Canada Soccer Hall of Fame welcomes Sinclair, Matheson in Class of 2025

Canada's Christine Sinclair leaves the field after Canada defeated Australia in her final international soccer match, in Vancouver, on Tuesday, December 5, 2023.(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)

Former Canada captain Christine Sinclair and Northern Super League co-founder Diana Matheson lead the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025.

The two, who won a combined 537 caps for Canada, are joined by former goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld and former FIFA referee Michelle Pye in the induction class.

“Canada Soccer is honoured to celebrate this exceptional group of individuals as esteemed members of the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame,” Canada Soccer president Peter Augruso said in a statement. “Lars, Diana, Michelle and Christine have made a profound impact on the sport in Canada, and I am delighted that their significant contributions are being recognized.”​​

Normally, there is a five-year waiting period after retirement to be eligible for the Hall. But in the case of Sinclair, the world’s all-time leading goal-scorer, the Canada Soccer Heritage and Hall of Fame Committee decided unanimously to expedite her selection.

Sinclair, who scored 190 goals and added 54 assists in 331 international appearances, becomes the first to have the waiting period waived.

Sinclair’s last club game was a Nov. 10 Portland Thorns’ loss to Gotham FC in the NWSL playoffs. Her international swansong for Canada was Dec. 5, 2023.

The new inductees bring the Hall of Fame numbers to 147 players, 13 coaches, 11 officials, and 45 builders.

“It will be our honour and privilege to welcome these four legends to the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame, to shine a light on their legacy, and to protect their records and contributions to sport in Canada,” said​ Ken MacLean, chair of the Canada Soccer Heritage and Hall of Fame Committee

Hirschfeld and Matheson were both selected through annual voting in the Modern Canadian Players category, while Pye was chosen through a voting category for referees

Sinclair, a 14-time Canada Soccer Player of the Year, won Olympic gold in 2021 and back-to-back bronze at the 2012 and 2016 Games. She also captained Canada to a CONCACAF championship and Pan American Games gold.

“Her poise in front of the net and her ability to put the ball where the goalkeeper is not, is why she is who she is,” former Canadian goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc, a Hall of Famer herself, said in 2019. “Because she’s at home in front.”

At the club level, Sinclair won multiple league and playoff titles in both the WPS and NWSL. In 2012, she scored a Canadian record 23 goals in 22 matches and was the top scorer at the London Olympics.

The 41-year-old from Burnaby, B.C., now co-owner of the NSL’s Vancouver Rise, shied away from the spotlight. But she helped put Canadian soccer on the map.

Matheson continues to make her mark as the chief growth officer of the NSL, also serving as part of the Ottawa Rapid’s ownership group.

On the field, her 92nd-minute goal against France earned Canada the bronze medal at the London Olympics. She also won bronze in Rio in 2016.

Matheson won 206 caps for Canada over an 18-year career that ended in March 2020.

At club level, she won titles in Canada and Norway and was a Best XI selection in the inaugural season of the National Women’s Soccer League.

Hirschfeld represented Canada for 17 years, earning 48 caps, including three cycles of FIFA World Cup qualifiers and five editions of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. He was named Best Goalkeeper at the 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup, helping Canada to a third-place finish.

At club level, he won titles in Canada, Norway and Romania.

Pye served on the FIFA List of Referees and Assistant Referees from 2007 through 2017, including an appointment to the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2015 in Canada. She officiated CONCACAF Olympic Qualifiers as well as four FIFA youth tournaments, from the FIFA U-17 World Cup in New Zealand and Trinidad and Tobago to the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada and Papua New Guinea.

At club level, she was in charge of Canada Soccer’s 2006 national championships final in Surrey, B.C., as well as the 2012 USL W-League championship game in Ottawa.

Matheson and Sinclair will be honoured together at an upcoming Canadian women’s game this summer, while Hirschfeld will be honoured at an upcoming Canadian men’s match.

Pye will be honoured May 3 at the Canada Soccer Awards Banquet in Niagara Falls, Ont.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2025

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press