Kurt Larson, Managing Editor

1. Canadian Premier League is born, revealing name, logo
2. Canada earns co-hosting rights for 2026 World Cup
3. Alphonso Davies signs for Bayern Munich
4. John Herdman moves to CanMNT
5. CPL conducts #GotGame Open Trials
6. Jonathan Osorio enjoys breakthrough season
7. Toronto FC defeats Tigres, Club America en route to CCL final
8. CanWNT qualify for 2019 Women’s World Cup
9. Milan Borjan blanks Liverpool in Champions League win
10. Joe Fletcher referees in 2nd World Cup
11. CPL officially goes coast-to-coast with 7 teams
12. Atiba Hutchinson shines in Champions League
13. Canada U-17 women’s team finishes 4th in World Cup
14. Young Canadians emerge in Europe (Jonathan David & Ashley Lawrence)
15. Ballou Tabla commits to Canada
16. Canada thrashes U.S. Virgin Islands 8-0, setting new record
17. Major manufacturers (Nike, Macron) invest in Canada
18. Karina LeBlanc named CONCACAF Head of Women’s Football

Larson’s Rationale:

I’d be OK swapping Nos. 1 and 2, but, for me, the CPL coming online will pave the way for Canada’s likely inclusion in 2026, making it one of the biggest stories in Canadian soccer history.

Then there’s the #GotGame Open Trials – a movement that created as much buzz and national interest as anything I’ve seen since the Women’s World Cup.

Jonathan Osorio’s ascent has been underplayed in both Canada and the United States. Milan Borjan probably should have been up for the Lou Marsh this year.

Joe Fletcher was one of the best ARs in the world. How many Canadians can argue they’re the “best in the world” at something?

After that, I’m highlighting Canada’s youth movement: The U-20 women’s squad, Jonathan David, Ballou Tabla and Ashley Lawrence (and many others, to be sure) deserve a shout.

Canada’s men’s team didn’t concede in 2018, but I’d expect that given the competition as the squad builds towards bigger games in 2019.

Honourable mentions:

19. Canadian Premier League acquires League1 Ontario
20. Christine Sinclair claims 14th Player of the Year award

The acquisition of L1O could end up changing the entire complexion of Canadian soccer development while it’s worth noting one other women’s player has earned POY honours since 2003, an unparalleled stat.

Armen Bedakian, Associate Editor

1. Alphonso Davies signs for Bayern Munich
2. Canadian Premier League is born, revealing name, logo
3. Canada earns co-hosting rights for 2026 World Cup
4. Toronto FC defeats Tigres, Club America en route to CCL final
5. CanWNT qualify for 2019 Women’s World Cup
6. John Herdman moves to CanMNT
7. CPL officially goes coast-to-coast with 7 teams
8. Ballou Tabla commits to Canada
9. Canada U-17 women’s team finishes 4th in World Cup
10. Milan Borjan blanks Liverpool in Champions League win
11. CPL conducts #GotGame Open Trials
12. Jonathan Osorio enjoys breakthrough season
13. Major manufacturers (Nike, Macron) invest in Canada
14. Young Canadians emerge in Europe (Jonathan David & Ashley Lawrence)
15. Atiba Hutchinson shines in Champions League
16. Canada thrashes U.S. Virgin Islands 8-0, setting new record
17. Joe Fletcher referees in 2nd World Cup
18. Karina LeBlanc named CONCACAF Head of Women’s Football

Bedakian’s Rationale:

The game is growing at home, and the fact that the CPL was born and that Canada is co-hosting the World Cup on home soil in 2026 is huge – but those are stories that still need to be told. In the fast-paced world of soccer, the here-and-now is just as important, so in my book, no story was bigger than Alphonso Davies’ move to Bayern Munich.

Sure, Davies still has to prove himself, but the image of him holding up a Bayern shirt will serve as a symbol of Canada’s progress from this calendar year.

After that, I rank Toronto FC’s exploits in the CONCACAF Champions League as the potential No. 1 moment that just didn’t come to fruition. A Canadian soccer club went toe-to-toe with both Club America and Tigres UANL … and won. What!?

Though Toronto lost the final on penalties, the hope remains that a Canadian team will one day lift the continent’s biggest prize – and with the CPL coming into the picture next year, there will be even more competitors vying for that trophy.

The only other story I thought deserved a higher rating than my colleagues did were the kit deals with Macron and Nike. Soccer fused with art, music and fashion in 2018, and these partnerships put Canada in the forefront of a growing cultural shift. We’re now en vogue.

Honourable mentions:

19. CPL partners with U SPORTS, conducts CPL-U SPORTS Draft
20. Christine Sinclair awarded Officer to the Order of Canada

The CPL’s goal of providing as many pathways to the pros for Canadian soccer players was realized in yet another way as student-athletes in U SPORTS can now stay home and play their soccer in Canada. Sinclair, meanwhile, continues to prove why she’s so iconic.

Marty Thompson, Digital Content Editor

1. Canada earns co-hosting rights for 2026 World Cup
2. Canadian Premier League is born, revealing name, logo
3. Alphonso Davies signs for Bayern Munich
4. CanWNT qualify for 2019 Women’s World Cup
5. John Herdman moves to CanMNT
6. CPL officially goes coast-to-coast with 7 teams
7. Toronto FC defeats Tigres, Club America en route to CCL final
8. Canada U-17 women’s team finishes 4th in World Cup
9. Milan Borjan blanks Liverpool in Champions League win
10. Canada thrashes U.S. Virgin Islands 8-0, setting new record
11. Karina LeBlanc named CONCACAF Head of Women’s Football
12. Ballou Tabla commits to Canada
13. Jonathan Osorio enjoys breakthrough season
14. Joe Fletcher referees in 2nd World Cup
15. Atiba Hutchinson shines in Champions League
16. CPL conducts #GotGame Open Trials
17. Young Canadians emerge in Europe (Jonathan David & Ashley Lawrence)
18. Major manufacturers (Nike, Macron) invest in Canada

Thompson’s Rationale:

With an incredible ascent now behind Canadian soccer in 2018, it can be difficult to decipher which of the many steps were the biggest. In football, in world football, there is no bigger step than the World Cup.

It will be the little things of the 2026 World Cup that will prove to have the biggest impact on this country; national teams holding training camps in our cities, memories of coming together for the first Canada match, seeing CPL players play on the world’s biggest stage for the first time.

Karina LeBlanc’s appointment shows the CANWNT’s influence on the game in this region. Just as the World Cup bid, LeBlanc’s appointment could usher in further progression of the women’s game across the confederation.

Honourable mentions:

19. Canadian Premier League acquires League1 Ontario
20. Liam Millar breaks into CanMNT senior team

The quality of play in L1O surprises almost everyone who sees a match in person — and we’re already seeing that quality step into CPL squads. Meanwhile, Millar played in every CANMNT match this year (starting with his first cap against New Zealand) and impressed in each one of them. Name another Canadian who had a better debut for the national team, especially considering his age (19) and the quality of opponent.