11 December 2012
Members
of the media are invited to take part in the launch of the Official Emblem for
the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015 on Friday 14 December 2012 at BC Place
in Vancouver.
The
upcoming edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015 will not only expand
the tournament from 16 to 24 teams from around the world, but also mark the
first time that a single-sport event has been hosted from coast to coast in
Canada.
On Friday
14 December to coincide with the Official Emblem unveiling in Vancouver,
corresponding events will take place in each of the Official Host Cities at
which their composite logos for the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015 will be
unveiled.
Attending
the event in Vancouver will be members of Canada's women's national team,
including national head coach John Herdman and captain Christine Sinclair.
For
participation in this event, please contact Richard Scott at 613.818.0305.
Score one for emotion.
Score one for je ne sais quoi over the bottom line.
Score one for how it made us feel, as a nation, for longer than our usual five-minute attention span.
Sports voting — for Halls of Fame, all-star teams, awards of all kinds — tends to get hung up on statistics, or the Big
But when Christine Sinclair sweeps all the major athlete-of-the-year awards in Canada this year — the CBC’s last week, the Lou Marsh on Monday, others surely still to come — it will not be for statistics alone, or for a championship at all.
It will be for galvanizing a nation, for making Canada stand up on its hind legs and howl about something few of us had any idea we cared about in the first place.
The statistics? Sure, they mattered, too. Scoring 23 times in a single soccer season, figuring in 66% of all the goals Canada scored all year, isn’t too bad. Winning the Golden Boot at the London Olympics, scoring six goals, three of them in a 4-3 overtime loss to the United States that might be the greatest performance by a Canadian soccer player, male or female, ever … those are numbers not to be ignored.
Karina LeBlanc has visited nearly 30 cities since returning from the London Olympics in August. One day earlier this week, while waiting in Vancouver for a flight to Florida, she was approached by a man she estimated to be in his 50s or 60s.
“I just want to say thank you to you guys,” the stranger told LeBlanc, a goalkeeper on the Canadian women’s soccer team. “And that Christine Sinclair girl, she inspired me, and I’m not even an athlete.”
It was not the first such airport encounter.
“It’s a testament to what she’s done,” LeBlanc said of her long-time teammate. “She’s reaching people of different backgrounds — from people who’ve never watched sports, people who’ve never watched soccer — and she’s just getting them, and she’s inspiring them. I think that’s one of the things that makes her so special.”
On Tuesday, the Canadian Soccer Association announced plans to honour Sinclair with a special plaque for setting a national record with 23 international goals this year. And with awards season approaching, it should not be the only honour Sinclair collects.
Next week, voters will gather to determine the recipient of the Lou Marsh Trophy, which is awarded annually to Canada’s top athlete, male or female, professional or amateur. No soccer player has ever won the award.
Later this month, The Canadian Press will name its top female athlete of the year.
John Herdman says it’s a “travesty” that Canada’s soccer captain Christine Sinclair has been snubbed for FIFA’s women’s player of the year award.
But the coach of the Canadian team that captured bronze at the London Olympics said a lack of knowledge about the women’s game is more to blame than any malicious intent.
And besides, the coach added, international recognition isn’t what his star striker plays for.
“It’s a travesty,” Herdman said in from Vancouver. “A player who can score a hat trick in a semi-final and lead her country to the first [Olympic team] medal since 1936, the first time Canada’s ever been on a [soccer] podium at one of these events, and still be one of the leading scorers in the world. . . and she can’t get in the top three.
“There’s something wrong somewhere. But at the end of the day, you don’t want to be pointing fingers at people. It is what it is.”
The 29-year-old from Burnaby, B.C., led Canada to bronze in London in spectacular fashion, scoring an Olympic-record six goals to
Americans Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan and Brazil’s Marta make up the final three, after a vote by national team coaches, captains and reporters. The winner will be announced in Switzerland on Jan. 7.
I’m not sure whether this would be a big deal to her, I think she’s a type of player that will probably just shrug her shoulders and say, ‘Oh well, when’s my next game?’As part of its partnership with the world governing body of soccer, France Football organizes the FIFA Ballon D’Or vote. The finalists were picked from a list of 10 candidates, compiled by the editors of France Football and the Committee for Women’s Football and the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Herdman voted for Sinclair, Wambach and Camille Abily of France.
Just one journalist votes per FIFA country. Neil Davidson of The Canadian Press cast the lone Canadian vote, listing Sinclair first, Wambach second, and American Carli Lloyd third.
Herdman was on the shortlist for coach of the year, but wasn’t among the final three announced Thursday. France’s Bruno Bini, Japan’s Norio Sasaki and the United States’ Pia Sundhage made the final ballot.
Davidson voted for 1. Sundhage, 2. Herdman and 3. Sasaki.
Canada's
head coach John Herdman narrowly missed out on the final ballot for
women's soccer coach of the year. (Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters)
Sinclair, Canada’s flag-bearer at the closing ceremonies in London, was suspended four matches by the sport’s governing body for comments she made after Canada’s semi-final loss to the U.S.
Sinclair has been on the shortlist six times in her
But it wasn’t to be, and her supporters quickly took to Twitter to voice their outrage, some accusing FIFA of blackballing the Canadian.
Canadian forward Melissa Tancredi posted: “@sincy12 we’ll
Midfielder Rhian Wilkinson wrote “I am shocked by Sincy not making the final three, crazy.”
Herdman said what she’s done for the women’s game in Canada far outweighs any international recognition.
“She’s recognized in Canada, she’s inspired a nation of young players to come through,” he said.
“And I think for Christine, to be honest, the type of person she is, this sort of recognition would just be water off a duck’s back. She’s more focused on just letting her football do the talking and I guess her recognition is being in what she’s achieved her in Canada, and I think that’s pretty much what she cares about.
“I’m not sure whether this would be a big deal to her, I think she’s a type of player that will probably just shrug her shoulders and say, ‘Oh well, when’s my next game?’”
Her 143 career international goals rank third all-time, second among active players behind Wambach (148).
If
Christine Sinclair did not know she was a Canadian star before she left
for the 2012 London Olympics, she certainly knew after she returned
from the Games. (Ben Nelms/Reuters)
Morgan was involved in 41.7% of the U.S. team’s goals, with 27 goals and 18 assists in 27 games. Wambach was involved in 28.7% of the Americans’ goals, while Marta scored just two international goals in seven games for Brazil, but had a strong pro season in Sweden.
“For any voters, it’s always going to be difficult to decide who you want on that list,” Herdman said. “But the bottom line is Christine’s just had one of those years, its just been an unbelievable year and when players have years like that, you would expect them to be recognized in some way and if they’re not, they’re not.
“That might tell you a little bit about the global awareness of women’s football.”
Lancement de l’emblème de la
Coupe du Monde Féminine FIFA, Canada 2015
11 décembre 2012
Les membres des médias sont invités à prendre part au lancement de
l'emblème officiel de la Coupe du Monde Féminine de la FIFA Canada 2015 le
vendredi 14 décembre 2012. L'événement aura lieu à BC Place à Vancouver
La prochaine édition verra non seulement le tournoi passer de 16 à 24
équipes de partout dans le monde, mais marquera aussi le premier événement
unisport a être accueilli d'un bout à l'autre du Canada.
Le vendredi 14 décembre, à l'occasion de l'inauguration de l’emblème
officiel à Vancouver, des événements simultanés auront lieu dans chacune des
villes hôtes officielles au cours desquelles leurs logos composites pour la
Coupe du Monde Féminine de la FIFA Canada 2015 seront dévoilés.
Des membres de l’équipe nationale féminine canadienne assisteront à
l'événement de Vancouver, y compris l’entraîneur-chef John Herdman et la
capitaine Christine Sinclair
Pour
participer à cet événement, veuillez communiquez avec Richard Scott au
613.818.0305.
Contacts
|
Richard Scott rscott@soccercan.ca T 613-237-4580 x 237 C 613-818-0305 |
|
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