Creating Canada's final display of appreciation for Christine Sinclair proved 'a different animal'

Canadian soccer fans, and fans worldwide, were hit with an inevitable reality in late October. In a subtle Instagram post akin to her character, Christine Sinclair announced her international retirement.

Within 24 hours, Canada's leading supporters' group, the Voyageurs, organized an online fundraiser to produce one final tifo (banner) honouring her storied career. The registered non-profit has livened national team atmospheres for over 25 years, typically using membership fees and merchandise sales to cover costs.

President Rob Notenboom, a resident of Regina, revealed that tastefully and successfully honouring Sinclair's final match at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver proved "a different animal." Alongside the occasion, tifo plans remain a secret before kick-off, which added pressure.

"It's a big, big event, and you only have a player like this not even once in your lifetime; there might be a player like Christine Sinclair only once in the history of the game," Notenboom said. "Publicizing it was something we did for practical reasons but also a bit self-consciously.

"Now there's expectations. Not that there shouldn't be, just that we're a small group, we have limited funds, limited volunteer hours and a really short window. [Some tifos] have taken months to construct, to get all the material … we had six, seven weeks."

Over $2,000 was raised to ensure this particular visual held its merit. At the end of the Canadian national anthem, a three-part piece was unveiled over the tunnel, each roughly 35x50 ft. Sinclair was shown breaking through a Maple Leaf in celebration with her kit number, 12, on the flanks.

"Because Canada is such a huge country, not everybody can get to the games [but] people still want to be involved.