Soccer | Light in the Attic Learning

Soccer may not be as popular as hockey, basketball or even the upcoming PanAm games BUT now’s the time to start taking an interest as the Women’s Soccer World Cup is taking place in Canada next week! After months of preparations the stadiums across Canada are ready and the players are preparing for the biggest tournament of their lives.

Most soccer fans we know have only watched the men’s world cup in past years, a tournament where Canada sadly does extremely badly, HOWEVER that’s not the case with the women’s competition. Canada is one of the better teams and we definitely have a chance of winning, as do our old rivals the US…

A total of 552 players will attend the event, with each of the 24 teams announcing squads of 23. Canada’s team is overflowing with sheer talent and head coach John Herdman has selected a mix of veteran and youth players to don the maple leaf shirt. Captain Christine Sinclair and her 153 international goals for Canada will lead the team. She’s joined by a number of players who were part of the bronze medal winning team from the 2012 London Olympic Games, including veteran goalkeeper Erin McLeod, midfielders Diana Matheson, Desiree Scott and Sophie Schmidt.

Here are some interesting facts that may persuade you to switch the channel over from the Stanley Cup to the Women’s Soccer World Cup:

Known as “the female Pelé”, Marta will be the most famous face. The 29-year-old Brazil forward is five times winner of Fifa’s female Footballer of the Year award and is contesting her fourth World Cup.
Canada – grouped with Holland, China and New Zealand – are excited about their 17-year-old midfielder Jessie Fleming. Canada’s most precocious young star made her senior international debut at 15.
The US are eager for victory. They last won the title in 1999 but are nervous that their former coach, the highly regarded Pia Sundhage, is now in charge of her native Sweden.
This will be the first football World Cup – either female or male – to be played on artificial turf. A contingent of leading women’s stars mounted a legal challenge against Fifa’s decision not to grass the Canadian venues but it failed to gain sufficient traction and the case was eventually dropped. Should players suffer serious “non impact” injuries though, the underfoot conditions will inevitably become a contentious topic.
This is the largest, and longest, event in the history of a tournament which first took place in 1991. Comprising 24 teams, it starts on 6 June in Edmonton, where Canada play China, and concludes on 5 July. Eight countries are making their debuts: Cameroon, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ivory Coast, Holland, Spain, Switzerland and Thailand.

Here’s a little more information about the Canadian team:

CANADA A-Z
Name | Birth year | Hometown
Bélanger, Josée | 1986 | Coaticook, QC, CAN
Buchanan, Kadeisha | 1995 | Brampton, ON, CAN
Chapman, Allysha | 1989 | Courtice, ON, CAN
Filigno, Jonelle | 1990 | Mississauga, ON, CAN
Fleming, Jessie | 1998 | London, ON, CAN
Gayle, Robyn | 1985 | Mississauga, ON, CAN
Iacchelli, Selenia | 1986 | Edmonton, AB, CAN
Kyle, Kaylyn | 1988 | Saskatoon, SK, CAN
Labbé, Stephanie | 1986 | Stony Plain, AB, CAN
Lawrence, Ashley | 1995 | Calendon East, ON, CAN
LeBlanc, Karina | 1980 | Maple Ridge, BC, CAN
Leon, Adriana | 1992 | Maple, ON, CAN
Matheson, Diana | 1984 | Oakville, ON, CAN
McLeod, Erin | 1983 | Edmonton, AB, CAN
Moscato, Carmelina | 1984 | Mississauga, ON, CAN
Nault, Marie-Eve | 1982 | Trois-Rivières, QC, CAN
Schmidt, Sophie | 1988 | Abbotsford, BC, CAN
Scott, Desiree | 1987 | Winnipeg, MB, CAN
Sesselmann, Lauren | 1983 | Green Bay, WI, USA
Sinclair, Christine | 1983 | Burnaby, BC, CAN
Tancredi, Melissa | 1981 | Ancaster, ON, CAN
Wilkinson, Rhian | 1982 | Baie d’Urfé, QC, CAN
Zurrer, Emily | 1987 | Crofton, BC, CAN

GO CANADA GO!

Picture source: South China Morning Post

The football World Cup is the most exciting sporting tournament for most football fans. Though like other competitive sports it has faced much criticism and scrutiny, but that doesn’t meant that children shouldn’t enjoy The Beautiful Game.

If you put to one side the controversy surrounding FIFA and the often aggressive fans, the basic game of football is a wonderful sport to teach young children. It’s a team sport, it is great for exercise as it involves a lot of running and it requires determination to learn the required skills.

Aside from having a kick around in your local park there are many educational activities you can introduce to your children during the World Cup that will help them with their studies:

1. Geography

Draw out/print pictures of all of the flags for the teams in the World Cup. Help your children remember which flag belongs which country and where that country is located.

2. Languages

Why not teach your children a few basic words in the language of one or two of their favourite teams?

3. Maths

Keep a score sheet of the points each team has won, every night encourage your children to add up the points of the teams to see who’s winning each group.

4. Culture

Research the host country, Brazil, what is their main religion? What is their main language? How big is the population? Famous landmarks? Show your children lots of pictures and ask them to repeat your answers.

5. History

Did you know that the World Cup has taken place every 4 years since 1930 (except for a few years during WWII)? Research the history of the World Cup with your children, how is has changed and developed over the years. Where has it been held? What did those countries look like then compared to now?

Let us know what team you’re supporting and if you’ve tried out any of these activities with your children. Sadly Canada didn’t make it through but there are numerous great teams playing who we will be supporting including England and France!

Tag Archives: Soccer

Why We’re Watching The Women’s Soccer World Cup

How your children can benefit from the FIFA World Cup mayhem

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