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World Cup qualifier at Swangard
By Alfie Lau - Now Reporter
Almost seven years have passed since the Canadian national men's soccer team played before a West Coast crowd, but starting next month, Frank Yallop's team will play three games in five weeks at Swangard Stadium.
After playing a couple of exhibitions - July 12 against Hearts of Midlothian and July 14 against Millwall - the stakes are considerably higher on Aug. 18 when Canada hosts Guatemala in the first game of the second stage of World Cup qualifying for the 2006 extravaganza in Germany.
With the Canadian Soccer Association now predominantly based in the Lower Mainland - both senior national team coaches live here and CSA president Andy Sharpe doubles as Port Moody fire chief - the move toward bringing international games to local soccer fans has been long overdue.
"I'm really excited to bring the World Cup back here," Sharpe said. "I think it's very important to have home games before our home fans."
Sharpe added that during his two years as head of the CSA, he's tried several times to get the Canadian men at Swangard, most notably an attempt to play Scotland in May, but nothing materialized until last month's B.C. Soccer-organized International Pacific Soccer Series. Those games against two European club teams will serve as good warmups for Yallop. They will also provide A-League players an opportunity to impress Yallop before the new head coach has to finalize his 18-player roster for the Guatemala game.
"I'm looking at a mix of players, _ at least two from each of the A-League Canadian teams," Yallop stated. "I need to keep things fresh."
But the game that matters most is the Aug. 18 opener, where Canada hopes to take a first big step to the next round of World Cup qualifying. The Canadian men haven't performed in Vancouver since a 3-0 Nov. 9, 1997 loss to the U.S. during 1998 World Cup qualifying.
Canada recently beat Belize in two 4-0 games held in Kingston, Ont. this month to advance to this stage of World Cup games.
Canada, drawn into a group with Guatemala, Honduras and Costa Rica, hosts Honduras in Edmonton on Sept. 4 before going to Costa Rica and Honduras. The location for Canada's return match against Costa Rica on Oct. 13 has been narrowed down to Edmonton or Vancouver, with Sharpe saying that a decision has to be forwarded to FIFA by Aug. 1.
"I'd love to take them into some place cold," Sharpe added, "but we want the players to be happy."
He added that Vancouver's advantages of better fields and better climate have to be weighed against Edmonton's larger stadium and cold autumn weather that Central American teams are not accustomed to.
The CSA head joked that if he had his druthers, he'd find a stadium in Flin Flon or Whitehorse to really put their Central American foes at a disadvantage.
"They're not nice to us when we play down there, why should we be nice to them up here?"
Yallop weighed in on the choice of the third game by extolling the virtues of Vancouver.
"We've got a good record at Swangard (one win, two draws and the loss to the U.S. in the 1998 qualifying campaign), _ the stadium's an intimate setting, the playing surface is good, _ we have a lot of guys from Vancouver."
"I like almost everything at Swangard."
Yallop was off to Edmonton Wednesday to check out the field at Commonwealth Stadium, and Vancouver supporters should be heartened to know that the field was in such poor shape from a rugby tournament last week that Monday's Vancouver Whitecaps-Edmonton Aviators A-League game had to be moved to nearby Clark Stadium.
Tickets for each of these three games are available from Ticketmaster, with the Hearts and Millwall games already on sale. Prices are $25 for gold seats, $20 for silver seats and $15 for bronze seats, plus applicable service charges.
Tickets for the Guatemala game, priced at $39 and $34 for the grandstand, $27 for bleachers and $15 for end zone seats, go on sale on July 3 through normal Ticketmaster outlets. Whitecaps season ticket holders have pre-buy rights July 1.Almost seven years have passed since the Canadian national men's soccer team played before a West Coast crowd, but starting next month, Frank Yallop's team will play three games in five weeks at Swangard Stadium.
After playing a couple of exhibitions - July 12 against Hearts of Midlothian and July 14 against Millwall - the stakes are considerably higher on Aug. 18 when Canada hosts Guatemala in the first game of the second stage of World Cup qualifying for the 2006 extravaganza in Germany.
With the Canadian Soccer Association now predominantly based in the Lower Mainland - both senior national team coaches live here and CSA president Andy Sharpe doubles as Port Moody fire chief - the move toward bringing international games to local soccer fans has been long overdue.
"I'm really excited to bring the World Cup back here," Sharpe said. "I think it's very important to have home games before our home fans."
Sharpe added that during his two years as head of the CSA, he's tried several times to get the Canadian men at Swangard, most notably an attempt to play Scotland in May, but nothing materialized until last month's B.C. Soccer-organized International Pacific Soccer Series. Those games against two European club teams will serve as good warmups for Yallop. They will also provide A-League players an opportunity to impress Yallop before the new head coach has to finalize his 18-player roster for the Guatemala game.
"I'm looking at a mix of players, _ at least two from each of the A-League Canadian teams," Yallop stated. "I need to keep things fresh."
But the game that matters most is the Aug. 18 opener, where Canada hopes to take a first big step to the next round of World Cup qualifying. The Canadian men haven't performed in Vancouver since a 3-0 Nov. 9, 1997 loss to the U.S. during 1998 World Cup qualifying.
Canada recently beat Belize in two 4-0 games held in Kingston, Ont. this month to advance to this stage of World Cup games.
Canada, drawn into a group with Guatemala, Honduras and Costa Rica, hosts Honduras in Edmonton on Sept. 4 before going to Costa Rica and Honduras. The location for Canada's return match against Costa Rica on Oct. 13 has been narrowed down to Edmonton or Vancouver, with Sharpe saying that a decision has to be forwarded to FIFA by Aug. 1.
"I'd love to take them into some place cold," Sharpe added, "but we want the players to be happy."
He added that Vancouver's advantages of better fields and better climate have to be weighed against Edmonton's larger stadium and cold autumn weather that Central American teams are not accustomed to.
The CSA head joked that if he had his druthers, he'd find a stadium in Flin Flon or Whitehorse to really put their Central American foes at a disadvantage.
"They're not nice to us when we play down there, why should we be nice to them up here?"
Yallop weighed in on the choice of the third game by extolling the virtues of Vancouver.
"We've got a good record at Swangard (one win, two draws and the loss to the U.S. in the 1998 qualifying campaign), _ the stadium's an intimate setting, the playing surface is good, _ we have a lot of guys from Vancouver."
"I like almost everything at Swangard."
Yallop was off to Edmonton Wednesday to check out the field at Commonwealth Stadium, and Vancouver supporters should be heartened to know that the field was in such poor shape from a rugby tournament last week that Monday's Vancouver Whitecaps-Edmonton Aviators A-League game had to be moved to nearby Clark Stadium.
Tickets for each of these three games are available from Ticketmaster, with the Hearts and Millwall games already on sale. Prices are $25 for gold seats, $20 for silver seats and $15 for bronze seats, plus applicable service charges.
Tickets for the Guatemala game, priced at $39 and $34 for the grandstand, $27 for bleachers and $15 for end zone seats, go on sale on July 3 through normal Ticketmaster outlets. Whitecaps season ticket holders have pre-buy rights July 1.
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