RICKETTS SEES BRIGHT DAYS AHEAD
Canada is giving young soccer players tools needed to thrive, striker says
For Tosaint Ricketts, the road to the Canadian men’s national soccer team began in Chile.
Therein lies one of the biggest problems for the national team and the reason they are 78th in the FIFA world rankings.
An Edmonton product, Ricketts, 31, left high school to pursue a professional career with the Santiago Wanderers of the Chilean national league, and eventually moved on to play in Finland, Romania, Norway, Turkey and Israel before returning to North America. He has represented Canada on 59 occasions, making him one of the most experienced players on the national squad.
“One of the issues is the environments Canadian players have to go to get professional minutes,” said Ricketts, whose three-year run with Toronto FC came to an end at the conclusion of this past MLS season.
“I always take myself for example. I had to go to Finland, Norway, Romania … I had to go to all these places where I’m a foreigner, where I’m very much outside of my comfort zone, and all those things can hinder playing time and performance.
“Not only that, youth training is an issue. I didn’t start until I was 13. I think a lot of it has to do with the youth and grassroots and also players having to leave their country to find professional environments.”
The soccer landscape in Canada is changing.
In Edmonton, the local Scottish Society commissioned a 12,540-square-metre dome, housing a full-sized field, allowing hundreds of teams to play the traditional game year-round.
The Canadian Premier League is set to kick off this spring, giving Canadian players an opportunity to play professionally at home in markets outside of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.
“The Canadian men’s team should be at the top (of CONCACAF), it should be equal with the likes of the USA,” Ricketts said. “We have the players, we have the economical structure, we just need to provide the players with the facilities and I think that will be the next step.
“Being a part of the national team, we would be happy to train here (Edmonton Soccer Dome) in the winter months. With the CPL, they’ll get full advantage of this facility. This is what we need to grow soccer in Canada and the level of Canada in the future. More facilities like this across Canada will fuel the kids and give them better environments to train all year round.”
Canada has not qualified for a FIFA World Cup since 1986, the only time it competed in the tournament. The team has not made it to the final round of CONCACAF qualifying (the Hex) since 1998.
Yet there is hope on the horizon.
The Canadian talent pool is gradually expanding and there are more domestic-based players on the national roster.
“It’s trending in the right direction,” Ricketts said.
“We have the right people in charge and they’re changing the little things that maybe held us back in the past. I’m very happy with the state of it right now and being the part of many transitions, many coaches, I see it heading in the right direction and I’m very excited for the future of Canada soccer.”
One reason for the wave of excitement has been the emergence of Canadian teenager Alphonso Davies, who made his debut with Bayern Munich this past weekend in the Telekom Cup, a four-team exhibition tournament held during the Bundesliga winter break.
Davies, 18, an Edmonton product who went on to star with the Vancouver Whitecaps before transferring to Munich, is the new face of Canadian men’s soccer.
“Rightfully so,” Ricketts said. “He’s still a kid. He’s playing with his heart, he’s playing with that passion and playing with that youthful vigour. That’s sometimes what it takes, just get out there and have fun.
“We need players like Alphonso that kids can look up to and see they can be there and they can play at the highest level, they can reach the greatest leagues in the world from here in Edmonton.
“It doesn’t take much for a kid to be inspired. If you can see those players, if you can speak to those players, ask questions, that can just be enough to inspire those kids to reach the highest levels.”
The Canadian men’s team has embarked on the long road to attempting to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, before they act as host with the United States and Mexico for the 2026 tournament.
Under head coach John Herdman, Canada has won four consecutive games, albeit against soccer minnows New Zealand, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Dominica, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. Their next game is March 24 against French Guiana in Vancouver in the last Nations League qualifying match.
“Qualifying for 2022 would be fantastic and I think it’s very realistic for us at this point,” Ricketts said. “Having these matches now is good for these young players, because they get put in environments where you need results. The opposition and the sides that we’re playing may not be at the highest level, but the result is at the highest importance.
“For them to be in those pressure situations where they need results and goals, and a lot of goals, it’s fantastic for the young players and fantastic for the organization.”