The story of First Nation's soccer player Harry Manson (Xul-si-malt) and his team, the Nanimo Indian Warriors, begins in the early 1890's at a time when interest in soccer was rapidly growing in the coal-producing region around the town of Nanaimo on eastern Vancouver Island.  The most outstanding of the indigenous players was Xul-si-malt (One-who-leaves-his-mark), born in 1879, who was compelled at an early age to assume the English name "Harry Manson".  At the age of 18 he made his competitive debut in a heated rivalry between the Nanaimo Thistles and Snuneymuxw.  The Nanaimo Thistles recruited him full-time into their line up and they reached the final of the British Columbia Intermediate Challenge Cup against Victoria YMCA.  Two years later, Manson was convinced that they had the necessary talent to compete against the best intermediate teams in B.C. and formally organized the Nanaimo Indian Wanderers AFC.  Mansons' athletic abilities and his leadership qualities on the pitch earned him the captaincy of the Wanderers.  In 1902, Nanaimo would form an all-star team to compete for the senior Challenge Cup.  Eventually Nanaimo triumphed and Manson and his friends became the first indigenous players to win a B.C. Provincial Championship.

Canada chalked up what is probably its most notable international triumph in 2000 by winning the CONCACAF Gold Cup in California. Canada opened the competition by holding Costa Rica to a 2-2 tie at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. A second tie this time against South Korea followed in the Los Angeles Coliseum. Back in San Diego for the third game, Canada upset Mexico 2-1 on a golden goal scored by Richard Hastings. The win assured Canada of a semifinal game against Trinidad and Tobago with Mark Watson scoring the winning goal in the 68th minute. Canada would meet the South American nation, Colombia with the Canucks again prevailing against the odds and winning 2-0 on goals from Jason DeVos and Carlo Corazzin. The win qualified the team for the FIFA Confederations Cup in Korea/Japan in 2001.