Christine Sinclair misses 2022 Arnold Clark Cup as Bev Priestman names CanWNT roster

TORONTO – Iconic Canadian footballer Christine Sinclair was not named to the Canadian women's national team squad set to compete in the 2022 Arnold Clark Cup this month, as the team announced she will be away with family after the passing of her mother.

Canada head coach Bev Priestman shared her condolences and best wishes for Sinclair as she announced the squad to a throng of gathered reporters, while touching on some of the team's new priorities with a restarting cycle following their heroics at Tokyo 2020.

"We want to be competing with the best continuously," Priestman told reporters during a media call. "The safe thing to do would be go to play some weaker opposition, but we want to keep moving forward.

"To be honest, this camp and beyond is the start of a new journey. The messaging is – we've climbed one mountain, but we're going to have to go and climb a completely different mountain. The qualifiers and the World Cup are very, very different to what you need to be able to compete in the Olympics."

In Sinclair's stead, the gold medal-winning Canadian women welcomed first-time call ups in midfielder Marie-Yasmine Alidou of SK Sturm Graz in Austria, forward Tanya Boychuk from the University of Memphis, and goalkeeper Devon Kerr of Washington Spirit. Forwards Cloé Lacasse of Benfica in Portugal and midfielder Victoria Pickett of the Kansas City Current were also newer faces named to the team.

Canada announces squad for the 2022 Arnold Clark Cup#CANWNT 🍁 https://t.co/p3Zr8xUEqE pic.twitter.com/k3cA214ppi

— Canada Soccer's Women's National Team (@CANWNT) February 7, 2022

Canada takes on England, Germany, and Spain in the first edition of the Arnold Clark Cup, with their first match slated for February 17 vs. The Lionesses at Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough.

OneSoccer is the home of the Canadian women's national team during their World Cup Qualifying campaign. Subscribe to watch the full journey to the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia / New Zealand.