Charmaine Hooper

At 56 years old, Charmaine Hooper has this physical status:

Charmaine Elizabeth Hooper (born January 15, 1968) is a Canadian retired soccer player.

A four-time winner of the Canadian Players of the Year award and member of the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame, Hooper played on the Canada women's national soccer team from 1986 to 2006.

As a forward, she stood as Canada's record holder for the women's national team for appearances and goals scored when she retired.

Hooper competed in three FIFA Women's World Cup tournaments: 1995 in Sweden, 1999, and 2003 in the United States.

At club level, Hooper played professionally in Norway, Italy, Japan, and the United States.

Early life

Hooper was born on January 15, 1968, in Georgetown, Guyana. She and her family moved to Zambia when Hooper was 6 years old, then later to Ottawa when she was 9. She attended J. S. Woodsworth Secondary School, then later North Carolina State University.

While at NCSU, Hooper was a student-athlete on the NC State Wolfpack women's soccer team. She set the record for most points in a season, most goals in a season, most points in a career, and most goals in a career. The team was Atlantic Coast Conference champions in 1988, made it to the NCAA quarterfinals in 1987 and 1990, the semifinals in 1989, and the final in 1988. She made 89 appearances and scored 58 goals for the Wolfpack and graduated with a degree in food science. Following her career, she was inducted into the NC State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014.

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Club career

Hooper appeared for FK Donn of the Norwegian Toppserien in 1993. In 13 league appearances, she scored 17 goals. Hooper has signed a professional deal with Japanese L. League team Prima Ham FC Kunoichi after a short time with Lazio of Serie A. "There was nothing more to gain in Japan" after four seasons. I had won just about every award there. In addition, there was the distance."

She returned to the United States and competed for the Rockford Dactyls and the Chicago Cobras of the USL W-League. In 2002, she would be inducted into the inaugural class of the United Soccer League's Hall of Fame.

Hooper wrote a letter of intent but was concerned about the compensation structure when the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) professional league was formed in America, but was worried about the salary structure. Hooper was chosen by the Atlanta Beat in the 2000 WUSA Foreign Player Allocation and spent three seasons with the team, as well as the championship games in 2001 and 2003.

She returned to the W-League Cobras in 2004 and then played for the New Jersey Wildcats in the same league. In 2008, she played for the Fort Worth FC of the Women's Premier Soccer League, her final season of club play.

International career

At one time both national records were set, Hooper made 128 appearances and scored 71 goals for Canada. Her international debut came against the United States on July 7, 1986. She appeared in three FIFA Women's World Cups (Sweden 1995, USA 1999, and USA 2003).

In August 2006, Hooper and Christine Latham refused to attend two exhibition games against China, causing a spat with team coach Even Pellerud. Pellerud's defection was demanded by the team along with Sharolta Nonen, a third dissatisfied player. Alleging that he compelled them to break their club contracts in order to join the Vancouver Whitecaps and had to decide the outcome of a USL W-League play-off by releasing certain national team players but not others. Pellerud suspended the players and withdrew their funds. An arbitrator ruled in favour of the coach in June 2007. "They let down their teammates and have done nothing to rectify it," Hooper's replacement as captain Christine Sinclair said. I wouldn't want them as coworkers."

In June 2012, Hooper was inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame. In October, she was inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame in Calgary.

Career statistics

These estimates are incomplete and only reflect a small sample of Hooper's career.

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