In the silence ahead of Women's World Cup, Soccer Canada continues to fail women's national team

This is a column by Shireen Ahmed, who writes opinion for CBC Sports.  For more information about  CBC's Opinion section , please see the  FAQ .

We are less than 60 days away from the FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, the biggest women's soccer tournament in the world.

But for all the hype and excitement that should be spreading from one coast to the other, the Canadian women's national team has been unusually quiet. The team has no home games before they go, and the only thing on the Soccer Canada social media account is the announcement of their first World Cup match against Nigeria on Thursday, July 20 in Melbourne.

No hoopla, no fanfare, no montages leading up to the World Cup. Nothing. 

The only news I have seen of late is world-class Canadian defender Ashley Lawrence making a move (yet to be confirmed) from her current pro team, Paris Saint-Germain of French Division 1, to Chelsea of the Super League in the U.K.

Lawrence has been in France for more than seven years. The talented fullback said about what drew her to Europe: "The way we experience football here, how we play it. And it was an environment in which I wanted to evolve." 

Lawrence has played with Paris St.Germain, won the league title in France and been lauded as one of the most dangerous players on the pitch. Her ability to pivot from defending to creating plays makes her unique and critical for Canada's squad.

This is a lot of excitement for Canadian women's soccer fans because it puts her on the same squad as national teammates Jessie Fleming and Kadeisha Buchanan — a trio that is extremely impressive. In 2021, both Fleming and Lawrence were nominated for the Ballon d'Or Feminin, the most prestigious award in