Canadian Soccer had quite a year.
There were ups, downs, and controversies—lots to be proud of and ashamed of. In a pivotal time for Canadian soccer, the game is still growing. In fact, progress is showing.
According to the Canadian Youth Sports Report in 2023 via the CBC, soccer is the top choice of sport by youth in Canada at 16%. It’s not just playing soccer that is growing, watching is on the rise too. According to a report by Bell Media, 18.7 million Canadian viewers watched the Euros and Copa America combined in the summer of 2024. The report says 1.7 million Canadians watched the Canadian men’s national team’s dramatic penalty shootout quarterfinal win over Venezuela. 2.8 million Canadians watched the men’s semi-final against Argentina and 1.9 million watched the third-place match between Canada and Uruguay.
It is also worth mentioning that 609,000 people watched the Canadian Premier League final between Cavalry and Forge on CBC and One Soccer.
Those are encouraging numbers but of course, the game isn’t done growing.
Let’s look back at the year that was for Canadian Soccer.
Jesse Marsch revitalizes the men’s team.
The Canadian men’s national team was in a weird spot at the beginning of 2024. They ended 2023 with a shocking defeat over two legs on away goals to Jamaica in the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals. Fans and media were not happy and angry over the result.
They eventually qualified for the Copa America with a win over Trinidad and Tobago in the CONCACAF Nations League playoff round but the men needed a new manager. John Herdman left the program in the summer of 2023 to join Toronto FC (more on him later) and Mauro Biello was the interim. They needed a manager who was experienced and could raise the standards. New Canada Soccer CEO Kevin Blue led an extensive search and they found him.
That was Jesse Marsch. He had the experience. Throughout his career, Marsch was the head coach of Leeds United, RB Leipzig, RB Salzburg, New York Red Bulls and Montreal Impact. (Now CF Montreal.) Marsch may be American born and raised but he quickly endeared himself to soccer fans.
Marsch brought a high-pressing and vertical tactical style to the Canadian men’s team. (The “Maple Press” as One Soccer’s Alexandre Gangue-Ruzic put it.) He also brought hope and belief to the squad and the fans.
Canada impressed the world when they finished fourth in the Copa America. There was also an impressive 0-0 draw against France in June which was Marsch’s second match in charge. Canada also beat the US on their soil in September with a 2-1 win. That was Canada’s first win on US soil for the first time since 1957.
Many players impressed and took their games to different levels under Marsch. Those include Derek Cornelius, Ismael Kone, Moise Bombito, Jacob Shaffelburg and Ali Ahmed. Cornelius, Kone and Bombito earned themselves moves to Ligue 1 as a result of their Copa America performances. Kone and Cornelius are at Olympique Marseille and Bombito signed for OGC Nice. Shaffelburg and Ahmed could leave Nashville SC and the Vancouver Whitecaps for Europe in the near future too.
While it hasn’t been 100% perfect, the Canadian men have been more cohesive and players are improving.
Marsch has been very active off the pitch and is a strong advocate for the development of young talent.
“It is unacceptable that a player like Moise Bombito is not discovered until he is 23 years old,” said Marsch in July. “I’ve coached some of the best CBs in the world… and his talent level is in that category.”
After Copa America, Marsch has travelled around the country visiting grassroots soccer organizations and running coaching clinics. He has also attended a CPL match and plans to attend more.
Marsch has raised the standard for the Canadian men’s team and hopes to take them to greater heights in 2025. Canada also proved they are more than just Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David.
Scandal and Resilience in the Women’s Team
After a disappointing World Cup in 2023, the Canadian women’s national team had a chance to rebound.
It was going to be difficult for the women to transition into the post-Christine Sinclair era. However, Canada still had a good team so there was no reason why they couldn’t go far in tournaments.
Unfortunately, penalty kicks were the kryptonite for the Canadian women in 2024. They got knocked out of the SheBelieves Cup semi-finals and lost the CONCACAF W Women’s Gold Cup final on penalty kicks. Both were to the United States which rubs more salt in the wounds.
Goal scoring was a problem. Canada often had trouble in the final third and the likes of Jordyn Huitema and Adrianna Leon faced scrutiny.
Then there was Dronegate. Just before the Olympics in Paris, a drone flew over New Zealand’s (They were who Canada was going to play in the first game of the Olympics) training session. It turns out, the drone belonged to Canada. Canada analyst Joseph Lombardi was the one using the drone and was detained by French police and eventually accepted an eight-month sentence in prison.
Lombardi, assistant coach Jasmine Mander and head coach Bev Priestman were sent home and eventually fired and banned from soccer for one year. As a result, Canada was deducted six points and started the Olympics with negative six points.
However, they persevered. They did not let the noise get to them. The Canadians defeated New Zealand and hosts France by 2-1 scorelines and Colombia 1-0 and won the group. Unfortunately, the ride came to an end after a scoreless draw with Germany and a loss on penalty kicks. Once again, the poor final third play and penalty kicks caused Canada’s downfall.
It also turns out spying with drones goes back years for the women’s and men’s teams, according to a July report by TSN’s Rick Westhead. One of the people surrounding this was Herdman. He too, is under the microscope for the drones scandal and he left his job as Toronto FC manager last week.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of the Drone Scandal. Actually, things got worse than drones and spying.
According to the lengthy report by The Globe and Mail released in November, the Canadian women’s team had a toxic work culture under Priestman which included mandatory staff socials the night before games and employees leaving meetings in tears. The whole drones scandal and The Globe and Mail were black eyes for Canadian soccer.
Fortunately, there are some positives to take away from 2024 for the women’s team. They went undefeated this year minus penalty kicks. That is still a good achievement.
Janine Beckie was bouncing back after suffering an ACL injury in 2023. Jesse Fleming further proved she was an integral part of the team as a creator in the midfield. Vannessa Gilles emerged as one of the best defenders in the women’s game as well. She scored some crucial goals at the Olympics.
Looking Ahead to 2025 for Canadian Soccer
There is a lot to look forward to for Canadian Soccer in 2025.
The men have a chance to win trophies as they continue their journey in the CONCACAF Nations League and CONCACAF Gold Cup.
As for the women, it will be interesting to see who their new coach will be and if they can steer them in the right direction in preparation for the 2027 World Cup.
Which players will take bigger steps? Which ones will get big moves? Can Canada Soccer avoid controversy in 2025? More importantly, will the federation and the national teams take the right steps to
