A first season in the Ottawa Capital Rebels books

the capital rebels Ottawa was born in 2020, but only played its first games this summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The players of the Ottawa team have just concluded their fourth and final game of this first season in the Central Canadian Women’s Soccer League (CFLFC).

Without games, we lost sight of the goal, so to have had this season, it feels great.confesses Laurie Verreault, player of the capital rebels.

For his debut, the LCCFF consisted of only three teams: the Montréal Blitz, the Québec Phoenix and the capital rebels from Ottawa. Due to a limited number of players in Quebec and Ottawa, games were played nine against nine on a field whose width had been reduced to 50 yards.

Most of the girls play multiple positions defensively and offensively, so it’s quite a challenge. It’s been a short season, but a huge learning curve for players and coaches.explains Sonia Rodi, head trainer and founder of the capital rebels.

Since most of the team’s athletes had never played soccer before, the focus was not on this season’s results. The group of coaches initially wanted to pass on the sting of football to the players, although some already had it.

I started playing soccer when I was eight years old with my neighbors. I was trying to convince my parents to let me play with the kids. It is a dream for me to have a women’s team.says Katrina Payment, one of the pioneers of capital rebels.

Before I used to play a lot of football and there, I want to dedicate myself to football, so as long as the team is going to be there, I could be there too.assures Laurie Verreault.

The 2023 season is already looking a bit longer, as the LCCFF wants to expand as soon as possible.

We expect this to happen within two years. We are in talks with people from Toronto and Trois-Rivières to add two other teams, confirms the league commissionerAndreanne Dupont-Parent.

some players of the LCCFF will represent Canada at the FIFA Women’s World Championship in Vantaa, Finland, from July 28 to August 8. They hope that this competition will give more visibility to their sport to facilitate the recruitment of teams for the coming years.