The Canada Soccer Hall of Fame will
\u200bcelebrate the 35th anniversary of Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team in 2021
\u200bacross a series of digital initiatives including a special induction class to
\u200bbe announced in early May. The celebration will continue with weekly features
\u200bin May and June ahead of Canada Day 2021, which will mark 35 years since the
\u200bfirst Women’s National Team camp in Winnipeg in 1986, then continue with a
\u200bfurther spotlight on the program’s legacy during Women’s History Month in
\u200bOctober.
The celebration coincides with Canada
\u200bSoccer’s fourth-consecutive participation in the Olympic Games, with Canada one
\u200bof only five nations in the world to have qualified for the past four Women’s
\u200bOlympic Football Tournaments since 2008. Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team
\u200bare also the only women’s program in the world to win medals at the last two
\u200bOlympic Games, notably also the first Canadian team in any sport to win medals
\u200bat back-to-back Summer Olympic Games in more than 100 years.
The Canada Soccer Hall of Fame celebrates
\u200bthe individual and team achievements as well as traditions in the game of
\u200bsoccer in Canada. The Canada Soccer Hall of Fame captures and preserves the
\u200bhistory of Canadian soccer, honouring athletes and builders of the game and
\u200bserving as a library for editorial, promotional, and educational needs.
In light of the changed dates for the
\u200bWomen’s Olympic Football Tournament and to coincide with the 35th anniversary
\u200bof Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team, the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame has
\u200bshifted its planned legends class to honour candidates from 1980s and 1990s
\u200bwomen’s soccer from 2023 to May 2021. Since 2017, these biennial classes honour
\u200bCanadian footballers who played in the era before the Hall of Fame’s first
\u200binduction class in 2000.
The special 2021 class is an integral
\u200bpart of the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame’s priority to establish equity within
\u200bthe Modern Canadian Players category from both the Men’s and Women’s National
\u200bTeam Programs. After Canada Soccer established its first National Championship
\u200bin 1982 and its Women’s National Team in 1986, the first FIFA Women’s World Cup
\u200bwas played in 1991. Since that time, football at the very highest level has
\u200bprovided the same number of starting positions in the international game for
\u200bboth Men’s and Women’s National Teams. Under the same premise for Canadian
\u200bplayers from the 1990s forward, the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame will honour an
\u200bequal number of players from both the Men’s National Team and Women’s National
\u200bTeam.
The Canada Soccer Hall of Fame honours
\u200bCanadian players that have played the game with excellence at the international
\u200band club level. To be eligible for the nomination list, a player must have
\u200bplayed professional, semi-professional, major amateur, and/or international
\u200bfootball for a minimum of 10 years, unless a special exception is granted. To
\u200bdate, the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame has honoured 129 players, 13
\u200bcoaches/managers, 10 referees, and 42 builders.
In respect to the ongoing global
\u200bpandemic, the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame has postponed voting on its other
\u200bcategories in 2021, notably the Modern Canadian Players category (for players
\u200bwho retired between 2008 and 2017) and the Builders, Coaches & Referees
\u200bcategory. Of importance, Canada Soccer plans to host Hall of Fame celebrations
\u200bfor its most recent Class of 2019 and Class of 2020 inductees once it is safe
\u200bto do so. Those celebrations will include former players Randee Hermus, Karina
\u200bLeBlanc, Kevin McKenna and Brittany Timko Baxter as well as Class of 2020
\u200bbuilder inductee Bob Sayer.
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 2021
\u200bAs part of International Women’s Day, Canada Soccer celebrates our early adoption and support of the women’s game and system-wide investment made as a federation in our Women’s National Team Program. Established in 1986, Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team have played over 400 international “A” matches while the Women’s National Team Program has featured more than 900 players from the Youth National Teams to the National Team.
As part of the FIFA Women’s World Cup
\u200bCanada 2015 Legacy, Canada Soccer directly supported the development of
\u200bprofessional opportunities for women’s soccer by co-founding the National
\u200bWomen’s Soccer Leagues along with Mexico and the United States, with already 40
\u200bCanadian players featured across the league’s first eight seasons from 2013 to
\u200b2020. Also part of the Canada 2015 Legacy to support Canada’s best youth
\u200bplayers, Canada Soccer established the Regional EXCEL and Super EXCEL Centres
\u200bfrom coast to coast across Canada, with already more than 500 youth players
\u200bfeatured in the program since 2013.
OLYMPIC MEDAL WINNERS & CONCACAF CHAMPIONS
\u200bCanada are two-time Olympic bronze medal winners (2012 and 2016) and two-time Concacaf champions (1998 and 2010). In all, Canada have participated in seven consecutive editions of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ (1995 to 2019) and three consecutive editions of the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament (2008 to 2016). At Rio 2016, Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team were the first Canadian Olympic team to win back-to-back medals at a summer Olympic Games in more than a century.
Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Youth
\u200bTeams, meanwhile, have won four Concacaf youth titles: the 2004 and 2008
\u200bConcacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship, the 2010 Concacaf Women’s Under-17
\u200bChampionship, and the 2014 Concacaf Girls’ Under-15 Championship. Canada have
\u200bqualified for seven editions of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup (including a silver
\u200bmedal at Canada 2002) and all six editions of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup
\u200b(including a fourth-place finish at Uruguay 2018).