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Goalkeeper Lea Palacio and forward Esther Brossard will lead Team Canada at the inaugural Women's Futsal World Cup later this month in the Philippines.
The 16-team tournament will be held from November 21 to December 7 in Pasig City, Metropolitan Manila. Canada is drawn into a tough Group B with Spain, Thailand and Colombia.
Spain won all three UEFA Women's Futsal Championships and Thailand finished second at the Women's Asian Futsal Cup in May. Colombia finished third at the CONMEBOL Championship in March.
But Canada turned heads by winning the first-ever CONCACAF Women's Futsal Championship earlier this year in Guatemala.
Canada booked its berth at the World Cup by beating Mexico in a penalty shootout to reach the final of the eight-team tournament in Guatemala. Canada then beat Panama 8-2 in the championship game on May 4.
Canada and Panama will represent the region at the World Cup.
“I think we made our country proud by qualifying this way,” Canada coach Alexandre da Rocha said. “We'd just like to ride that wave again, just make sure that no matter the results we get, people are proud of the team they see.”
Futsal is an indoor game for five people, consisting of two halves of 20 minutes. Just like in hockey, teams can make changes on the fly.
Da Rocha's 14-man squad includes 12 players returning from the CONCACAF campaign. They included Palacio, named the CONCACAF Championship's top goalkeeper, and Brossard, who was named best player after leading the tournament with eight goals.
Defender Katerina Delev and forward Magali Gagne have joined the team.
Next Tuesday the team will travel to the Philippines for a pre-tournament training camp. Canada opens against Colombia on November 22 before facing Thailand on November 25 and Spain on November 28.
The Canadians, whose time together after qualifying was limited to brief training camps in August and October, will play warm-up games against Poland, the Philippines and Argentina.
Group A includes the Philippines, Poland, Morocco and Argentina, while Group C includes Portugal, Tanzania, Japan and New Zealand. Group D includes Brazil, Iran, Italy and Panama.
The top two teams from each of the four groups advance to the knockout stage.
Women futsal players have been competing for the FIFA championship for a long time. In 2022, the International Women's Futsal Association condemned FIFA's “public disdain for female futsal players.”
FIFA held the first Men's Futsal World Cup in 1989 and will feature 24 teams in 2024. Defending champion Brazil has won six of 10 tournaments to date, finishing second once and third twice.
Canada has not participated since it was one of 16 countries invited to the inaugural men's tournament, failing to advance from the first round after losses to Argentina and Belgium and then a win over Japan.
This 1989 futsal team included Paul Dolan, Pat Harrington, Nick De Santis, Eddie Berdusco, Lyndon Hooper and Alex Bunbury. Dolan was also a member of Team Canada at the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico.
The CONCACAF Men's Futsal Championship has been held eight times, with Canada participating in four of them. The Canadians' best result was reaching the quarterfinals in both 2021 and 2024.
Canadian composition
Goalkeepers: Lea Palacio, Montreal, Grenadiers; Jadyn Steinhauer, Saskatoon, SK Impact FC.
Fixed (defenders): Catherine Delev, Gatineau, Quebec, Gotham City; Maude Lagasse, Laval, Quebec, Xtreme FCL; Sophie Therien, Montreal, Xtreme FCL.
Alas (wingers): Stephie-Anne Daday, Laval, Quebec, Atlético Montreal; Sheila He, Montreal, FC Underdogs; Erica Hindmarsh, Saskatoon, SK Impact FC; Jade Humphan, Saskatoon, SK Impact FC; Erica Pion, Repentigny, Quebec, Atletico Montreal.
Pivos (forwards): Esther Brossard, Montreal, Lehigh University; Cynthia Gaspar-Freire, Quebec, Xtreme FCL; Magali Gagne, Montreal, UDFC; Joël Gosselin, Quebec City, Xtreme FCL.
