On the eve of the WomenB次元官网网址檚 World Cup, Canada captain Christine Sinclair is sounding the call for womenB次元官网网址檚 pro soccer in Canada.
Sinclair has made a career of growing the sport of womenB次元官网网址檚 soccer and sheB次元官网网址檚 not finished yet.
B次元官网网址淲hen I first joined the national team, no one cared, no one paid attention. You couldnB次元官网网址檛 make a career playing the sport unless you were on the U.S. team,B次元官网网址� Sinclair said in an interview Thursday. B次元官网网址淪o IB次元官网网址檓 proud to be a part of the change.
B次元官网网址淏ut thereB次元官网网址檚 still so much to be done B次元官网网址� Our sport just needs the opportunities. People will watch, people will pay to come see it. But we just need the opportunities, especially here in Canada. IB次元官网网址檓 not going to lie, itB次元官网网址檚 sad to me that we donB次元官网网址檛 have any professional teams or a professional league here.
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B次元官网网址淲hereas on the menB次元官网网址檚 side they have MLS and now the new professional league (the Canadian Premier League). For young girls thereB次元官网网址檚 nothing.B次元官网网址�
ItB次元官网网址檚 a passion for the 35-year-old from Burnaby, B.C., who played for the Vancouver Breakers and Whitecaps before moving south of the border in 2009 to star for FC Gold Pride, Western New York Flash and, since 2013, the Portland Thorns of the National WomenB次元官网网址檚 Soccer League.
B次元官网网址淲e continue to be one of the powers in womenB次元官网网址檚 soccer yet weB次元官网网址檙e probably the only top-12 team that doesnB次元官网网址檛 have a professional system. That disappoints me,B次元官网网址� said Sinclair.
While the star forward said she does not have all the answers on bringing womenB次元官网网址檚 pro soccer to Canada, B次元官网网址渋t needs to happen B次元官网网址� sooner than later.B次元官网网址�
Now in its fourth season, the NWSL has nine teams B次元官网网址� all in the U.S.
B次元官网网址淭o me it just doesnB次元官网网址檛 make sense that we couldnB次元官网网址檛 have one or two teams in the NWSL from Canada B次元官网网址� We have players forced to leave Canada to go find a place to play which doesnB次元官网网址檛 sit well with me,B次元官网网址� Sinclair told a news conference after training Thursday.
The Canadian women, currently ranked fifth in the world, host No. 26 Mexico on Saturday at BMO Field in their farewell match before leaving for the World Cup in France.
Canada opens June 10 against No. 46 Cameroon in Montpellier.
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
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