The former captain of Canada Christine Sinclair and the co -founder of the Northern Super League, Diana Matheson, lead the class of the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame of 2025.
To both of them, who won 537 CAPS combined for Canada, bind to former goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld and the former FIFA referee Michelle Pye in the induction class.
“Canada Soccer has the honor of celebrating this exceptional group of individuals as estimated members of the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame,” said Canada’s president Peter, Peter Augrudo, in a statement. “Lars, Diana, Michelle and Christine have had a deep impact on sports in Canada, and I am delighted that their important contributions are recognized.”
Normally, there is a waiting period of five years after retirement to be eligible for the living room. But in the case of Sinclair, the main scorer of all time in the world, the Canadian Football Heritage Committee and the Committee of the Hall of Fame decided unanimously to accelerate its selection.
Sinclair, who scored 190 goals and added 54 assists in 331 international appearances, becomes the first to renounce the waiting period.
The last game of the Sinclair club was a defeat on November 10 by Portland Thorns against Gotham FC in the NWSL playoffs. His international swan for Canada was on December 5, 2023.
The new members carry the numbers of the Hall of Fame to 147 players, 13 coaches, 11 officials and 45 builders.
“It will be our honor and privilege welcoming these four legends to the Canadian football hall, to shed light on their legacy and protect their records and contributions to sport in Canada,” said γçï Ken Maclean, president of the Canadian football inheritance and the Committee of the Hall of Fame.
Hirschfeld and Matheson were selected through the annual vote in the category of modern Canadian players, while Pye was chosen through a voting category for referees
Look | Sinclair excited by the NSL League:
The Legend of Canadian football and co -owner of Vancouver Rise FC joins Andi Petrillo to discuss the transcendental beginning of the NSL. Look at the full interview on the web.
Olympic gold
Sinclair, a football player of the year 14 times from Canada, won the Olympic gold in 2021 and consecutive bronze in the 2012 and 2016 Games. He also captained Canada for a Concacaf championship and the gold of the Pan American Games.
“His balance in front of the network and his ability to put the ball where the goalkeeper is not, which is why he is,” said former Canadian goalkeeper Karina Leblanc, a member of the Hall of Fame, in 2019. “Because he is at home at home.”
At club level, Sinclair won multiple league and playoff titles in the WPS and NWSL. In 2012, he scored a Canadian record 23 goals in 22 games and was the best scorer at the London Olympic Games.
The 41 -year -old man of Burnaby, BC, now co -owner of Vancouver Rise of the NSL, moved away from the center of attention. But she helped put Canadian football on the map.
Matheson continues to leave his mark as Growth Director of the NSL, which also serves as part of the OTTAWA RAPID group.
In the field, his 92 -minute goal against France earned Canada the bronze medal at the London Olympic Games. He also won the bronze in Rio in 2016.
206 caps for Matheson
Matheson won 206 caps for Canada during an 18 -year -old race that ended in March 2020.
At club level, he won titles in Canada and Norway and was the best selection of XI in the opening season of the National Women’s Soccer League.
Hirschfeld represented Canada for 17 years, winning 48 caps, including three qualifier cycles of the FIFA World Cup and five editions of the Concacaf Gold Cup. He was appointed best goalkeeper in the 2002 Concacaf Gold Cup, helping Canada to third place.
At club level, he won titles in Canada, Norway and Romania.
Pye served in the list of the referees and referees attending FIFA from 2007 to 2017, including an appointment for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2015 in Canada. He officiated the Concacaf Olympic qualifiers, as well as four youth FIFA tournaments, from the FIFA U-17 World Cup in New Zealand and Trinidad and Tobago to the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada and Papua New Guinea.
At the Club level, he was in charge of the final of the 2006 National Championship of Canada in Surrey, BC, as well as the 2012 USL W-League championship game in Ottawa.
Matheson and Sinclair will be honest together in an upcoming Canadian women’s game this summer, while Hirschfeld will be honored in a next match of Canadian men.
Pye will be honored on May 3 at the Canada football awards banquet in the Niagara, Ontario cataracts.
