Soccer in Canada | Canada Hosting the 2026 World Cup

[elly63]

Dayne St. Clair named MLS All-Star Game MVP
MLSsoccer staff mlssoccer.com August 10, 2022

[JHikka]

His passion for soccer survived 3 years in a refugee camp. Now this St. John's player is pushing for the pros
Lukas Wall
August 16, 2022

Felly Elonda is one step closer to reaching the highest level of Canadian soccer, but the young player's love of the game began far from the fields in St. John's where he honed his skills.

Elonda was born in Congo and spent three years in a refugee camp in Zimbabwe before moving to St. John's at 10.

"The love of football for me has always been there, even in the refugee camp. Whenever there was a game on, me and my buddies would all go to someone that had a TV to just watch a game," he said.

...

In St. John's, Elonda began playing soccer at Leary's Brook Junior High and was spotted by Ian Osmond, a coach with the Feildians Athletics Association.

"I was dropping my son off to the junior high soccer practice and I said, 'I'll stick around and watch it for five minutes,'" said Osmond.

"I saw this thin kid on the field, I'd never seen him before, and by the third touch of the ball, holy smokes, this guy is really, really good."

Osmond went on to coach Elonda with Feildians for six years, a time which the young player said helped him to develop his skills on the pitch.

"It was new to me because growing up it was very disorganized, right? It was just me and my friends outside kicking the soccer ball around.… There was always a ball around, or if not, my friends and I would always grab plastic bags and then just wrap it all around together and make it into a soccer ball and just go outside and have a kick," Elonda said.

"When I had that opportunity to join Feildians, it was completely new to me. I wasn't really used to playing in an organized sport … but over time I got used being around that environment and it has paid off."

...

That environment helped Elonda reach an under-23 development program with HFX Wanderers FC of the Canadian Premier League.

The program is a new initiative to provide development opportunities for young players from Atlantic Canada and establish a path to the CPL, the top level of Canadian soccer and the country's only fully professional league.

Elonda joined the program's first training camp in November and made an impression with the club, getting invited back to training sessions and earning a spot in the under-23 team's starting lineup for a series of games.

"They really liked my playing style. They liked my movement off and on the ball and so I had the opportunity again to be called up for this final camp and to be part of the U-23," he said.

The young midfielder also had a recent brush with some European talent, joining a team of Atlantic university all-star players that bested the under-23 squad from Sunderland AFC, who play in the second tier of English soccer.

"I was like, 'Whoa, me, Felly gets to play against Sunderland, European players.' These are the players that we're going to be watching on TV in the next couple of years," he said.

"For us to get a big result like a 3-0 win over Sunderland, it's huge."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfo...camp-1.6548232

[svlt]

Pacific FC, CPL's representative in international club competition this year is going to need to find some way to climb out of a 1-0 hole next week. Not looking good after they sold off their best player last week.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by svlt

Pacific FC, CPL's representative in international club competition this year is going to need to find some way to climb out of a 1-0 hole next week. Not looking good after they sold off their best player last week.

Bit of a let-down that ownership not only sold Diaz but also have seemingly taken those funds with them to Langley for next season. Intriguing moves.

Still, great to see more CPL clubs getting international match experience.

[elly63]

17-year-old Luca Koleosho, (still eligible for Canada) was in Espanyol’s squad for their La Liga opener (and second game) getting in both around the 80 minute mark. With playing at that level he will be hard to ignore for Qatar selection.

[JHikka]

CF Montreal transfer Djordje Mihailovic to AZ Alkmaar in Holland.

Sale is worth more than $6M plus additional sell-on fees. Move is effective January 1st, meaning CFM retain him for their playoff push this fall.

https://en.cfmontreal.com/news/djord...-to-az-alkmaar

[svlt]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Bit of a let-down that ownership not only sold Diaz but also have seemingly taken those funds with them to Langley for next season. Intriguing moves.

Still, great to see more CPL clubs getting international match experience.

Game over for them, and for their future participation in the Concacaf league too which is going away. No 2023 international games.

CPL teams will get to play regularly starting in 2024 in the expanded Concacaf Champions League.

[megadude]

The Premier League in Ontario:

The closest thing for Brentford is Beeton, which is named after the local bee farms. Brentford's nickname is the Bees.

West Ham Road in Oakville is next to the Oakville Soccer Centre. There are also roads called Newcastle and Lazio.

Also, if you're in Ontario, no need to spend the money on a tour of the UK. You can visit all the capitals of the British Isles, including on the Isle of Man. And yeah, had to throw Glasgow in there as most people think that's the capital. Also added the Scottish themed town of Fergus and Erinsville, home to the first Irish Language-speaking area, or Gaeltacht, outside Ireland.

[elly63]

Corbeanu: A Special Moment
Blackpool FC August 27, 2022

Theo Corbeanu admits his late equaliser against Bristol City is a moment he'll remember for a long time.

The Wolves loanee grabbed a late equaliser in a thrilling 3-3 draw at Blomfield Road, and he was delighted to grab his second of the season in the game.

"It was a very special moment, and one that I'll never forget," he said.

"To come on and make an impact in the way I did and to see the stadium erupt in the way it did was one of the best moments of my career so far. The gaffer said to me to go on and do what I can to make my mark, and I feel I did that.

"Of course, it's a shame we couldn't get the result we wanted, as I think we were quite comfortable throughout the game. They did well to come back into it, so credit to them, but as a team we were looking for more from the game."

That's now two goals in consecutive matches for the winger, and Corbeanu admits he's been working on key areas of his game in recent weeks.

"If I want to play at a high level and play in the Championship, then I need to improve certain areas of my game," he said.

"An area I think I need to work on is when we are out of possession and I'm doing my best to work on that. In the past two games, I've got two goals where I've chased down lost causes, if you like, and got the better of my opponent and I was fortunate enough to get the goal."

Having now been at Blackpool for a number of weeks, the Canadian has admitted he's loving life by the seaside.

"So far, so good and I'm really enjoying my time here," he said.

"I think I started off quite slowly and it took me a bit of time to get used to the intensity of the Championship. It's a higher level to what I played in last season, but I'm really enjoying it so far.

"It's also a great group to be around, and it's one I'm hoping to learn a lot from this season."

[elly63]

[ivegotaname]

I know the cities of Moncton Fredericton and most recently Saint John in New Brunswick would give Halifax a good running for highest attendance record.
fields in Moncton and Saint John could hold the amount needed to do so we just need parking spots in SJ

[elly63]

Awaiting confirmation about the Kone to Sheffield deal as it may be off. The deal for Sander Berge to leave Sheffield has fallen through and as Kone was meant to be a replacement, it is likely it has been killed as well. Confirmation to follow.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by elly63

Awaiting confirmation about the Kone to Sheffield deal as it may be off. The deal for Sander Berge to leave Sheffield has fallen through and as Kone was meant to be a replacement, it is likely it has been killed as well. Confirmation to follow.

[elly63]

Jonathan David scores two for Lille against Montpellier in Ligue 1. Also in Ligue 1, Ike Ugbo scores for Troyes (against Rennes). In the Championship, Theo Corbeanu has scored for Blackpool (vs Huddersfield). That is his third in four games. Corbeanu is making his case for going to Qatar.

Kamal Miller and Alistair Johnston have also scored for Montreal in their game with Toronto. Stephen Eustacquio is MOTM in Portos's win over Gil Vicente. All in all a pretty darn good weekend for Canadian NT members.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by elly63

Canada (FIFA 43/ELO 29) is scheduled to face Qatar (FIFA 49/ELO 48) on Friday, September 23, 2022 in Vienna, Austria, and Uruguay (FIFA 13/ELO 11) on Tuesday, September 27, 2022 in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Canada (FIFA 43/ELO 30) will now face Japan (FIFA 24/ELO 29) on November 17, 2022

[megadude]

My orders came in. The family is ready. Too bad it's in the winter. Won't get to see as much red and white on the street under all those winter coats.

[Coldrsx]

Nicely done!

That wee one is adorable.

[megadude]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

Nicely done!

That wee one is adorable.

Thanks. The onesie was custom ordered from China along with a Polish one too. Was about six and a half bucks each. The toddler one comes with shorts. It's just too bad she can't walk around outside kitted out. Would have been super cute. I guess I'll just have her do it now a couple times while the weather permits.

When an adult wears full kit in any situation other than before, during or after a game of footy they are playing in, they are referred to as FKWs (full kit wankers). I remember reading that on some British site. Anyway, after the Raps won the 'ship back in 2019, I was at Niagara Falls with my brother and he had on his Raps sweater but I had my tshirt and hat. Not something I'd combine unless it was gameday or during a playoff run but we won the whole thing so that's something you could milk until next season starts. I explained to him what a FKW was and by total coincidence, an hour later, at Dufferin Islands Park, we saw a guy in full Bayern kit walking around taking pics of nature with a big lens. Looked like a tourist rather than day tripper so we were wondering if he was actually from Germany. Hadn't seen a FKW before or since.

[megadude]

So Canada doesn't get a 2022 WC jersey. Apparently, Nike requires like 18 months to come up with a new jersey and they didn't take it seriously for Canada. Doesn't bother me considering some of the absolutely shambolic kit they have just released for other countries, particularly the US and England. And I'm a big fan of the current Canada one.

That's the thing, when you have to change kit every couple of years, there's only so many nice standard templates that exist. You have to make it different enough that people will buy the new one.

[Hawrylyshyn]

Originally Posted by megadude

So Canada doesn't get a 2022 WC jersey. Apparently, Nike requires like 18 months to come up with a new jersey and they didn't take it seriously for Canada. Doesn't bother me considering some of the absolutely shambolic kit they have just released for other countries, particularly the US and England. And I'm a big fan of the current Canada one.

That's the thing, when you have to change kit every couple of years, there's only so many nice standard templates that exist. You have to make it different enough that people will buy the new one.

#1 reason they change kits -- money. I think teams are getting new ones way too often, with too big of changes. Some of the new ones are awful this year (England, Portugal).

I agree, thankfully Canada has a nice one.