TORONTO 鈥� Samuel Charron has been named Canada Soccer鈥檚 Para Soccer Player of the Year for a third time with Daniel Chamale honoured as Canada Soccer Futsal Player of the Year.
Charron, who has been part of the Canadian program since 2010, also won the award in 2016 and '19. He has represented Canada at five International Federation of Cerebral Palsy Football World Cups and was named player of the tournament award in 2019 and 2022.
The 24-year-old from Ottawa has 48 career goals in 56 international 'A' matches.
鈥淪amuel is a great captain and leader both on and off the field for our national team,鈥� Drew Ferguson, Canada Soccer鈥檚 Para Soccer head coach, said in a statement. 鈥淲e had a great World Cup and Samuel was the Most Valuable Player as we finished ninth in the world.
"He suffered a fractured finger in our first game, but he played the next four games with a soft splint and never once doubted himself. He is just not the type of player who plays at less than 100% or wants to sit on the sideline.鈥�
Charron led Canada with five goals and three assists while playing every minute of Canada鈥檚 five matches in the competition.
The 29-year-old Chamale has been part of the Canadian program since 2012 when he debuted at the CONCACAF Futsal Championship as a teenager. The Toronto defender has since represented Canada at the 2016 and 2021 Concacaf Futsal Championships.
Canada futsal coach Kyt Selaidopoulos calls Chamale "a cornerstone to the futsal national team."
鈥淗e has been a very important piece to our program as we continue to grow futsal in this country," he added. "He has been one of our most influential players since the last qualification cycle.鈥�
At club level, Chamale won the 2015 Futsal Canadian Championship with Futsal Club Toronto before turning pro with Milwaukee Wave after the 2016 CONCACAF Futsal Championship. Previous Canada Soccer Futsal Player Award winners were Nazim Belguendouz in 2017, Jacob Orellana in 2018, Luis Rocha in 2019, Mohamed Farsi in 2020, and Joshua Lemos in 2021.
The winners were chosen by Canada Soccer鈥檚 national team coaching staffs).
Previous winners of the Para Soccer Player of the Year award were Jamie Ackinclose (2017), Brendon McAdam (2012), Liam Stanley (2013, 2014), Trevor Stiles (2015), and Damien Wojtiw (2018).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 16, 2022
The Canadian Press
