Lyndon Hooper (born May 30, 1966) is a Canadian former professional

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 ...

player and former assistant coach of the

Toronto Lynx Toronto Lynx was a Canadian soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1997, the team last played in the 2014 season of the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes D ...

soccer team of the

United Soccer Leagues United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

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. A former

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

, he was a prominent Canadian international.

Club career

Guyana-born but moving to

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 ...

at age 11, Hooper turned professional in 1987 with the

Ottawa Intrepid Ottawa Intrepid was a professional soccer team based in Ottawa, Ontario that competed in the original Canadian Soccer League. They were founded as the National Capital Pioneers (also spelled National Capitals Pioneers) and played in Aylmer, Queb ...

of the

Canadian Soccer League The Canadian Soccer League (CSL; ) is a semi-professional league for Canadian soccer clubs primarily located in the province of Ontario, and claims the history of the Canadian National Soccer League (CNSL). It is a non-FIFA league previously ...

. He continued to play for

Wilfrid Laurier University Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a Public university, public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Ontario, Waterloo, Brantford, Ontario, Brantford and Milton, Ontario, Milton. The ...

in the autumns from 1986 to 1990 and was named second-team CIAU all-Canadian in 1986 and 1987. In 1986, he played in the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its ...

with

Toronto Blizzard Toronto Blizzard may refer to: *Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984), the original soccer club, a franchise of the North American Soccer League *Toronto Blizzard (1986–1993), the later club and franchise of the Canadian Soccer League *Toronto Azzurri B ...

. He went on to play for CSL teams the

Montreal Supra Montreal Supra was a Soccer in Canada, Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Montreal, Montreal, Quebec that played in the Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992), Canadian Soccer League from 1988 to 1992. History Montre ...

, and returned to Toronto Blizzard in 1990. The 5'8, 160 lbs. Hooper played in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

with

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

in the 1993–94 season. His first game for Birmingham City was on 6 October 1993; a second city derby away at Aston Villa where Birmingham lost 1–0. Hooper returned to

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to play for A-League teams the Montreal Impact from 1994 to 1998,

Hampton Roads Mariners Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia * Hampton, New South Wales * Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria ** Hampton railway station, Melbou ...

in 1999, and

, retiring as a player with the Lynx in 2001. Hooper played amateur soccer for Scarborough GS United in the 2005–06 season. The team won the Senior (open age) Men's Canadian Club Championship.

International career

Hooper is the sixth most capped player in the history of the Canadian national team, having made 68 'A' team appearances (scoring 2 goals) between 1986 and 1997. He made his debut for

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 ...

in an August 1986

Merlion Cup The Merlion Cup is an invitational association football, football tournament that was held in Singapore annually from 1982–1986, in 1992, 2009 and 2019 and 2023. Participants included full national sides, Olympic sides, Invitational XI's and ...

match against

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. He represented Canada in 18

FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a set of competitive matches that a national association football team plays in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the men's FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments ar ...

matches. His final international was a June 1997 World Cup qualification match against

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

. He also represented Canada at the inaugural

1989 FIFA Futsal World Championship The 1989 FIFA Futsal World Championship was the first FIFA Futsal World Championship, the quadrennial international futsal championship contested by the men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It was held between 5 and 15 January ...

Post-retirement

When he retired from soccer he served as a sports consultant with the Toronto Sports Council and earned his Level "B" coaching license while coaching the U17 Ontario Provincial Team. On March 3, 2005 he was appointed the new assistant coach for the

,Hooper joins Toronto Lynx
/ref> under

Hubert Busby Jr. Hubert Busby Junior (born 18 June 1969) is a football manager and former player. Born in Canada, he represented Jamaica at international level. Playing career In 1993, Busby Jr. played in the Canadian National Soccer League with Windsor Wheels. ...

But when the Lynx finished with a league worst 3 wins, 17 losses, and 8 ties, the worst performance in league history, he and Busby both left their coaching roles after one season with the club. Hooper has recently started an elite soccer camp in the Durham Region of Ontario where he resides. The soccer camp has embarked on its journey to building a new generation of Canadian homegrown talent. Hooper currently works for Ontario Soccer as the Coordinator, Coach Development.

Personal life

Hooper's sister is star soccer player

Charmaine Hooper Charmaine Elizabeth Hooper (born January 15, 1968) is a Canadian retired soccer player. A four-time winner of the Canadian Players of the Year award and member of the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame, Hooper played on the Canada women's national so ...

and Ian Hooper, a former professional and collegiate soccer player at NC State and current Director of Business Operations for the Ottawa Champions Baseball Club. Hooper is married to Jennifer Beckford and has two kids, Trey and Taylor Hooper. He was born and raised in Georgetown, Guyana then moved to Canada in 1978.

Career statistics

:''Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.''

Honours

Canada *

North American Nations Cup The North American Nations Cup was an association football competition organized by NAFU as its top regional tournament for men's senior national teams from North America. The tournament was held in 1990 and 1991. Canada, United States and Mexi ...

: 3rd place,

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

External links

* /

Canada Soccer Hall of Fame The Canada Soccer Hall of Fame honours people and institutions for their contributions to Canadian soccer. It was founded in 1997 by the Ontario Soccer Association and was originally located in Vaughan, Ontario. As of 2024, the Canada Soccer Ha ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hooper, Lyndon 1966 births Living people Footballers from Georgetown, Guyana Soccer players from Ottawa Guyanese emigrants to Canada Naturalized citizens of Canada Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men's soccer players Black Canadian men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders Canadian men's soccer players Canada men's international soccer players Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States 1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Ottawa Intrepid players Montreal Supra players Toronto Blizzard (1986–1993) players Birmingham City F.C. players Montreal Impact (1992–2011) players Cincinnati Silverbacks players Virginia Beach Mariners players Toronto Lynx players Canadian National Soccer League players Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) players English Football League players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players USL First Division players Guyanese people of African descent Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Canadian soccer coaches A-League (1995–2004) players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in England 20th-century Canadian sportsmen