In the last edition of this competition in 2019, Canada settled for 12th place, but Samuel Charron was still named the tournament’s most valuable player with six goals in six games.
Three years later, Canada will start its tournament on Tuesday against England before rubbing shoulders with the Netherlands on Thursday. The final match of the group stage will take place on Saturday against Venezuela.
Samuel Charron is still considered one of the best players in the world, but he would like to reach a new plateau with his teammates. We often had a hard time believing we could make the top 8 in the past
he said. If we are able to overcome this blockage and win two victories in our group, we can go to the quarter-finals.
All players on the court have a disability that affects their movement, reflexes and muscle strength to some degree. Some rules of the game have been changed. The field is smaller and the games are played seven against seven for two halves of 30 minutes.
The sport was part of the Paralympic Games from 1984 to 2016. The international federation would like it to return to the Paralympic fold in 2028.
Until then, Samuel Charron intends to promote his sport and say that people with a disability like his can play soccer and be among the best. We don’t have a lot of publicity to promote our sport
he mentions. I would like people in general to know that we exist, that people talk about us when I retire as an athlete.
The 24-year-old grew up in the Ottawa area. He started kicking balls when he was 4 years old. His parents always supported him. Even though Samuel’s right foot and arm were affected, they didn’t see him as different.
Because of Samuel’s disability, the only sport we could enroll him in at such a young age was soccer, because we knew that to practice this activity he didn’t need to wear a lot of equipment so that he can have fun in a group
says his mother, Chantal Charron. Samuel didn’t want anyone to know he had a disability, so his condition went unnoticed for several years.
Samuel was discovered by national parasoccer team coach Drew Ferguson when he was 12 years old. He was holding a training camp at his club’s field in Gloucester, a suburb of Ottawa, and noticed it. For two days, he trained with members of the Canadian team.
Too young, it was only at 14 that he was able to officially represent his country. It was from there that his handicap opened doors for him and as he was often the youngest in a world of men, soccer allowed him to acquire maturity very quickly. Since then, he has played 51 games for Canada and scored 43 goals. He was twice named Para Player of the Year by Soccer Canada (in 2016 and 2019).
While in college, Samuel Charron played for the X-Men at St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia on the Canadian Tour. In his senior year, he started 11 of the 12 games his team played and made it to the Canadian Championships. This year, he will be wearing the Ottawa-Carleton Soccer League First Division Ottawa TFC uniform. His dream would be to play semi-professional one day. He might have had the opportunity to do it in Australia, but the pandemic has put this project on ice.
Since he was 4 years old, he has always worked very hard. If he continues to shine as a midfielder for Canada during the World Cup or as a defender with his team in Ottawa, he could achieve the goals he has set for himself.
If there are other young soccer players like him who have a disability, he can tell them to be proud of their disability, that it is not an obstacle, and not to use it as an excuse. .
Samuel Charron
Photo: Samuel Charron
Reference-ici.radio-canada.ca