Canada Soccer have confirmed that all 22 Olympic champions have been called into the upcoming Women’s National Team Celebration Tour for the October international window in Ottawa and Montréal. The two-match series, which will begin in the nation’s capital city, will also kick off Canada’s journey to the next FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023, with Canada facing the co-hosts New Zealand on Saturday 23 October at TD Place in Ottawa and then on Tuesday 26 October at Stade Saputo in Montréal.
Tickets to both matches start as low as $25, plus applicable fees, with tickets now on sale via CanadaSoccer.com. In addition, group discounts (25+ tickets) are available for these matches. Fans organizing a group of 25 or more are eligible to receive discounts of up to 30% off regular priced tickets.
The Saturday match will kick off at 15.00 local while the Tuesday night match will kick off at 19.30 local. Both matches will be broadcast live on OneSoccer including TELUS channel 980 and onesoccer.ca.
“To have all 22 players back together for the start of the Women’s National Team Celebration Tour was really important because this group deserve to share this moment with our loyal fans,” said Bev Priestman, Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team Head Coach. “We’re all excited to get back on the pitch together and celebrate with our fans.”
Canada’s 22 Olympic champions are captain Christine Sinclair, Janine Beckie, Kadeisha Buchanan, Gabrielle Carle, Allysha Chapman, Jessie Fleming, Vanessa Gilles, Julia Grosso, Jordyn Huitema, Stephanie Labbé, Ashley Lawrence, Adriana Leon, Erin McLeod, Nichelle Prince, Quinn, Jayde Riviere, Deanne Rose, Sophie Schmidt, Desiree Scott, Kailen Sheridan, Evelyne Viens, and Shelina Zadorsky.
Alongside the 22 Olympic champions, Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team have also called in four training players for the international camp: Marie Levasseur from Fleury FC, Victoria Pickett from Kansas City, Jade Rose from Harvard University, and Nikayla Small from Wake Forest University.
“We felt it was also an important opportunity to assess and build for the future by taking a look at some new players or assess players we know in different positions around the training environment as we start the journey for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023 and Olympic Games 2024,” said Priestman.
Canada are Olympic champions for the first time after winning the Tokyo 2020 Women’s Olympic Football Tournament in Japan this year. Unbeaten across six matches, Canada Soccer achieved their best-ever result at the Olympic Games while also winning their third consecutive medal, thus “changing the colour of their medal” from back-to-back Bronze at London 2012 and Rio 2016 to Gold at Tokyo 2020 and Rising Higher on the podium.
Canada’s October matches signify the start of the journey to the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023 and Olympic Games in 2024. While some regions have already begun FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in September and Concacaf nations begin their qualification matches in February 2022, Canada will play their first official matches next July at the 2022 Concacaf W Championship.
“As a past FIFA Women’s World Cup host, it is fitting that Canada starts our next chapter on the road to the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 against the co-hosts New Zealand and we can’t wait to start that chapter,” said Priestman.
Incidentally, both Canada and New Zealand have faced each other at the last two FIFA Women’s World Cups, both the record-setting 2015 edition hosted by Canada and the most recent edition hosted by France. The two sides drew 0:0 at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton at Canada 2015, with Canada winning 2:0 in Grenoble at France 2019.
Canada Soccer Media Release
Photo credit: Canada Soccer
