SPORTS
From Issue #8
Soccer in Canada
Just Kickin' It!
By Jim Agapito
Although
Canada did not make it to the World Cup this year, it doesn't
mean we're out of the soccer race. Canada is preparing for bigger
and better things in the future.
Our best chance to qualify for the World Cup will lie with the
Women's Under-19 team for 2003. With players like 15-year-old
teenage soccer phenom, Kara Lang and 19-year-old Christine Sinclair,
who plays for the University of Portland and has played for
team Canada 34 times, the world will have a force to reckon
with.
To ensure a position in the World Cup, the team will need to
finish either first or second in the Gold Cup, which is the
qualifying tournament for international play. The third place
team will have to play a team from Asia for the last FIFA Under-19
spot.
"Canada [women's under-19 team] has prepared well for this
tournament and has as good a chance as anyone," says Men's
World Cup Team Manager Morgan Quarry. He says that the under-19
team has a good chance to qualify for their third straight World
Cup.
On the men's side, our Under-17 World Cup team will be playing
a qualifying tournament in March of 2003. It's 
still too early
to determine how Canada will do in this tournament, Quarry says,
but he's optimistic that Canada will do very well.
So why didn't Canada qualify for this year's World Cup?
"Qualifying depends on what region you're from. We [Men's
World Cup Team] didn't qualify because we finished third in
a group which include Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago and Panama,"
says Quarry. Since Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago were the top
two teams, Canada did not get a spot.
Regardless, many countries recognize our players for their skill
and have recruited them for their teams. Kevin McKenna already
plays for the Hearts team in Scotland and recent Gold Cup MVP
goalkeeper, Lars Hirschfeld, is on trial with the Tottenham
Hotspur team in England. Look for more Canadians on your favourite
soccer teams!
