Jessie Fleming from Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team has been named the Canada Soccer Player of the Year for the second year in a row. Fleming won the 2022 award after a year in which she helped Canada qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 and then capture a silver medal at the Concacaf W Championship. She also helped her professional club Chelsea FC win the 2021-22 FA Women’s Super League and 2022 FA Cup in England.
Fleming was a Best XI all-star at the Concacaf W Championship where she featured in all five Canada matches and co-led the tournament with three goals. She scored in the opening match against Trinidad & Tobago, scored the winner against Costa Rica to secure first place in Group B, and scored the winner against Jamaica to reach Final.
Across the calendar year, the 24-year old midfielder from London, Ontario co-led Canada with five goals and led the Women’s National Team with 17 appearances and 1,420 minutes played. She also made her first-ever start as Canada’s captain in February and then made her milestone 100th international “A” appearance in a home draw against Korea Republic in June.
At the club level from January through December, Fleming has made more than 40 appearances for Chelsea FC across the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. She helped Chelsea FC finish first overall in the FA Women’s Super League with a record of 18 wins, two draws and two losses. She also featured as a substitute in the FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, a 3:2 win over Manchester City FC. From the first half of the 2022-23 season, Chelsea FC are in first place in the FA Women’s Super League and have already qualified for the knockout phase of UEFA Women’s Champions League.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Canada Soccer Player Awards, with the two winners of the Canada Soccer Players of the Year award named Wednesday 21 December (Women’s National Team) and Thursday 22 December (Men’s National Team). Voting for the Canada Soccer Players of the Year award is conducted by Canadian media and coaches.
Fleming is now in her 10th international season with Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team, having made her international “A” debut for Canada on 15 December 2013. She has led Canada in minutes played in each of the last two seasons and has scored 19 career goals in 111 international “A” appearances. She follows Charmaine Hooper and Christine Sinclair as just the third Women’s National Team player to win Canada Soccer’s Player of the Year award in back-to-back seasons.
