Canada to participate in Four Nations Tournament

Canada’s women’s national team has announced it will take part in the 2008 Four Nations Tournament in Guangzhou, China. Canada will go up against the United States, Finland (Suomi) and hosts China in the mid-January tournament. Canada’s match dates are 16 January against the United States, 18 January against China and 20 January against Finland.
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​“The Four Nations Tournament in China has traditionally attracted world class opposition,” says Canadian coach Even Pellerud. “China as an host will of course do what it takes to make an impact. They are preparing for their Olympics under newly-hired coach Elisabeth Loisel, the former French national coach. The United States are back with new coach Pia Sundhage in charge as they prepare to come back to the throne in 2008. Finland, meanwhiel, was only one goal away from qualifying for the FIFA Women’s World Cup China 2007 and they will continue their charge to become a top-10 ranked team.”
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​The Four Nations Tournament will be Canada’s first international competition of the 2008 season and their first since September’s FIFA Women’s World Cup China 2007. The Canadian team has been back in residency camp since November. Canada is currently preparing for April’s CONCACAF Olympic Qualification Tournament.
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​The Olympic Qualification Tournament is scheduled for 2-13 April in Chihuahua, México, although full competition details have yet to be announced. The tournament’s draw had originally been scheduled for 18 December, but it was postponed until January.
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​Canada last took part in the Four Nations Tournament in early 2004. In 2004, the tournament was held in Shenzhen in the province of Guangdong (southern China). The participating nations were Canada, United States, Sweden (Sverige) and hosts China. The 2007 tournament takes place in Guangzhou, about a two-hour bus ride northwest of Shenzhen. The tournament matches will take place at the Foshan Sports Center, one of the sites to the first FIFA Women’s World Cup back in 1991.
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​Canada’s senior women’s team, whose title sponsor is Winners, is currently in phase one of their preparations for the 2008 Olympic qualifications. In 2007, the Canadian women’s program reached an all-time high in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings – ninth best in the world. The team is the second-highest ranked CONCACAF team behind the United States.