By Canadian Press

Canada Soccer names roster for inaugural CONCACAF W Futsal Championship

Apr 15, 2025 | 9:15 AM

Canada Soccer has announced its roster for the inaugural CONCACAF W Futsal Championship, scheduled for April 28 to May 4 in Guatemala.

Jadyn Steinhauer, Jade Houmphanh and Erika Hindmarsh are drawn from the recently crowned Canadian champion SK Impact FC from Saskatoon. Shayla He joins from the Canadian runner-up FC Underdogs of Montreal.

There are also four players from Quebec’s Xtreme FCL.

The nine-team tournament at the Domo Polideportivo in Guatemala City will determine the region’s first-ever women’s futsal champion and send two teams to the inaugural FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup later this year in the Philippines.

The FIFA Futsal World Cup, slated for Nov. 21 to Dec. 7, will feature 16 teams from the six FIFA confederations.

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Futsal is a five-a-side indoor game played in two 20-minute halves. Like hockey, teams can make changes on the fly.

Canada had been drawn in Group B alongside the United States, Costa Rica, and the winner of a play-in match between Honduras and Nicaragua on April 28. Canada opens April 29 against Costa Rica before facing the Honduras-Nicaragua winner on April 30 and the U.S. on May 1.

The top two teams from each of the two groups advance to the May 3 semifinals with the championship game the next day. Both finalists move on to the FIFA World Cup.

“It’s a unique chance to measure ourselves against the best in CONCACAF and see how far we’ve come,” Canada coach Alexandre Da Rocha said in a statement.: It’s an absolute honour and a privilege to kick-start this journey — we have the players, we have the staff, and we have everything in place to compete with every team at this competition.”

Da Rocha, a former coach of the Quebec’s women’s futsal team, has served as an assistant coach with the Canadian men’s futsal side since 2019.

Female futsal players have long campaigned for a FIFA championship. In 2022, the International Women’s Futsal Players Association condemned FIFAs “public neglect towards women futsal players.”

FIFA held the first Futsal Men’s World Cup in 1989 with the 2028 edition featuring 24 teams. Defending champion Brazil has won six of the 10 tournaments to date, finishing runner-up once and third twice.

Canada has not participated since being one of the 16 invited countries for the inaugural men’s tournament, failing to advance out of the first round after losing to Argentina and Belgium before downing Japan.

That 1989 futsal team included Paul Dolan, Pat Harrington, Nick De Santis, Eddy Berdusco, Lyndon Hooper and Alex Bunbury. Dolan was also a member of Canada’s 1986 FIFA World Cup squad in Mexico.

There have been eight editions of the CONCACAF Men’s Futsal Championship with Canada participating in four of them. The Canadians’ best showing was making the quarterfinals, in both 2021 and 2024.

Panama won the title last time out in 20204 ending Costa Rica’s run of three straight championships.

Canada Roster

Goalkeepers: Jadyn Steinhauer, Saskatoon, SK Impact FC; Lea Palacio, Montreal, FC Grenadieres.

Fixo: Jade Houmphanh, Saskatoon, SK Impact FC; Maude Lagacé, Laval, Que., Xtreme FCL; Sophie Therien, Montreal, Xtreme FCL.

Ala: Cynthia Gaspar-Freire, Quebec City, Xtreme FCL; Erika Hindmarsh, Saskatoon, SK Impact FC; Erika Pion, Repentigny, Que., Atletico Montreal; Sadie Sider, Ottawa, University of South Florida; Shayla He, Montreal, FC Underdogs; Stephie-Ann Dadaille, Laval, Que., Atletico Montreal.

Pivo: Esther Brossard, Montreal, Lehigh University, Joëlle Gosselin, Quebec City, Xtreme FCL; Keera Melenhorst, Ottawa, University of Pittsburgh.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 15, 2025

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press