Canada Soccer’s young footballers Tajon Buchanan and Jade
\u200bRose have been named the 2020 Canadian Youth International Players of the Year.
\u200bThe two young players were recognised for their performances and progress as
\u200bpart of Canada Soccer’s National Teams Program.
The Canadian Youth International Players of the Year Award
\u200bcelebrates Canada’s top two youth footballers. For the 2020 award, the list of
\u200bwomen’s nominees featured U-20 players who participated at the 2020 Concacaf
\u200bWomen’s Under-20 Championship. For the men’s nominees, given that no
\u200binternational competitions took place because of the global Covid-19 pandemic,
\u200bthe Canada Soccer list featured Canadian U-23 players.
Tajon Buchanan was one of 20 players selected to represent Canada at the Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifying Championship in March 2020 before the tournament was postponed. From February through November, he was the only Canadian player that featured in every Major League Soccer game through to the Quarter-finals of the MLS Cup Playoffs with the New England Revolution. He notably scored his first career MLS goal on 12 September and his first MLS playoff goal on 24 November, both against the Supporters’ Shield winners Philadelphia Union.
Buchanan is one of several young Canadian MLS Domestics that
\u200bhas featured for a US-based team thanks to a Homegrown Player rule that ensures
\u200bCanadian players who came through the Canadian player development system are
\u200bconsidered domestic players upon signing their first professional contract with
\u200ban MLS club. Still only 21 years old, the MLS sophomore has played as both a
\u200bwinger and fullback during the 2020 campaign.
Jade Rose starred at centre back for Canada at the Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship in February and March 2020. She was the only player to start in all five of Canada’s matches in the tournament’s revised format that was expanded from eight to 20 nations for the first time. Rose led Canada with 446 minutes through to the Concacaf Quarterfinals when Canada were eliminated by the eventual champions USA.
Rose has been part of Canada Soccer’s youth program since
\u200b2017 and has previously featured at the Concacaf Girls’ Under-15 Championship,
\u200bthe Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Championship, and the FIFA U-17 Women’s World
\u200bCup. She has also taken part in two camps with the Women’s National Team in
\u200b2019 and featured in an exhibition training match against Japan. She was runner
\u200bup in voting for last year’s Canadian Youth International Player of the Year
\u200bAward.
Buchanan and Rose are the third winners of the award, which
\u200bwas introduced in 2018 to recognise achievements with Canada Soccer’s Youth
\u200bNational Teams with an emphasis on their performances at age-category
\u200binternational competitions. Previous winners were Jayden Nelson and Olivia
\u200bSmith in 2019 and Derek Cornelius and Jordyn Huitema in 2018.
The 2020 Canada Soccer Player Awards will be announced over
\u200bthe week of 30 November to 4 December. Earlier this week, Mohamed Farsi was
\u200bnamed the 2020 Canadian Futsal Player of the Year.
30 November – Canadian Futsal Player of the Year – Mohamed Farsi
\u200b1 December – Canadian Youth Players of the Year – Tajon Buchanan & Jade Rose
\u200b2 December – Allstate Canadian National Teams Good Hands Award
\u200b3 December – Canadian Players of the Year presented by Allstate (1of2)
\u200b4 December – Canadian Players of the Year presented by Allstate (2of2)
Beyond the Player Awards, Canada Soccer will announce the
\u200bCanada Soccer Nations Champions presented by Toyota on Monday 22 December, a
\u200bnew award that will honour individuals that have made a difference in their
\u200bcommunity at the grassroots level of the game. Nominations for the Canada
\u200bSoccer Nations Champions are open from 24 November through 13 December.