The game of choice: Girls' and women's soccer in Canada

Abstract

While Canada is known as a hockey nation, it is not particularly noted for soccer. Far more Canadian girls play soccer than ice hockey, and the growth during the 1990s and into the new millennium has been spectacular. For the past several years, females have accounted for over one-third of the new registrations each year. Soccer did not always welcome females, especially if they wanted to play on boys' teams, which many had to do before clubs, leagues, schools and universities began to initiate programmes for girls and women. The remarkable growth of grassroots soccer among female youth in the 1980s and 1990s has paid off in the development of a women's national team programme, first initiated in 1986. Professionally, several Canadians now play in the eight-team Women's United Soccer Association. This chapter traces the development of women's soccer in Canada from its beginnings in the 1920s to its present day popularity, pointing out some of the issues, problems and struggles still remaining.