Ontario-born soccer stars Robyn Gayle and Dwayne De Rosario have received the prestigious honour of being inducted into the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame. This pair of "National Team heroes," as dubbed by Canada Soccer, will be commemorated as esteemed members of the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame's Class of 2024. Their induction ceremonies will take place later this year at Men's National Team and Women's National Team home matches, respectively.
“Canada Soccer is honoured to welcome Robyn Gayle and Dwayne De Rosario to the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2024,” said Charmaine Crooks, Canada Soccer President in the official announcement. “De Rosario was a Concacaf champion with the Men’s National Team and serial winner at the professional game while Gayle was both a Concacaf champion and Olympic Bronze Medal winner with the Women’s National Team. They are forever heroes that will now be immortalised alongside the greatest Canadian soccer players of all time.”
Gayle and De Rosario join the ranks of 144 players, 13 Coaches, 10 Match Officials, and 45 builders that hold a place in the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame. In the Modern Canadian Players category, 31 former Men’s National Team players and 31 former Women’s National Team players have now been honoured.
Click here to see the announcement from Canada Soccer.
DWAYNE DE ROSARIO
Born and raised in Scarborough, Ontario, De Rosario took up soccer at just three years old. Many years later, he embarked on an international soccer career that spanned multiple decades and captured the hearts of fans all over the world.
"Dwayne De Rosario was a Concacaf champion, FIFA Confederations Cup participant and a former international goals record holder with Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team. At the club level, he was a two-time Canadian Championship winner, four-time MLS Cup winner, MLS Supporters’ Shield winner, and US Open Cup winner. On the international stage, he represented Canada in five cycles of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers and five editions of the Concacaf Gold Cup. He made 81 international “A” appearances across 20 years and scored 22 goals.
A four-time Canada Soccer Player of the Year, he won MLS Most Valuable Player honours once, MLS Cup MVP honours twice, and the George Gross Memorial Trophy as the MVP of the Canadian Championship twice. Across his career, he won team MVP honours with both the San Jose Earthquakes and Toronto FC. He is a Member of the Order of Ontario and has previously been honoured by both Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame and the Ontario Sport Legends Hall of Fame."
- Canada Soccer
ROBYN GAYLE
The renowned Robyn Gayle was born in Toronto and grew up in Mississauga, representing a few Clubs in the area throughout her youth career. She started playing at the age of 10 and went on to leave a lasting legacy in Canadian soccer history.
"Robyn Gayle was an Olympic Bronze Medal winner, Concacaf champion, Pan American Games champion and three-time FIFA World Cup participant with Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team. In all, she won four Concacaf medals and made 81 international “A” appearances across 10 years. At the youth level, she won a FIFA Silver Medal at the inaugural FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championship.
At the club level, Gayle won Canada Soccer’s National Championships and reached the USL W-League Championship Final three times. She was a two-time USL W-League Division winner and a one-time All-Eastern Team defender. In college, she captained the University of North Carolina to the NCAA Championship College Cup and was named the tournament’s Defensive MVP. With Canada as one of the heroes of the magical Bronze Medal run at the London 2012 Olympic Games, she was part of the squad named The Canadian Press Team of the Year, Postmedia Team of the Year, and honoured by the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame."
- Canada Soccer