Goalkeeper Léa Palacio and forward Esther Brossard will lead Canada at the inaugural FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup later this month in the Philippines. The 16-team tournament runs Nov. 21 to Dec. 7 in Pasig City, Metropolitan Manila, with Canada drawn in a challenging Group B alongside Spain, Thailand and Colombia. Spain has won all three editions of the UEFA Women’s Futsal Championship while Thailand was runner-up at the AFC Women’s Futsal Asian Cup in May. Colombia finished third at the CONMEBOL Championship in March. But Canada turned heads by winning the first-ever CONCACAF W Futsal Championship in dramatic fashion earlier this year in Guatemala. Canada booked its ticket to the World Cup by defeating Mexico in a penalty shootout to reach the final of the eight-team event in Guatemala City. Canada then downed Panama 8-2 in the May 4 championship game. Canada and Panama will represent the region at the World Cup. “I think we made our country proud by qualifying in the way we did,” said Canada coach Alexandre Da Rocha. “We’d just like to surf on that wave again, just make sure that regardless of results that we get that people will be proud of the team that they’ll be seeing.” Futsal is a five-a-side indoor game played in two 20-minute halves. Like hockey, teams can make changes on the fly. Da Rocha’s 14-player World Cup roster includes 12 returnees from the CONCACAF campaign. They include Palacio, named Best Goalkeeper at the CONCACAF Championship, and Brossard, who was named Best Player after leading the tournament with eight goals. The additions are defender Katerine Delev and forward Magali Gagné. The team leaves for the Philippines next Tuesday for a pre-tournament camp. Canada opens against Colombia on Nov. 22 before facing Thailand on Nov. 25 and Spain on Nov. 28. The Canadians, whose time together since qualifying has been limited to short camps in August and October, will play warmup games against Poland, the Philippines and Argentina. Group A features the host Philippines, Poland, Morocco and Argentina while Group C includes Portugal, Tanzania, Japan and New Zealand. Group D is made up of Brazil, Iran, Italy and Panama. The top two teams from each of the four groups move on to the knockout stage. Female futsal players have long campaigned for a FIFA championship. In 2022, the International Women’s Futsal Players Association condemned FIFAs “public neglect towards women futsal players.” FIFA held the first Futsal Men’s World Cup in 1989 with the 2024 edition featuring 24 teams. Defending champion Brazil has won six of the 10 tournaments to date, finishing runner-up once and third twice. Canada has not participated since being one of the 16 invited countries for the inaugural men’s tournament, failing to advance out of the first round after losing to Argentina and Belgium before downing Japan. That 1989 futsal team included Paul Dolan, Pat Harrington, Nick De Santis, Eddy Berdusco, Lyndon Hooper and Alex Bunbury. Dolan was also a member of Canada’s 1986 FIFA World Cup squad in Mexico. There have been eight editions of the CONCACAF Men’s Futsal Championship with Canada participating in four of them. The Canadians’ best showing was making the quarterfinals, in both 2021 and 2024. Canada Roster Goalkeepers: Léa Palacio, Montreal, FC Grenadières; Jadyn Steinhauer, Saskatoon, SK Impact FC. Fixos (defenders): Katerine Delev, Gatineau, Que., Gotham City; Maude Lagacé, Laval, Que., Xtreme FCL; Sophie Thérien, Montreal, Xtreme FCL. Alas (wingers): Stephie-Ann Dadaille, Laval, Que., Atletico Montréal; Shayla He, Montreal, FC Underdogs; Erica Hindmarsh, Saskatoon, SK Impact FC; Jade Houmphanh, Saskatoon, SK Impact FC; Erika Pion, Repentigny, Que., Atletico Montréal. Pivos (forwards): Esther Brossard, Montreal, Lehigh University; Cynthia Gaspar-Freire, Quebec City, Xtreme FCL; Magali Gagné, Montreal, UDFC; Joëlle Gosselin, Quebec City, Xtreme FCL. --- This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2025. Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
