Canada Soccer

Christine Sinclair has been named the Canada Soccer Player of the Decade after an unparalleled 10 years of world-class performances in which she continued to build a legacy as of one of Canada’s greatest athletes of all time. A Concacaf champion in 2010 and back-to-back Olympic medal winner from London 2012 and Rio 2016, she was the 2012 Lou Marsh Trophy and Bobbie Rosenfeld Award winner, the 2011 WPS Championship MVP, and seven-time Canada Soccer Canadian Player of the Year.

The flag bearer at the London 2012 Closing Ceremonies, Sinclair was also a four-time professional club playoff champion, three-time FIFA Women’s World Cup participant, four-time Concacaf medal winner, and four-time finalist for the FIFA World Player of the Year. She scored 64 goals for club and 84 goals for country, notably moving within two goals of setting the world’s all-time international goalscoring record.

“Christine Sinclair is a once-in-a-generation athlete that has been at the heart of Canadian sport for over 20 years, but what she accomplished in the past 10 years has changed the sport forever in our country,” said Steven Reed, Canada Soccer President. “Christine is the Canada Soccer Player of the Decade and unquestionably one of the greatest and most-loved athletes Canada has ever watched.”

Sinclair has been at the heart of a seismic shift for the sport of soccer in Canada across the past 10 years, inspiring the next generation with her every touch of the ball. From captaining the first Canadian team sport to win a medal in a Summer Olympic Games in 76 years at London 2012 to scoring Canada’s opening goal at the record-breaking FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015, she continues to grab the attention and headlines of a nation.

When she scored a hat trick in the incredible Canada-USA London 2012 Olympic semi-finals, a record average audience of 2.4 million viewers watched the moment on TSN. The country stopped, held its breath and cheered three days later when Canada won Olympic bronze. They did so again four years later at Rio 2016 when she scored the winning goal for another bronze medal after defeating host nation Brazil, thus captaining the first Canadian team in more than 100 years to win medals in back-to-back Summer Olympic Games.

Beyond sport, she was the first soccer player appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada and the first to have her name engraved on Canada’s Walk of Fame. She received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012, earned honourary degrees from Simon Fraser University in 2013 and Kwantlen Polytechnic University in 2015, and was honoured by Women Against Multiple Sclerosis for her outstanding charity work. She was also one of four founding members of iS4 alongside teammates Karina LeBlanc, Diana Matheson and Rhian Wilkinson, a group dedicated to empowering others through workshops, speaking engagements, team building, and soccer camps.

In 2015, she helped welcome the world as Canada hosted the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 from coast to coast across the nation. It was the largest FIFA Women’s World Cup ever, drawing 1,353,506 cumulative spectators to set both a record for the competition as well as a record for any FIFA competition other than the men’s FIFA World Cup. The FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 attracted a worldwide television audience of more than 750 million viewers and generated nearly half a billion dollars in economic impact for the country.

Her best soccer season to date was 2012 when she smashed the national scoring record with 23 international goals in 22 games, including a world-best six at the Olympic Games. She was also superb in 2010 when she recorded 13 goals and a national record nine assists, notably scoring the game winner that secured Canada’s second-ever Concacaf Women’s Championship. She also scored in all four matches that qualified Canada for either a FIFA Women’s World Cup or Olympic Games, including the game winners in 2016 and 2018.

At the club level, she won three regular-season titles and four playoff titles. In Women’s Professional Soccer, she won the double in both 2010 with FC Gold Pride and 2011 with the Western New York Flash. In the newly-established National Women’s Soccer League, one of Canada Soccer’s legacies of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, she helped Portland Thorns FC win the NWSL Shield in 2016 and the NWSL Championship in 2013 and 2017.

Since 2000, Sinclair is Canada Soccer’s all-time record holder in goals scored (183) and international appearances (289), including 10 goals in 21 matches at five FIFA Women’s World Cups and 11 goals in 15 matches at three Olympic Football Tournaments. She is a 14-time Canadian Player of the Year and 16-time Canada goalscoring leader. On 29 January 2020, she plans to continue those goalscoring exploits as Canada vies for a spot at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games through the Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

TEAM HONOURS – International (2010-2019)
Concacaf champion, 2010
Olympic bronze medal, 2012 and 2016
FIFA Women’s World Cup participant, 2011, 2015, 2019
Pan American Games gold medal, 2011
Cyprus Cup winner, 2010 and 2011
Algarve Cup winner, 2016
Four Nations winner in Brazil, 2010
Four Nations winner in China, 2015
Concacaf silver medal, 2012, 2016, 2018

TEAM HONOURS – National (2010-2019)
Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame, London 2012 team
Canadian Press Team of the Year, 2012
CBC Sports Team of the Year, 2012
Postmedia Team of the Year, 2012 and 2016

TEAM HONOURS – Club (2010-2019)
WPS Championship winner, 2010 and 2011
WPS regular season winner, 2010 and 2011
NWSL Championship winner, 2013 and 2017
NWSL Shield winner, 2016

INDIVIDUAL HONOURS – International (2010-2019)
Canadian Player of the Year, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018
Finalist FIFA World Player of the Year, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016
Olympic Games Top Scorer, 2012
Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifying Top Scorer, 2012
Concacaf Best XI, 2016 and 2018
Four Nations Yongchuan Cup MVP, 2011
Canada single-season goalscoring record, 23 goals in 2012
Canada single-season assists record, 9 assists in 2010
Canada consecutive starts record, 43 matches from 2013 to 2016
Canada Soccer Centennial All-Time XI, 2012
Global Ambassador, FIFA Live Your Goals campaign
Olympic flag bearer, London 2012 Closing Ceremonies
Second-place all-time in international goals scored

INDIVIDUAL HONOURS – National (2010-2019)
Officer of the Order of Canada, 2017
Canada’s Walk of Fame, 2013
Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, 2012
Lou Marsh Trophy, 2012
Bobbie Rosenfeld Award, 2012
AthletesCAN True Sport Award, 2019
Air Canada Athlete of the Year, 2012
CBC Canada’s Athlete of the Year, 2012
Sportsnet Athlete of the Year, 2012
Yahoo! Canada Buzziest Canadian of the Year, 2012
CAAWS Most Influential Women, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
Globe & Mail Power 50, 2011 and 2013
Women Against MS Honouree, 2019

INDIVIDUAL HONOURS – Professional Clubs (2010-2019)
WPS Championship MVP, 2011
WPS Best XI, 2011
WPS goalscoring leader, 2011
WPS assists leader, 2010 and 2011
NWSL Second XI, 2013 and 2018
Thorns FC Supporters’ Player of the year, 2018
Thorns FC Most Valuable Player, 2013
Thorns FC Golden Boot, 2017
Second-place all-time in NWSL goals scored
 

Ashley Lawrence has been voted the Canadian Player of the Year for the first time after a terrific season with Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team and professional club Paris Saint-Germain FC in France and UEFA Women’s Champions League. She was Canada’s top player in the month of June during the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019 as Canada reached the knockout phase for the third time.
 
In 2019, Lawrence led Canada with four assists at the international “A” level and was named Canada Soccer Player of the Month in both June and November. She was one of four footballers to play in all 15 matches, featuring primarily at right back as she led Canada in minutes played for the second year in a row. She was Canada’s player of the match in the Round of 16 at the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019.
 
Lawrence of Caledon East, Ontario was honoured from a vote shared by Canadian media and Canadian coaches. Lawrence shares the 2019 Canadian Players of the Year award with co-winner Jonathan David from Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team.
 
“Ashley Lawrence is a fantastic, positive individual with great character and someone who looks at ways to improve her game all the time,” said Kenneth Heiner-Møller, Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team Head Coach. “She is a world-class player with a fast-paced drive on the ball; she has the ability to pass, cross and shoot with both feet; she is able to play at several positions on the highest level. In 2019, her leadership abilities continued to develop both on and off the pitch, providing a positive impact on both her younger teammates as well as her own game.”
 
At the club level, Lawrence helped Paris Saint-Germain finish second in the league standings in the 2018-19 Championnat de France, the same position they hold four months into the 2019-20 campaign. In cup competitions, she helped PSG reach the Quarter-finals of both the 2019 Coupe de France and 2018-19 UEFA Women’s Champions League. The club has also qualified for the Quarter-finals of 2019-20 UEFA Women’s Champions League to be played in March and April 2020.

 
Looking ahead with Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team, Lawrence will be an important part of Canada’s search for a fourth-consecutive qualification to the Olympic Games. The eight-nation Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament runs 28 January through 9 February from which two nations will qualify for Tokyo 2020. Canada will play group matches against St. Kitts and Nevis (29 January), Jamaica (1 February) and Mexico (4 February) in Edinburg, TX after which the top-two nations in the group will advance to the Concacaf Semi-finals on 6 February in Carson, CA. Winners of the Semi-finals advance to the 2020 Concacaf final and qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
 
This past year marked Canada Soccer’s seventh consecutive participation at the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the first time Canada reached the knockout phase in back-to-back tournaments. From FIFA’s detailed review of the 24 finalists at France 2019, Canada led the way in statistical averages for possession (61%), passes (581) and opponents bypassed (419). In a nine-month run after qualifying in October 2018, Canada posted seven wins, three draws and three losses in 13 international matches, with their only losses to the world’s top-three nations USA, Netherlands and Sweden. That string also included a 10-match unbeaten streak, the second longest in program history.
 
Lawrence, 24 years old, has made 83 international appearances for Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team since making her debut as a teenager on 12 January 2013. She played her youth football for Brams United SC and Erin Mills SC before attending West Virginia University and then turning pro with Paris Saint-Germain FC.  She was 14 years old when she made her debut in the Canadian youth program in 2010 and she won Canadian U-17 Player of the Year honours in 2011 and 2012.
 
2019 Canada Soccer Player Awards
This marks the 27th edition of the Canada Soccer Player Awards. Amongst women’s footballers, Ashley Lawrence finished first in voting ahead of runner up Janine Beckie and top-five finishers Kadeisha Buchanan, Christine Sinclair, and Stephanie Labbé.
 
As part of the 2019 Canada Soccer Player Awards, Jayden Nelson and Olivia Smith have been named Canadian Youth International Players of the Year, Luis Rocha has been named Canadian Futsal Player of the Year, and Samuel Charron has been named Canadian Para Soccer Player of the Year. Stephanie Labbé, meanwhile, has been named the 2019 winner of the Allstate Canadian National Teams Good Hands Award.

Canada Soccer Moments, Plays and Goals of the Year
Canada Soccer’s annual Moments campaign will be announced on 20 December outlining the Top 10 Moments from 2019 across National Teams and player activity as well as the Canadian Championship.
 
Canada Soccer’s Plays of the Year fan voting will take place from 23 December – 3 January with the winner announced on 7 January 2020. Fans who vote will be entered for a chance to win one of three CanadaRED Prize Packs including a Grand Prize including a signed Nike National Team jersey.
 
Canada Soccer will unveil its Top 10 of the ‘10s Decade on 31 December followed by a National Teams Goal of the Year celebration on 1 January.

Follow Canada Soccer on Twitter (@CanadaSoccerEN/@CanadaSoccerFR), on Instagram (@CanadaSoccer) and on Facebook (www.facebook.com/canadasoccer) to follow t