Canada Soccer names roster for inaugural CONCACAF W Futsal Championship in late April

Canada Soccer has announced its roster for the inaugural CONCACAF W Futsal Championship, scheduled for April 28 to May 4 in Guatemala.

Jadyn Steinhauer, Jade Houmphanh and Erika Hindmarsh are drawn from the recently crowned Canadian champion SK Impact FC from Saskatoon. Shayla He joins from the Canadian runner-up FC Underdogs of Montreal.

There are also four players from Quebec's Xtreme FCL.

The nine-team tournament at the Domo Polideportivo in Guatemala City will determine the region's first-ever women's futsal champion and send two teams to the inaugural FIFA Futsal Women's World Cup later this year in the Philippines.

The FIFA Futsal World Cup, slated for Nov. 21 to Dec. 7, will feature 16 teams from the six FIFA confederations.

Futsal is a five-a-side indoor game played in two 20-minute halves. Like hockey, teams can make changes on the fly.

Canada had been drawn in Group B alongside the United States, Costa Rica, and the winner of a play-in match between Honduras and Nicaragua on April 28. Canada opens April 29 against Costa Rica before facing the Honduras-Nicaragua winner on April 30 and the U.S. on May 1.

The top two teams from each of the two groups advance to the May 3 semifinals with the championship game the next day. Both finalists move on to the FIFA World Cup.

"It's a unique chance to measure ourselves against the best in CONCACAF and see how far we've come," Canada coach Alexandre Da Rocha said in a statement.: It's an absolute honour and a privilege to kick-start this journey — we have the players, we have the staff, and we have everything in place to compete with every team at this competition."

Da Rocha, a former coach of the Quebec's women's futsal team, has served as an assistant coach with the