Canada will compete against Zimbabwe for the right to host the Women’s World Cup in 2015 and the U-20 Women’s World Cup in 2014. FIFA announced Monday that the Canadian Soccer Association and Zimbabwe’s football federation were the two countries committed to sending official bid books to Switzerland by the Feb. 11 deadline. FIFA will vote on a host March 2-3.

What a night for Jaime Peters. The Canadian right back enjoyed a great night, shutting down Arsenal’s Andrey Arshavin in a rather one-sided one-on-one duel, as Ipswich Town shocked the Gunners 1-0 in the opening leg of their Carling Cup semifinal at Portman Road.

It’s sorta like Wayne Gretzky winning Hart Trophies in the 1980s. That is, Christine Sinclair being named Canada’s women’s soccer player of the year. On Thursday, she won the honour for the sixth consecutive time. Actually, she’s the only person to ever win the award. The Canadian Soccer Association launched the award just in time for Sinclair to begin her own personal dynasty. Playing alongside Brazilian star Marta, Sinclair led WPS in assists. Her FC Gold Pride won the WPS regular-season and playoff titles. Sinclair was Canada’s top scorer at the Gold Cup, which it won, securing a spot at next year’s World Cup in Germany. “Without a doubt, the highlight was winning CONCACAF with Canada,” said Sinclair. “It’s something we’ve never done before, with all the teams in it.”

As first reported in The 11 back on Nov. 27, the Canadian Soccer Association is set to change the format of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship. FC Edmonton will face Toronto FC in one semifinal, while the Vancouver Whitecaps and Montreal Impact will tussle in the other. The editorial stance from Nov. 27 about Canada needing a single-game Cup final, about a knock-out tournament being better than a round-robin format, still stands. Canada needs a proper Cup, not a round-robin setup filled with controversy and lame-duck games. And, TFC fans who think that somehow a great rivalry exists between Toronto and Montreal — that the tournament will lose something if the Reds and Impact don't meet this year — give your heads a shake. Vancouver and Montreal have a far more heated rivalry, built through years of USL play, than the one that exists between the Impact and TFC. That will change when the Impact joins MLS in 2012, but not yet.

The Canadians captured the Gold Cup with a 1-0 win over the host Mexicans on Monday night. The women's team had already wrapped up a spot in the Women's World Cup, but the victory gave coach Carolina Morace's charges a tremendous psychological boost.