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Calgary Herald
4 days ago
- Sport
- Calgary Herald
Twins and Wild FC players Keelyn and Taegan go from grad to game
It's a big day for Keelyn and Taegan Stewart. Article content Today, the twins graduate from Bishop Carroll High School, marking the culmination of 12 years of classes, exams, assignments and summer homework but that's not all. Right after graduation ends, they'll be headed straight to McMahon stadium to represent Calgary in tonight's soccer game against the Halifax Tides. Article content Article content Article content 'I'm pretty excited,' Keelyn said. 'Exciting to be done high school and to be able to walk off the stage and as soon as it's done, shift our mindset to focus on the match tonight.' Article content Article content 'Exciting, but also nervewracking,' Taegan added. Article content The girls are the youngest of the Calgary Wild FC team, joining the roster in January of this year at age 17. Article content The sisters have been playing soccer ever since they were three-years-old, starting with kicking the ball in the backyard with parents and making their way rapidly through the local and national soccer season in Western Canada and winning the silver medal at the 2022 Confederation of North, Central America and Carribbean Association Football tournament as part of the Canadian under-15 national team. Article content They gained their first international experience at age 10 when they trained with the boys Barca academy in Barcelona and returned a year later to play on an all-boys team at the Barca Academy World Cup. Article content Article content Article content Playing for the team while juggling school at the same time has not been without its trials. It has meant missing class time, practices at 7 a.m. and taking tests before the school day begins. Article content 'It's been a pretty hectic last couple of months trying to get over the finish line with school,' Keelyn said. Article content Teachers and school staff have been supportive, checking in on the girls to make sure the schedule isn't overwhelming for them and accommodating their practice schedules to make sure they can finish tests on time. The school's vice-principal, Keelyn said, would show up at the school building early in the morning so the girls can write their tests.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US border crackdown no threat to 2026 World Cup: football chief
CONCACAF football chief Victor Montagliani played down concerns over a US border crackdown impacting the 2026 World Cup on Thursday, following a flurry of recent cases involving foreign visitors who have been detained or deported after attempting to enter the United States. Montagliani, the president of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) told AFP he was confident any issues regarding US border policy would be resolved in time for next year's 48-team tournament, which is being co-hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico. Montagliani said the concerns raised by recent cases at the border -- which have included visitors from countries such as France, Germany and Britain -- were understandable. But the CONCACAF chief, who is also a member of world governing body FIFA's ruling council, was adamant that any issues would be resolved with President Donald Trump's administration before millions of visitors descend on North America for the World Cup in 16 months time. "It's a natural thing. Even during the last World Cup in Qatar, I had friends of mine calling me, saying, 'Hey, I'm worried to go there for whatever reason.' And you know, it was all fine," Montagliani told AFP on the sidelines of a sports business conference in Los Angeles. "I'm confident that once we get there, whether it's obviously the participating teams or their fans, there'll be a methodology to sort that out," Montagliani added. "Time's on our side with that. I understand the policies of the administration. But I'm confident that once we get to the point where we need to get to, 16 months from now, we'll be fine." In one of the recent cases at the border, a French space scientist traveling to a conference in Houston was stopped and deported after US border officials searched the contents of his phone and laptop during a "random" security check. The French foreign ministry later said it "deplored" the incident. Montagliani meanwhile said World Cup chiefs were comfortable dealing with the Trump administration, which has slapped tariffs on tournament co-hosts Canada and Mexico. Trump has also repeatedly described Canada as the US's "51st state". "If you're in the business of football and you're a leader in football, it's part of our job to deal with any administration," Montagliani told reporters. "It doesn't matter where you're putting on the events. We had to deal with that in the last two World Cups (in Qatar and Russia) and probably in World Cups before that. "We're going to have to deal with it moving forward. It's just the reality of putting on international events. I'm sure the IOC (International Olympic Committee) has to deal with that when they put on Olympics. So it's just the reality of it. "We've got to focus on the event. We got to focus on the sport. And whatever sort of challenges there are, you just deal with them accordingly." rcw/bb
