TORONTO — Members of Canada's women's soccer team believe their gold medal will inspire future generations of young girls to play the game, perhaps even with the prospect of playing professionally at home.
``The momentum for women's soccer is building and I think it's at its peak so hopefully with all that goodness that we can push forward and hopefully have a women's team in Canada,'' she said. ``That's the goal. ``I think we're the only country ranked in the top 10 to not have some sort of professional environment for their players to play in,'' Sinclair said Tuesday in a video conference from Portland, Ore., where she plays with the NWSL's Thorns. ``It's time for that to change, and we're hoping this platform will give us the opportunity to start that change.''
The Canadians stated going into the Tokyo Olympics that their goal was to change the colour of their medal after they earned bronze at both the 2012 and 2016 Games. Reflecting back on how far she has come, Buchanan said she believes the medal means ``dream big'' and to never give up on goals. ``Being able to get this gold medal, it just makes me think of my family, friends, all Canadians that were watching, that were tuning in, but especially the next generation,'' she said. ``The young people that were looking up to us, just hoping to inspire them like we were inspired when we were young. I hope that it's that catalyst effect.''
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