FIFA’s letter is a troubling development for Canadians 15 Apr 2011 Being a great country is FAR more important than being a good FIFA member. Maybe it’s time for us to set an example for other countries to follow. FIFA can’t decide Saturday to suspend the Canadian Soccer Association. A suspension of a program is a process that usually takes months to complete. Board meetings have to be held. Reports have to be prepared.
Asmir Begovic makes charitable move… in Canada? 4 Apr 2011 Asmir Begovic is back on the radar of Canadian soccer fans. The former Canadian U-20 keeper, who in 2009 elected to play for Bosnia and Herzegovina, is now sponsoring a program to send disadvantaged kids to pro soccer games in his adopted hometown of Edmonton.
Obstacle removed: Salgado cleared to play for Whitecaps 25 Mar 2011 Omar Salgado won’t have to wait until his 18th birthday to play in his first MLS game. The Vancouver Whitecaps have been successful in their efforts to get the No. 1 pick in the 2011 Superdraft cleared to play. Salgado is currently with the U.S. U-20 team as it prepares for the CONCACAF qualifiers in Guatemala, so he won’t be able to help the Whitecaps this Saturday in Philadelphia, where the club has a bit of a roster crisis because of international call-ups.
German WWC ticket numbers should encourage CSA 21 Mar 2011 On Friday, the lottery phases ended — and tickets for the upcoming Women’s World Cup went on general sale. And the numbers are encouraging. According to FIFA, 515,000 tickets were sold through the first four phases of the ticket-selling process, before the tickets went up for general sale.
FIFA to charge Antalya refs; Canada-Belarus expected to go ahead 10 Mar 2011 What will Canada do? FIFA has now formally launched disciplinary proceedings against six match officials accused of helping to fix the last two international friendlies held in the Turkish resort of Antalya. According to FIFA’s international calendar, Canada’s men’s team is to play Belarus March 29 in Antalya, which has become a hotspot for training camps and friendlies. Toronto FC opened its 2011 training camp there with three matches against European club-team opposition.
FIFA gives itself right to ‘intervene’ over fears of match-fixing 3 Mar 2011 Lost in Thursday’s announcement of the awarding of the 2015 Women’s World Cup to Canada and the decision not to change the geographical arrangements of slots for Brazil 2014 was quick mention by FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke of some coming changes to regulations to help police match-fixing.
Vancouver, Edmonton or Montreal? Who should get the WWC final in 2015? 3 Mar 2011 Now, the next part of the debate: Which cities will get the plum games — Canada’s home games, semifinals and final? FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association released the names of the seven “candidate” cities to host games. Toronto wasn’t on that list, as expected, because of the conflict between the WWC and the Pan Am Games. The seven cities: Halifax, Moncton, Montreal Ottawa, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver.
FIFA keeps status quo for 2014 World Cup; no extra slot for CONCACAF 3 Mar 2011 The status quo will remain for the 2014 World Cup. The allocation of slots by regions will remain exactly the same as they were for the 2010 World Cup, despite hopes coming out of CONCACAF that this confederation would be bumped from three spots and a playoff berth to four clear slots.
Great day for Canada, bad day for FIFA: We get the World Cup no one else wanted 1 Mar 2011 FIFA has announced that Zimbabwe has withdrawn its bid for the 2015 Women’s World Cup, leaving Canada as the only bidder left. Canada’s official bid book was presented to FIFA in mid-February. But, while it’s almost a certainty that FIFA will confirm the Canadian Soccer Association's successful bid on March 3, Canada is not yet officially declared the host.
Canada delivers 2015 Women’s World Cup bid book to FIFA 15 Feb 2011 A Canadian Soccer Association delegation has delivered the bid book for the 2015 Women's World Cup to FIFA headquarters in Zurich. The delegation, which included federal Minister of State (Sport) Gary Lunn, Canadian Soccer Association President Dominic Maestracci, Vice-President Victor Montagliani and General Secretary Peter Montopoli, met with FIFA officials Tuesday, including President Sepp Blatter.