Canada hoping for women's soccer boom

Posted Saturday, June 25, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

BERLIN (AFP) - When Canada won ice hockey gold at the 2010 Winter Olympics the nation seemed swathed in red and white, but things will be more low-key when Canada play Germany in the women's World Cup on Sunday.

"We are more of a winter sports country," Canada's Ambassador to Germany, Peter Michael Boehm, admitted to SID, an AFP subsidiary.

Boehm will be representing Canada next to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a devoted football fan, in the stands at Berlin's Olympic Stadium for the Group A clash, with the hosts bidding to win a third world title.

The guests will be looking to upset the Germans, and football—or soccer, as it is known on the other side of the Atlantic—is on the rise in Canada.

The 2015 women's World Cup will be held on Canadian soil and the future hosts are hoping the current tournament will help boost the women's game in north America.

Most Canadian boys have a pair of hockey skates, but football is growing in popularity in Canada and 43 percent of football is now played by females, with almost 380,000 women or girls regularly involved in the sport.

"There is a lot of enthusiasm," said Boehm, in whose country football is the number one team sport for women in schools and universities.

Media interest in football in Canada is, however, limited.

During the official photo session here, only a handful of Canadian journalists were interested in star striker Christine Sinclair, even though Canada regards itself as a sporting nation.

"For us, every major sporting event is very, very important," insisted Boehm.

Football came to Canada along with many European immigrants last century and although there has been a national federation for 99 years, the men's team is only ranked 76 in the world and has only competed once at a World Cup, at Mexico 1986.

But Canadian women are the reigning CONCACAF champions, having beaten Mexico in last year's final.

Under coach Carolina Morace they have made considerable progress, with striker Sinclair the undisputed team star.

The 28-year-old has scored an extraordinary 116 goals in her 159 international appearances and would be only too delighted to score against Germany on Sunday.

"That would be great, but I'm not spending a lot of time worrying about it," she said.

"The big thing in our opening match against Germany is teamwork."

The statistics are heavily against the Canadians, who have lost all nine previous games against Germany, including the 5-0 defeat in Dresden in September 2010 when they last met, although Canada have improved since then.

"Yes, there have been changes throughout the team," said Sinclair.

"The game against Germany was a wake-up call for us. Since then, we've only lost to the USA and Sweden.

"We won our qualifying tournament, and the Cyprus Cup too. That's really boosted our confidence, which was something we lacked in the past.

"And I hope we?ll ride this wave of confidence into the opening match."