VANCOUVER — The first seven months of Casey Stoney's tenure at the helm of Canada's women's soccer team has come with a lot of lessons.
She knows there'll be more — and she's ready for the challenges ahead.
“I'm loving it," the head coach said Friday. "It’s very different than the club game, so I'm not working day to day with players in terms of development, which I miss, openly and honestly. But at the same time, I feel like I've been able to get into clubs, meet with different staff, see the players, step back a little bit.”
A former England captain who played her club soccer with Arsenal, Charlton, Chelsea, Lincoln and Liverpool, Stoney took over the Canadian squad in January. Before coming to the national team, she served as the first-ever coach for both Manchester United women and the San Diego Wave of the National Women's Soccer League.
Her latest role is about more than tactics, and involves evaluating what needs to be done to help soccer in Canada thrive long term.
“And, I'll be very honest, I'm still learning," Stoney said. "This landscape is completely different than Europe, completely different than America. There's different challenges, but there's also different opportunities, and I'm looking at how I can help support that.”
The Canadian women, ranked ninth in the world, haven't played since early July when they fell 3-0 to the top-ranked United States in a friendly. The result marked the country's second loss under its new coach (6-2-1).
Stoney said she and her staff "didn't set the team up for success" in that game because they'd spent the previous six months playing lower-ranked opponents.
“The step up from playing 25 onward to No. 1 in the world is a vast difference," she said. "So we've got to make sure that we're playing high-level opponents as many times as we can.”
The group's next tests will come on Nov. 29 and Dec. 2 when they play No. 8 Japan in Nagasaki in a pair of friendlies.
Not having games on the schedule that count toward any sort of qualifying leaves Canada at risk of falling behind other nations, Stoney said.
“Because Europe are constantly competing, whether it's the nations, league qualifiers, World Cup, Olympics, Euros — they are constantly competing," she said. "Whereas we haven't played a competitive game since I’ve been in, we don't play one until next November. So how do we raise the level of competition and also the opponent?”
Still, Canadian players are capturing international attention with their club play.
Olivia Smith made headlines in July when Arsenal paid Liverpool one million pounds (C$1.85 million) for the 20-year-old forward from Whitby, Ont. At the time, the move marked the most-expensive transfer in women’s soccer history.
The transfer shows not only that Canada has world-class talent, but that Smith invested in herself, Stoney said.
“I think she's become a million-pound player because she's, for me, got phenomenal, phenomenal talent and potential," she said. "And now she's at a club where we're really going to hopefully see her shine.”
The coach wants to see more of her players shining on the field — and fewer sitting on the sidelines.
When athletes aren't getting first-team minutes, they're not at their peak mental or physical fitness when they come to their national squad, Stoney said.
"And I think that showed against the U.S. I think that's one of the challenges that we have, is making sure the players are in the right clubs, playing at the right levels, but playing the right amount of minutes," she said.
“I will never tell a player where to play. My message is, get playing. Play at the highest level. You can play as many minutes as you can. If you're not in a club where you're playing, you either need to work harder to get into the team, or you need to get out of that club and get a new club.”
Stoney is currently taking a look at players across Canada as she tours all six Northern Super League clubs. Along the way, she's speaking to staff and athletes, and getting to know what resources and infrastructure they have available.
"I’ve been able to kind of get under the hood a little bit and understand more about the players, what their challenges are, and how we can support them as an organization and also as a head coach of the national team," she said.
Currently in its first season, the NSL is Canada's first professional women's soccer league.
Stoney was on hand in April when the Vancouver Rise hosted the Calgary Wild in the league's first-ever game, and said the NSL should be proud of what it has accomplished so far.
“I think the fact that on the day anyone can beat anyone is fantastic. Because it means that everybody has to be on their A game all the time, which for the players, means they have to be at their best level," she said. "I think it's been competitive. I think there's been some really entertaining games that have gone down to the wire, there have been some fantastic goals."
Having a domestic league has helped Stoney and her staff track players who've already played for the national team and take a peek at up-and-coming athletes.
Asked whether Canada's current pool of players is large enough, Stoney was frank.
“Maybe, if I'm honest, no, not at the moment," she said. "And that's why we're bringing more players in and giving them exposure, more young players coming in, because I think we need more competition across the board.
"It's not a one- or two-year problem. This is something that we need to continue to work on over the next five to 10 years.”
The NSL has a part to play in growing the talent pool, Stoney said.
“It's really important in terms of the next generation," she said. "How many young girls are in the stands now watching players that now might pick up a ball and play the game? And that's what we talk about — we talk about doubling the talent pool, we need to double participation numbers first.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2025.
Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press
