Eight months ago, Canada didn’t have a women’s futsal team. Now they’re going into the inaugural FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup™ as the best team in Concacaf.
Under the guidance of Alexandre de Rocha, Canada conquered the first-ever Concacaf W Futsal Championship, which was held in Guatemala earlier this year. A key reason for their success – and Philippines 2025 qualification – was the inspirational performances of Esther Brossard, who finished with the competition’s Top Scorer and Best Player awards.
The 19-year-old is currently a student-athlete at Lehigh University in the USA, where she plays for the football team. A strong dual-athlete, the Montreal native has played both football and futsal from a young age, and represented Canada at U-20 level in the former earlier this year.
Ahead of the FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup draw on 15 September, Brossard spoke to FIFA about her Concacaf performances, laying strong foundations for Canadian futsal, her future in the sport and getting to see Lionel Messi up close.
Esther Brossard: Futsal, being an indoor sport, is played in Canada during the cold months of winter, while soccer is played during the summer and fall. But there are similarities between the two sports which explains why the same players play futsal and soccer all year long. Although I started soccer at a young age, futsal really became serious for me at the age of 15, when I became the youngest player to play in the Quebec Premier Futsal League, and I competed in that league for four years.
I would say my intelligence on the court. Futsal is a fast-paced and offensive sport, so I’m able to think fast and take the right decisions on the court. I think that is a good quality and another one is my finishing skills.
I was very honoured to represent my country on the international stage and to be part of the first-ever Canadian [women’s] futsal team. So to be able to be part of that team and be part of the Concacaf W Futsal Championship was a great honour. And then I was just wanted to make my country proud, along with my team-mates, and I think we did well in the Concacaf Championship. Being the first-ever Concacaf champions makes it even more special. We’re going into the World Cup very confident.
I was thrilled when I learned that Canada was participating in the Concacaf W Futsal Championship. I immediately saw an opportunity ahead and dreamed of participating in the first-ever FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup. That greatly motivated me. I’m good at performing under pressure, and my team-mates were also up for the challenge. I was confident because I knew the coaches trusted my abilities and believed in me. I honestly took it one game at a time and I was able to make a difference in our victories, including our ones against USA and Mexico. Although I won the top player and top scorer awards, it is a collective effort that brought us to the championship and the World Cup. I would say I am very fortunate and thankful to have those experiences at only 19 years old.
Yes, of course, especially with how the game went against Mexico. Being down 3-0 at half-time, we chose to keep fighting and we had a whole half to come back, and we were able to lead the game 4-3. We were 1.8 seconds away from qualifying for the World Cup and then Mexico scored, but we kept pushing in over-time and we showed a great mentality in penalties under pressure. The fact that we came back and won shows resilience and a lot of courage from my team. It was very emotional because participating in the World Cup is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and especially for a programme, it lays solid foundations for the future of futsal in Canada.
It’s out in the Philippines, which is very special. And the World Cup will be a historic moment for women’s futsal as it will be first-ever World Cup and the best countries will finally be united to showcase their skills. Futsal has grown tremendously in the past decade, and it’s time for women to have their stage and visibility to show how exciting futsal can be. And from a personal point of view, I hope our participation in the World Cup will inspire young girls to play futsal and discover how exciting this sport can be. We wish to lay the foundations for a long-lasting and successful programme in Canada.
Brazil is the reference in futsal, so I would be excited to play against them. Why not Spain as well? But just playing against other countries from other continents will be a very special experience, and just to compare the style of plays will be very interesting. We’re eager to show our talent to the world and represent Concacaf.
I think we are confident to get out of the group stage. We don’t know our opponents yet. Right now we are ranked number 74 in the world, which is not the best ranking but we start with it. So the first objective is to get out of the group phase and if we do so, take it one game at a time in the knockout rounds just like we did in the Concacaf championship. Taking it one game at a time, sticking to our principles of play, showing a great chemistry on the court and just representing Canada with confidence and pride.
I represented the Canadian national team at U-20 level in soccer in February. I would say for my futures in soccer and futsal, right now I’m obtaining a degree in mechanical engineering at Lehigh University with a minor in economics, so I want to get a diploma before I have a professional career. Balancing sports and education at the highest level has always been a priority for me. But the timing is great to be a professional in both football and futsal, with women’s sports continuously growing in interest, attendance and revenues. I truly believe that futsal has the ingredients to become extremely popular worldwide, and some interesting professional opportunities might appear in the next few years. I will surely consider them seriously.
I’m from Montreal and was in the CF Montreal women’s academy. Being a player of the academy we were allowed to be ball kids for the professional men’s games. So I was a ballkid for a few games during the season but I really emphasised my interest to be a ball kid for the Montreal-Inter Miami game in Montreal. I knew which was the best spot on the pitch to be closest to Messi, so I saved that spot. Being three metres away from the greatest player in history was just insane. It was a good experience to see him from that close.
I also got the opportunity to meet Marta from Brazil. That was a special experience, she came with Brazil to play Canada in an international friendly game. I got to speak with her and discuss soccer with her, and that was a very special experience as well.
📸 Photos courtesy of Canada Soccer
