Olympic champion, world record holder and forever Canadian champion Christine Sinclair will play her last international match in 2023. It will mark the end of a remarkable 24-year international career in which the “Captain of Everything” carried Canada and transformed a nation like few. Other athletes in Canadian sports history.
With only two international windows remaining on the FIFA calendar this year, fans will have only a few chances to see the iconic star in Canadian colors before she says goodbye. Canada’s women’s national soccer team next plays Brazil in a two-game home series with a date in Montreal at Stade Saputo on Saturday, October 28 and then a date in Halifax at a sold-out Wanderers Ground on Tuesday, October 31.
“Congratulations to Christine on a remarkable career that has been exceptional and inspiring on and off the field. While her days as an active player on the Women’s National Team are coming to an end, her legacy will live on in the hearts and aspirations of many young female athletes across Canada and around the world.”
Charmaine Crooks, President of the Canadian Football Association
“Very few players can lace up their boots and transcend the sport either in this country or around the world. Christine has done just that, both as a player and as a person. She is known and loved by all Canadians and has been pivotal at every stop in every country. I feel fortunate And very special because I worked with Christine, the greatest of all time, not only in what she did but also in the way she did it. The moment Christine’s last kick or final whistle blows for this country, she can leave the field knowing that she has changed this game forever. “She inspired an entire generation and paved the way for a better future for everyone through her work off the field. This is a tremendous legacy.”
-Bev Priestman, Women’s National Team Coach, Canada Soccer
“As a former player, I know that this day and these moments are difficult. But this is not the end for Christine, who has impacted the sport in our country to a level that we will continue to see and feel for years to come. I would like to thank Christine for her tremendous contributions and for everything she has done and will continue to do to help.” In the development of soccer in Canada.
– Jason DeVos, Interim General Secretary of the Canadian Football League
Since March 2000, Sinclair has made 327 Grade A international appearances, the second most in the history of world football. She led Canada to the CONCACAF Championship in 2010, a gold medal at the Pan American Games in 2011, back-to-back Olympic bronze medals in 2012 and 2016, and an Olympic gold medal in 2021. She also helped Canada finish fourth at the CONCACAF Championship. 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup and Canada’s record-setting sixth FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2015.
Sinclair holds the all-time world international goalscoring record with 190 goals scored in all A matches and those goals were scored in 22 different countries and against 43 opponents. In major competitions, she has scored 10 goals in the FIFA World Cup, 12 goals in the Olympic Games, and a further 46 goals in all CONCACAF competitions. In recognition of her world record, she received a special FIFA Best of the Year Award as well as the Canadian Soccer President’s Award.
An Officer of the Order of Canada, Sinclair is also a 14-time Canadian Footballer of the Year and a two-time Canadian Athlete of the Year. She was Canada’s Women’s Soccer Player of the Decade from 2010 to 2019 and was a three-time Canadian Team Captain of the Year from 2012 to 2021. She also made the top five eight times for the Canadian Press Athlete of the Year award. A 10-time finalist for the FIFA World Player of the Year award.
Sinclair’s next home game will be its 50thy She has made international ‘A’ appearances for Canada since June 2001 when she scored the 2:2 equalizer against the visiting Americans at Toronto’s Old Stadium. They have appeared in seven different provinces and Nova Scotia is expected to become the eighth Canadian province in which an international ‘A’ match has been played. Besides hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2015, Canada has helped qualify for two Olympic Games with home fans behind it: in January 2012 in Vancouver for the London 2012 Olympic Games and more recently in September 2023 in Toronto for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
