Canada Soccer names roster for inaugural CONCACAF W Futsal Championship in late April

Neil Davidson · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Apr 15, 2025 12:01 PM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

Canada Soccer has announced its roster for the inaugural CONCACAF W Futsal Championship, scheduled for April 28 to May 4 successful Guatemala.

Jadyn Steinhauer, Jade Houmphanh and Erika Hindmarsh are drawn from the precocious crowned Canadian champion SK Impact FC from Saskatoon. Shayla He joins from the Canadian runner-up FC Underdogs of Montreal.

There are besides 4 players from Quebec's Xtreme FCL.

The nine-team tourney astatine the Domo Polideportivo successful Guatemala City volition find the region's first-ever women's futsal champion and nonstop 2 teams to the inaugural FIFA Futsal Women's World Cup aboriginal this twelvemonth successful the Philippines.

The FIFA Futsal World Cup, slated for Nov. 21 to Dec. 7, volition diagnostic 16 teams from the six FIFA confederations.

Futsal is simply a five-a-side indoor crippled played successful 2 20-minute halves. Like hockey, teams tin marque changes connected the fly.

Canada had been drawn successful Group B alongside the United States, Costa Rica, and the victor of a play-in lucifer betwixt Honduras and Nicaragua connected April 28. Canada opens April 29 against Costa Rica earlier facing the Honduras-Nicaragua victor connected April 30 and the U.S. connected May 1.

The apical 2 teams from each of the 2 groups beforehand to the May 3 semifinals with the title crippled the adjacent day. Both finalists determination connected to the FIFA World Cup.

"It's a unsocial accidental to measurement ourselves against the champion successful CONCACAF and spot however acold we've come," Canada manager Alexandre Da Rocha said successful a statement.: It's an implicit honour and a privilege to kick-start this travel — we person the players, we person the staff, and we person everything successful spot to vie with each squad astatine this competition."

Female players privation FIFA championship

Da Rocha, a erstwhile manager of the Quebec's women's futsal team, has served arsenic an adjunct manager with the Canadian men's futsal broadside since 2019.

Female futsal players person agelong campaigned for a FIFA championship. In 2022, the International Women's Futsal Players Association condemned FIFAs "public neglect towards women futsal players."

FIFA held the archetypal Futsal Men's World Cup successful 1989 with the 2028 variation featuring 24 teams. Defending champion Brazil has won six of the 10 tournaments to date, finishing runner-up erstwhile and 3rd twice.

Canada has not participated since being 1 of the 16 invited countries for the inaugural men's tournament, failing to beforehand retired of the archetypal circular aft losing to Argentina and Belgium earlier downing Japan.

That 1989 futsal squad included Paul Dolan, Pat Harrington, Nick De Santis, Eddy Berdusco, Lyndon Hooper and Alex Bunbury. Dolan was besides a subordinate of Canada's 1986 FIFA World Cup squad successful Mexico.

There person been 8 editions of the CONCACAF Men's Futsal Championship with Canada participating successful 4 of them. The Canadians' champion showing was making the quarterfinals, successful some 2021 and 2024.

Panama won the rubric past clip retired successful 20204 ending Costa Rica's tally of 3 consecutive championships.

Canada roster

Goalkeepers: Jadyn Steinhauer, Saskatoon, SK Impact FC; Lea Palacio, Montreal, FC Grenadieres.

Fixo: Jade Houmphanh, Saskatoon, SK Impact FC; Maude Lagace, Laval, Que., Xtreme FCL; Sophie Therien, Montreal, Xtreme FCL.

Ala: Cynthia Gaspar-Freire, Quebec City, Xtreme FCL; Erika Hindmarsh, Saskatoon, SK Impact FC; Erika Pion, Repentigny, Que., Atletico Montreal; Sadie Sider, Ottawa, University of South Florida; Shayla He, Montreal, FC Underdogs; Stephie-Ann Dadaille, Laval, Que., Atletico Montreal.

Pivo: Esther Brossard, Montreal, Lehigh University, Joelle Gosselin, Quebec City, Xtreme FCL; Keera Melenhorst, Ottawa, University of Pittsburgh.