Crucial to Olympic gold, Jessie Fleming grabs Canada Soccer Player of the Year award
23-year-old midfielder from London, Ont., comes off dazzling year for club, country
Jessie Fleming's list of honours in 2021 has grown.
The 23-year-old was named 2021 Canada Soccer Player of the Year after proving instrumental to Canada's first Olympic gold medal in women's soccer, claimed in Tokyo on August.Â
Fleming also enjoying a great deal of success with her club side, Chelsea.
The midfielder from London, Ont., was responsible for the two Canadian goals in the knockout stage in Tokyo. She converted two penalty kicks to feature on the scoresheet in the 1-0 semifinal match against the United States and in the 1-1 gold-medal game against Sweden.
Fleming also scored from the spot in the shootouts against Brazil in the quarter-finals. She finished the year leading Canada in matches, starts and minutes played.
Jessie Fleming wins 2021 Canada Soccer Player of the Year award<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheBestInCanada?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheBestInCanada</a> đđ <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CANWNT?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CANWNT</a> <a href="https://t.co/9pLsPcAKCP">https://t.co/9pLsPcAKCP</a> <a href="https://t.co/OmrGxRvJs5">pic.twitter.com/OmrGxRvJs5</a>
—@CanadaSoccerENRepresenting her club, Fleming helped Chelsea win the FA Women's Super League, Women's FA Cup and the Women's League Cup in 2021.
Fleming finished ninth in the 2021 Women's Ballon d'Or award, presented by French magazine France Football in November and won by Spain's Alexia Putellas of Barcelona.
The Canada Soccer Player of the Year honour, presented by Soccer Canada, was also given to men's star Alphonso Davies on Wednesday.
It's the first time Fleming is selected. Davies, who plays for German side Bayern Munich, captured the award in 2018Â and 2020.
