist, he also helped Vancouver 86ers win multiple national titles in the old Canadian Soccer League.
RAY MORGAN MEMORIAL AWARD – MICHEAL BARWEGEN
The Ray Morgan Memorial Award is presented to the referee who has shown the greatest progress at the national and international levels.
Micheal has been a National List AR since 2012 and a FIFA AR since 2018. His international achievements are vast, and include the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup, the 2019 FIFA Arab Cup, and the 2024 Paris Olympics, in addition to the Concacaf Champions League Final in 2019.
TONY WAITERS COACHING EXCELLENCE AWARD – LINDA WHITEHEAD
The Tony Waiters Coaching Excellence Award recognises a person’s overall contribution to coaching in Canada for a minimum of 20 years.
Linda was one of the earliest women’s coaches to earn her Canada Soccer Coaching “A” Diploma more than 30 years ago. Throughout her career, she has been a leader and pioneer for soccer in both Canada and the USA, contributing extensively to the development of women's soccer programs at club and national levels.
AUBREY SANFORD MERITORIOUS SERVICE AWARD – GREG BAY
The Aubrey Sanford Meritorious Service Award has recognised outstanding service and overall contribution in refereering, coaching, playing or administration.
Greg has cared for Canada Soccer’s athletes across more than 40 years including three FIFA youth tournaments, the FIFA Confederations Cup, the CONMEBOL Copa América, and the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. His expertise and dedication to athlete health and performance have been integral to the success and well-being of Canadian teams on the international stage.
CANADA SOCCER PRESIDENT’S AWARD – DIANA MATHESON
The Canada Soccer President’s Award provides recognition and appreciation to a person’s outstanding and unique efforts for an extended period of time, resulting in the positive and constructive development at the national level across Canada.
Diana was honoured for her visionary leadership and unwavering dedication to advancing the sport. Matheson's extraordinary efforts in founding Canada’s first women’s professional soccer league, the Northern Super League, have paved the way for a new chapter in Canadian soccer history and inspired countless players and fans across the country.
Canada Soccer President, Peter Augruso will be honouring Diana and this award at an upcoming Canada Soccer home match.
HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE – MICHELLE PYE
Michelle served on the FIFA List of Referees and Assistant Referees across 11 years from 2007 through 2017, including a notable appointment to the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015. She was appointed as a referee to the 2016 Concacaf Olympic Qualifiers as well as four FIFA youth tournaments, from the FIFA U-17 World Cup in New Zealand and Trinidad and Tobago to the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada and Papua New Guinea.
In addition to the individual awards, nine clubs were also recognised as Canada Soccer Organisations of Distinction and will be further celebrated locally in their respective provinces: Burnaby's Cliff Avenue United FC from British Columbia; Edmonton Victoria SC from Alberta; Windsor Serbs SC, Aurora SC and Glengarry Soccer from Ontario; AS Beauport from Québec; Conception Bay South SA, Grand Bank Gee Bees FC and Mount Pearl SA from Newfoundland & Labrador.
Canada Soccer’s 2025 Annual Meeting of the Members was the organization’s 105th since the Association was formed on 24 May 1912, with the first-ever meeting of the Dominion of Canada Football Association held in Winnipeg from 9-13 July 1912.
Paulo Senra