David Edgar, a former captain with Canada Soccer’s Men’s
\u200bNational Team and a two-time winner of the Canadian Premier League’s North Star
\u200bShield, has announced his upcoming retirement from football as an active
\u200bplayer. Edgar is scheduled to leave the playing field at the conclusion of Forge FC
\u200bHamilton’s 2020 schedule, which includes the upcoming Scotiabank Concacaf
\u200bLeague Quarterfinals set for Tuesday 1 December.
“I had the privilege to work with David Edgar in my first
\u200bcamp with Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team and I learned very quickly that
\u200bhe was a real leader of men,” said John Herdman, Canada Soccer’s Men’s National
\u200bTeam Head Coach. “What stood out was his selflessness and willingness to
\u200bsupport those young players coming through the system, but at the same time to
\u200bgive everything he had on and off the field to be ready to compete for his
\u200bcountry.”
Edgar represented Canada in three cycles of FIFA World Cup
\u200bQualifiers, two editions of the Concacaf Gold Cup, and one edition of Concacaf
\u200bNations League Qualifying. He finished as high as third in voting as a nominee
\u200bfor the Canadian Player of the Year Award in 2014. From 2011 to 2018 with
\u200bCanada Soccer’s Men’s National Team, he made 42 international “A” appearances
\u200bincluding five starts as Canada’s captain.
He got his first call up in August 2007 and he made his full
\u200binternational “A” debut on 9 February 2011 against Greece. He scored
\u200binternational goals against Cuba, Jamaica, Uzbekistan and El Salvador, with
\u200bboth of the goals against Cuba and El Salvador scored in FIFA World Cup
\u200bQualifiers. His first goal was scored on 12 October 2012 in Toronto, a 3:0 win
\u200bat BMO Field.
At the professional level, Edgar played his club football in
\u200bCanada, England, USA and Wales, including appearances in Concacaf Champions
\u200bLeague and Concacaf League. He led Forge FC Hamilton to back-to-back Canadian
\u200bPremier League titles in 2019 and 2020. He notably made his professional debut with
\u200bNewcastle United FC (where he also dressed in UEFA Cup competition) and made
\u200bmore than 100 appearances for Burnley FC.
In Europe, he made 23 appearances in the Premier League and
\u200b128 appearances in the Championship. A second generation player at Newcastle
\u200bUnited FC, he was just 19 years old when he became the seventh Canadian to
\u200bfeature in the Premier League with his Boxing Day debut on 26 December 2006
\u200bagainst Bolton. He scored his first goal less than a week later on 1 January
\u200b2007, a New Year’s Day 2:2 draw with Manchester United FC.
At the international youth level, Edgar was a Canadian U-20
\u200bPlayer of the Year Award winner in 2006. He was 15 years old when he made his
\u200bdebut in the Canadian youth program with coach Ray Clark and he was the first
\u200bCanadian selected to three FIFA U-20 World Cups, starting with UAE 2003 when
\u200bCanada reached the Quarter-finals. On his 19thbirthday on 19 May
\u200b2006, he scored a memorable opening goal in a 2:1 win over Brazil in Edmonton,
\u200bCanada’s first ever victory at the men’s youth level against the South American
\u200bgiants.
Edgar, who was three years old when he started playing
\u200bsoccer at the Kitchener Minor Soccer Association, was most recently enrolled in
\u200bthe National Teams Education Program, an innovative program to support the
\u200bcoach education of its current and former National Team Program players with a
\u200bunique, online and combined Canada Soccer C/B Licence opportunity.