T&T, Canada win Games football draw

Denise Herrera-Jackson, CEO of Toronto Caribbean Carnival and T&T Consul General Dr. Vidhya Gyan Tota-Maharaj celebrate with supporters over inclusion in the Games football schedule. Photo by GerardPhoto.
Denise Herrera-Jackson, CEO of Toronto Caribbean Carnival and T&T Consul General Dr. Vidhya Gyan Tota-Maharaj celebrate with supporters over inclusion in the Games football schedule. Photo by GerardPhoto.

The highly anticipated Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games football (soccer) schedule has been determined with Canada playing Brazil in the men’s opener.

The men’s and women’s soccer schedules were determined in a live draw by representatives of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) in conjunction with the Pan Am / Parapan Am Games Organizing Committee.

“The excitement of today’s draw is evidence of the energy behind the Pan Am soccer tournament,” said Dwayne De Rosario, who was a member of Team Canada at the 1999 Pan Am Games in Winnipeg and the team’s all-time leading scorer.

“Toronto 2015 will be a great opportunity for soccer fans throughout Canada and the Americas to see world-class soccer up close. With this lineup, there is going to be some tough competition and quality matches.”

Hosted in the new CIBC Hamilton Pan Am Soccer Stadium, the Pan Am soccer tournament will be one of the highlights of the Games.

The men’s competitions will be well-rounded, with top competing countries such as Canada playing at the Games for the first time since 1999. Then there are the traditional powerhouses such as Brazil, Mexico and Uruguay.

The Canadian men’s team has played in two Pan Am semifinals, both times on home soil. The Mexican team enters the tournament as defending champion while the Brazilians are four-time Pan Am gold-medal winners. Other teams in the men’s tournament include Peru, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and Paraguay.

The competition will also be strong in the women’s competitions with Canada, defending champion, and Brazil, two-time Pan Am gold-medal winners, expected to be top contenders. The two teams went head to head in a shootout in Guadalajara in 2011. Other teams in the women’s tournament include Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Argentina and Trinidad and Tobago.

Tickets are expected to sell fast. Tickets for the men’s and women’s tournaments offer a great deal: with every preliminary round ticket purchased, fans will be able to see two back-to-back games for the price of one.

To view the football schedule for both the men’s and women’s tournament and to buy tickets, visit TORONTO2015.org/tickets.