The Canadian Soccer Association (; branded as Canada Soccer) is the

governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ...

for

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Headquartered in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Ontario, the federation is a full member of

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

and governs Canadian soccer at the international, professional, and amateur levels, including: the men's and

women's A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional uteruses ...

national teams, youth organizations,

beach soccer Beach soccer, also known as beach football, sand football or sand soccer, is a variant of association football played on a beach or some form of sand between two teams of five players each. Association football has long been played informally on ...

futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...

and deaf national teams. The Canadian Soccer Association also administers and operates the

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; ) is a professional Association football, soccer league in Canada and the highest level of the Canadian soccer league system. The league comprises eight teams, from five of provinces and territories of ...

, the

Canadian Championship The Canadian Championship () is an annual soccer tournament contested by Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and a berth in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. It is contested by Major League Soccer sides Toronto FC, Va ...

, and the Futsal Canadian Championship.

History

The Dominion of Canada Football Association, today known as the Canadian Soccer Association, was founded in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, Manitoba, in July 1912. The organization joined

on December 31, 1912. On June 21, 1926, the DCFA resigned from FIFA, only to rejoin on June 20, 1948. The governing body of the game retained that name until it was changed to The Football Association of Canada on June 6, 1952. The association later changed its name to the Canadian Soccer Football Association in 1958 and then at last to the Canadian Soccer Association in 1971. Canada Soccer has hosted several global soccer tournaments, including the 1976 Olympic football tournament, the

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the f ...

, and will co-host the

2026 FIFA World Cup The 2026 FIFA World Cup, marketed as FIFA World Cup 26, will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's Association football, soccer championship contested by the List of men's n ...

along with Mexico and United States. The association has also hosted the

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members' men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when i ...

(

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

), the FIFA U-16 World Championship (

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

), and the

FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup is an international association football tournament, organized by FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), for national teams of women under the age of 20. The tournament is held biennially. ...

(

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Organization and governance

Canada Soccer is a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

governed by a board of directors consisting of 14 directors: a President, Vice President, six elected directors, and six appointed or independent directors. Each of the six elected directors is elected from one of six geographic regions. The board must include at least three men and three women. Canada Soccer is administered by the General Secretariat. The general secretary is the chief executive of Soccer Canada, and is appointed by the board of directors. Canada Soccer is a member of the worldwide soccer body

and the North American soccer body

CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 4 ...

and also has a relationship with the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

. Canada Soccer's objectives, as described in its by-laws, are to: # promote, regulate and control the game of soccer throughout Canada, particularly through youth and development programs; # organize competitions in Association Football in all its forms at a national level, by defining the areas of authority conceded to the various leagues of which it is composed; # draw up Association Football regulations and provisions, and ensure their enforcement; # protect the interests of its Members; # respect and prevent any infringement of the statutes, regulations, directives and decisions of FIFA, CONCACAF and The CSA, as well as the Laws of the Game; # prevent all methods or practices that jeopardize the integrity of matches or competitions or give rise to abuse of Association Football; # control and supervise all friendly Association Football matches played throughout Canada; # manage international sporting relations connected with Association Football; # host competitions at international and other levels.

National teams

Men's national team

The Canada men's national soccer team represents

in international

competitions at the senior men's level. Their most significant achievements are winning the

1985 CONCACAF Championship The 1985 CONCACAF Championship was the ninth edition of the CONCACAF Championship. It also served as the qualification for the 1986 World Cup. A total of 18 CONCACAF teams entered the competition. The North, Central American and Caribbean zone ...

to qualify for the

1986 FIFA World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-tea ...

, winning the

2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the fifth edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF), and the 15th overall CONCACAF tournament. It was held in Los Angeles, Miami, and San Diego ...

to qualify for the

2001 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup was the fifth FIFA Confederations Cup and the third to be organized by FIFA. It was also the first in which the original hosts, Saudi Arabia national football team, Saudi Arabia, did not participate (they were the ...

and qualifying for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

. A Canadian club team also won a gold medal in the

1904 Summer Olympics The 1904 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the III Olympiad and also known as St. Louis 1904) were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 1 July to 23 November 1904. Many events were conducted ...

. The men's national soccer team have played at the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

on two occasions, in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

, and

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

. They have yet to make it through to the knockout stages. By qualifying for the

, Canada ended a 36-year drought. Canada with Mexico and the United States will jointly host the

in the first 48-team event. Canada have played at the

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup () is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament is held every two ...

on eighteen occasions, most recently in

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

. They co-hosted the tournament in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, where they finished 4th in their group, and did not advance to the knockout stage.

Women's national team

The Canada women's national soccer team represents Canada in international

women's soccer Women's association football, more commonly known as women's football or women's soccer, is the team sport of association football played by women. It is played at the professional level in multiple countries, and about 200 national teams partic ...

competitions at the senior women's level. Its most significant achievements are winning the

1998 CONCACAF Women's Championship The 1998 CONCACAF Women's Championship was the fourth staging of the CONCACAF Women's Championship, the international women's association football tournament for North America, Central America and Caribbean nations organized by CONCACAF. The fina ...

to qualify for the

1999 FIFA Women's World Cup The 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup was the third edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the world championship for List of women's national association football teams, women's national association football, soccer teams. It was hosted as well as ...

, and winning the

2010 CONCACAF Women's World Cup Qualifying The 2010 CONCACAF Women's World Cup Qualifying was the eighth edition of the CONCACAF W Championship, the quadrennial international women's football championship contested by the senior women's national teams of the member associations of CONCACA ...

to qualify for the

2011 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup was the sixth FIFA Women's World Cup competition, the world championship for List of women's national association football teams, women's national association football, football teams. It was held from 26 June to ...

. The Canadian team also won a gold medal in the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

. The women's national soccer team has played at the

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior list of women's national association football teams, women's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Footb ...

on eight occasions (missing only the inaugural 1991 edition), most recently in

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

. The team reached international prominence at the

2003 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial championship of women's association football, women's national soccer teams organized by FIFA. It was held in the United States from September ...

, losing in the third place match to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Canada hosted the

, and reached the quarterfinals. The team has played at the

CONCACAF W Championship The CONCACAF W Championship is a women's association football competition for national teams organized by the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) that often serves as the qualifying competition ...

on ten occasions, most recently in

. It hosted the tournament in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

and

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

. Canada has played at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

on four occasions, most recently at the

in Tokyo, where they were crowned champions for the very first time.

Youth national teams

The men's youth team most significant achievements are winning the

1986 CONCACAF U-20 Tournament The 1986 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship was held in Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and To ...

to qualify for the

1987 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Chile from 10 to 25 October 1987. The 1987 championship was the 6th edition of the FIFA World Youth Championship and won for the first time by Yugoslavia. Remarkably, in the course of the tourn ...

, and winning the

1996 CONCACAF U-20 Tournament The 1996 CONCACAF U-20 Tournament was a football tournament that was played in April 1996 in Mexico. It determined the four CONCACAF teams that participated at the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship.

to qualify for the

1997 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship, known as the 1997 FIFA/Coca-Cola World Youth Championship for sponsorship purposes, was the 11th staging of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, FIFA World Youth Championship. It was held from 16 June to 5 July 1997 i ...

. The women's youth team most significant achievements are winning the 2004 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, winning the

2008 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship The 2008 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship was the 4th edition of the CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, the biennial international youth football championship organised by CONCACAF for the women's under-20 national teams of the North, Central ...

to qualify for the

2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was the 4th edition of the tournament. It was held in Chile between 19 November and 7 December 2008. Sixteen teams, comprising representatives from all six confederations, took part in the final competition, i ...

, and winning the

2010 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship The 2010 CONCACAF Under-17 Women's Championship was held in Costa Rica from March 10–20, 2010. This was the second edition of the U-17 women's championship for CONCACAF. The first and second placed teams qualified for the 2010 FIFA U-17 Women' ...

to qualify for the

2010 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup The 2010 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup women's football tournament was the second such tournament, and was held in Trinidad and Tobago from 5 to 25 September 2010. Sixteen teams, comprising representatives from all six confederations, took part in ...

. Canada Soccer Association oversees and promotes the development of many youth national teams: * Canada men's national under-23 (Olympic) soccer team *

Canada men's national under-20 soccer team The Canada U-20 men's national soccer team (also known as Canada Under-20s or Canada U-20s) represents Canada in international soccer at this age level. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association, the governing body for soccer in Canad ...

Canada men's national under-17 soccer team The Canada U-17 men's national soccer team (also known as Canada Under-17s or Canada U-17s) represents Canada in international soccer at this age level. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association, the governing body for soccer in C ...

Canada men's national under-15 soccer team The Canada U-17 men's national soccer team (also known as Canada Under-17s or Canada U-17s) represents Canada in international Association football, soccer at this age level. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association, the governing ...

Canada women's national under-20 soccer team The Canada U-20 women's national soccer team (also known as Canada Under-20s or Canada U-20s) represents Canada in international soccer at this age level. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association, the governing body for soccer in Cana ...

Canada women's national under-17 soccer team The Canada U-17 women's national soccer team (also known as Canada Under-17s or Canada U-17s) represents Canada in international soccer at this age level. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association, the governing body for soccer in Cana ...

* Canada girls' national under-15 soccer team

Extended national teams

Canada national beach soccer team The Canada national beach soccer team represents Canada in international beach soccer competitions and is controlled by the Canadian Soccer Association, the governing body for soccer in Canada. Players Current squad As of 13 February 2017 ...

* Canada national cerebral palsy soccer team * Canada men's national futsal team *

Canada women's national futsal team The Canada women's national futsal team () represents Canada in international futsal competitions, and is overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association. History After establishing its first-ever local women's championship in April 2023, the Canad ...

Professional leagues

Despite a long history of professional soccer in the country, Canada have struggled to build and sustain domestic soccer leagues. They have gone through many different iterations, finally landing on the Canadian Premier League that was founded in 2019.

Men

The

(CPL) is the top division of soccer in Canada. It is the only fully professional, and only fully national league in the system. Founded in 2019, the CPL is composed of eight teams and is sanctioned by the CSA. There are also three Canadian teams which play in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

, the first-division league sanctioned by the

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of soccer in the United States. It is a full member of FIFA and governs American soccer ...

, reflecting a longstanding practice of major Canadian sports franchises competing in American leagues. CSA does not have a sanctioned second-division men's soccer league; however, they do have a third-division sanctioned league:

League1 Canada League1 Canada (L1C; ) is a national pro–am Association football, soccer organization in Canada. It consists of four regional leagues; League1 Alberta, League1 British Columbia, League1 Ontario, and Ligue1 Québec with each league operating m ...

which was founded in 2022. League1 Canada is contested by clubs from four divisions; these are

Ligue1 Québec Ligue1 Québec (L1QC) is a Semi-professional sports, semi-professional men's Association football, soccer league in Quebec, Canada. Founded in 2011 as the Première ligue de soccer du Québec, the league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Asso ...

League1 Ontario League1 Ontario (L1ON) is a semi-professional men's soccer league in Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association. League1 Ontario consists of three tiers – League1 Premier ...

League1 British Columbia League1 British Columbia (L1BC) is a Semi-professional sports, semi-professional men's and women's association football, soccer league in British Columbia, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the British Colu ...

, and

League1 Alberta League1 Alberta (L1AB) is a semi-professional men's and women's soccer league in Alberta, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Alberta Soccer Association as a third division pro–am league in the Canadi ...

for both the men's and women's divisions. In 2022,

Toronto FC II Toronto FC II is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, that competes in MLS Next Pro, a third tier league of the United States soccer league system. It is the reserve team and minor league affiliate of Toronto FC as we ...

and

Whitecaps FC 2 Whitecaps FC 2 is a professional association football, soccer team based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada that serves as the reserve team of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC of Major League Soccer. History Prior to the MLS Next Pro iteratio ...

began play in

MLS Next Pro MLS Next Pro (MLSNP) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada that is affiliated with Major League Soccer (MLS). It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and now comprises 27 reserve sides of MLS clu ...

, a USSF-sanctioned third-division league. At the professional level, Canada's domestic cup is the

. Founded in 2008, the Canadian Championship is an annual tournament contested by Canadian professional teams and the champions of each League1 Canada division. The winner is awarded the

Voyageurs Cup The Voyageurs Cup () is the domestic trophy for professional soccer in Canada, awarded to the best men's and women's clubs in the country. The Cup was conceived and commissioned by fans of the Canada men's national team, the Voyageurs, in 20 ...

and a berth in the

CONCACAF Champions Cup The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, a ...

. Canada's best performance in the CONCACAF Champions Cup came in the 2014–15 competition, when Montreal Impact reached the finals.

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

also reached the final in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

where they fell in penalties to

C.D. Guadalajara Club Deportivo Guadalajara S.A de C.V. (;), nicknamed ''"Chivas"'' () and simply known as Guadalajara or internationally as Chivas de Guadalajara, is a Mexican professional football club based in the Guadalajara metropolitan area, Jalisco. It ...

Women

The

Northern Super League The Northern Super League (NSL; ) is a Canada soccer league system#Women, top-division professional women's association football, women's soccer league in Canada. The league is owned and operated by Project 8 Sports, Inc., and includes six team ...

(NSL) is the top division soccer league in Canada. The league began play in April 2025 and consists of six teams:

Halifax Tides FC Halifax Tides FC is a professional Women's association football, women's soccer club based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It will compete in the Northern Super League, in the highest level of the Canadian soccer league system#Women, Canadian soccer l ...

AFC Toronto AFC Toronto is a professional women's soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario, that competes in the Northern Super League, a league at the top of the Canadian soccer league system. History In April 2023, AFC Toronto was established by a grou ...

Calgary Wild FC Calgary Wild FC is a professional Women's association football, women's soccer club based in Calgary, Alberta, that competes in the Northern Super League, a league at the top of the women's Canadian soccer pyramid. History In December 2022, ...

Montreal Roses Roses FC (also known as the Montreal Roses; ) is a professional women's soccer club based in Montreal, Quebec, that competes in the Northern Super League, in the top flight of the Canadian soccer league system. One of two professional soccer c ...

Ottawa Rapid Ottawa Rapid FC () is a professional women's soccer club based in Ottawa, Ontario. It competes in the Northern Super League, the highest level of the Canadian soccer league system. The club plays its home matches at the 24,000-capacity TD Place ...

and

Vancouver Rise Vancouver Rise FC is a professional women's soccer club based in Vancouver, British Columbia, that competes in the Northern Super League, in the top flight of the Canadian soccer league system. Majority-owned by Vancouver Whitecaps FC co-owner ...

. The CSA previously had an affiliation with the U.S.-based

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional Association football, soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system#Women's leagues, United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Supe ...

(NWSL) where some

Canada women's national soccer team The Canada women's national soccer team () represents Canada in international soccer competitions. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association, the governing body for soccer in Canada. The team reached international prominence at the ...

players were assigned to NWSL clubs. This affiliation ended after the

2021 season 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

when the allocation system was abolished, although many Canadians continue to play in the American league.

Leagues

Controversies

Sexual harassment

In July 2022, an independent review summarized in a 125-page report by McLaren Global Sport Solution, commissioned by Canada Soccer, concluded that Canada Soccer mishandled

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...

allegations in 2008 against then Canada U-20 women's soccer coach Bob Birarda, who was later found guilty of three counts of

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...

. It said Canada Soccer was "described by many as being dysfunctional and inefficient" in 2007 and 2008, and concluded among other things that "harassment was not a priority issue amongst the senior Canadian Soccer Association leadership team" at the time. In 2022, Canada Soccer's then newly appointed Secretary General Earl Cochrane said: "We are going to be leaders in this safe sport – through policy, practice, programs."

Drone spying scandal

On July 22, 2024, New Zealand's women's soccer team made a startling report to French authorities, claiming a drone had been flying over their practice sessions in

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: ''Sant-Etiève''), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regi ...

. French investigators quickly traced the drone to Joseph Lombardi, a staff member of Canada Soccer. The

Canadian Olympic Committee The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC; ), also known as Team Canada, is a private nonprofit organization that represents Canada at the International Olympic Committee. It is also a member of the Pan American Sports Organization. History Cana ...

(COC) confirmed that both Lombardi and assistant coach Jasmine Mander, had been sent home. In response, Canadian head coach Beverly Priestman issued a public statement clarifying that, while she hadn't "directed" the staffers responsible for the drone, she was stepping down from coaching the upcoming game. She also offered an apology to New Zealand, acknowledging that the actions didn't reflect the values her team stands for. Canada Soccer quickly launched an investigation into the matter, with

soon announcing it would hold its own disciplinary hearings. Canada Soccer's CEO, Kevin Blue, spoke to reporters, suggesting that, based on initial findings, the drone incident might not have been an isolated one, but part of a "systemic culture." He added that Priestman would not be coaching the Canadian team at the Paris Olympics. Following their investigation, FIFA announced that Priestman, Lombardi, and Mander were all found responsible for "offensive behavior" and violations of fair play. As a result, the three were handed a one-year ban from all soccer-related activities, and Canada's national team was hit with a six-point penalty in the ongoing Olympics, making their already challenging route to the knockout stages even harder.

Executive committee

Presidents

References

External links

*
Canada
at

Canada
at

Canada Soccer Annual Report

Canada Soccer Records & Results 2024
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canadian Soccer Association 1912 establishments in Canada Sports organizations established in 1912 National members of CONCACAF

Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

Association football governing bodies in North America Sport in Ottawa

History

Organization and governance

National teams

Men's national team

Women's national team

Youth national teams

Extended national teams

Professional leagues

Men

Women

Leagues

Controversies

Sexual harassment

Drone spying scandal

Executive committee

Presidents

See also

References

External links