Canada Soccer hosts special citizenship ceremony

Canada Soccer hosted a special citizenship ceremony at the BMO Field last Friday, where Canada’s Women’s National Team welcomed 27 new citizens from 12 countries into the Canadian family

Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, delivered the oath of citizenship and presented certificates to the new citizens. Also attending was Peter Montopoli, Canada Soccer’s General Secretary.

Citizenship Judge Rodney Simmons presided over the ceremony. Immediately after the swearing-in, the new Canadians took to the field to meet with Canada’s Women’s National Team.

They were then back at the BMO Field on Saturday to cheer their new country on in a match against Mexico, prior to Team Canada flying to France to compete for the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

“Canada’s sporting culture has and continues to play a significant role in enriching the multicultural fabric of our country, where everyone can come together to watch a game and cheer Canada and their country of origin,” said Minister Hussen. “It was such an honour to welcome our newest Canadians alongside members of Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team. To our country’s 27 newest citizens, welcome to the Canadian family. Good luck to our women forming Team Canada as they gear up for the Women’s World Cup, we will be cheering you on.”

Over the last 10 years, Canada has welcomed nearly 1.7 million new Canadians, with more than 175,000 in 2018 alone.

The collaboration between Canada Soccer and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada complements the department’s #ImmigrationMatters initiative. Immigration Matters aims to demonstrate the benefits of immigration to Canadian communities and promote positive engagement between newcomers and Canadians.

Soccer is the largest participatory team sport in Canada and is considered the fastest growing sport in the country. There are nearly 1,000,000 registered Canada Soccer active participants in Canada within 1,200 clubs that operate in 13 provincial/territorial member associations.

Article published 20th May 2019