Every player in Canada’s FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup squad has played in League1 Canada, and they will all come together today to begin preparations for the upcoming tournament.

The squad of 21 players will be taking part in a training camp from August 22 to 26 in Bogotá, Colombia, getting ready to kick off their World Cup campaign against France on Saturday, August 31. In the following week, they will take on Fiji and Brazil with the aim to advance from Group B and into the knockout rounds.

Who is representing Canada?

Goalkeepers Sofia Cortes-Browne, Faith Fenwick, and Noelle Henning each played for NDC Ontario in the 2024 Women’s Premier Division season, the latter playing 15 times for the eventual champions.

Helping to protect the Canada goal are defenders Clare Logan and Mya Archibald, who each played six matches for Whitecaps FC Girls Elite Academy this year in their invincible League1 BC season, with the latter featuring against Club América Femenil in the Concacaf W Champions Cup.

They are joined in defence by Janet Okeke, who captained CF Montréal Academy’s women’s team to a league and cup double in Ligue1 Québec in 2023. Zoe Markesini, Ella Ottey, Renee Watson, and senior CANWNT player Jadea Collin have all played several games in League1 Ontario in the past two seasons.

Five midfielders have been selected, including the League1 BC Women’s Player of the Year Jeneva Hernandez Gray who has continued to be a star for Whitecaps in all competitions in 2024.

Florianne Jourde was a similarly dangerous player on the east side of the country in Ligue1 Québec. She is joined by current NDC Ontario player Anaya Johnson, and Kayla Briggs who starred every regular-season game in NDC’s title-winning campaign in 2022.

Sadie White was another standout in League1 Ontario that year, playing 14 matches for FC London to help her side finish fourth in the Women’s Premier Division standings and progress to the playoff semifinals.

The group of forwards is full of firepower. Nyah Rose and Ella McBride played a combined total of 23 matches for NDC Ontario in 2022, and their then-teammate Amanda Allen’s prolific spell in the Women’s Premier helped earn her a move to Orlando Pride in the National Women’s Soccer League.

Annabelle Chukwu has since chipped in with 12 goals for NDC over the past two seasons and was a key part in their Premier-winning squad this year. Jaime Perrault has also played for Whitecaps in League1 BC in 2022 and 2023, in which her side won back-to-back League1 BC and Women’s Inter-Provincial Championship titles.

Last, but not certainly not least, is Olivia Smith. The forward was untouchable in the 2022 League1 Ontario scoring charts for North Toronto, before signing professionally for Sporting Lisbon and more recently Liverpool. She was also part of the Canada squad in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, bringing important tournament experience to a squad with plenty of homegrown talent.