Canada Soccer coach Jesse Marsch brings coaching clinic to Saskatoon

Soccer coaches from across Saskatchewan met up in Saskatoon on Sunday afternoon to take advantage of a very rare opportunity.

Jesse Marsch, head coach of the Canadian men’s soccer team, brought his coaching clinic to the Saskatoon Soccer Centre to speak to local coaches about development and share some tactics they could take back to their clubs to help teach the country’s next generation of soccer stars.

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“We’ve put together a video that basically puts together some core principles of things that we believe in,” Marsch said.

“We’ve kind of said ‘These are important to us, but we think they’re valuable in almost any style of football that you want to play.’ A lot of it involves intensity and being more dynamic and more aggressive in the game.”

Over the past week, Marsch’s coaching clinics have taken him to non-traditional soccer markets like Halifax, Quebec City, Winnipeg and Saskatoon – communities that almost never get visits from a national team’s head coach. He’s also stopping in Calgary and Vancouver with the hope that his message can help grow the game from coast to coast.

“It’s a chance for me to get to know people – to meet more spheres of influence in the game and to collect information on how I think we can help the game as a national team,” he said.

Canada Soccer men’s head coach Jesse Marsch was in Saskatoon on Sunday leading a coaching clinic with coaches from across the province. Marsch discussed tactics and asked coaches what he could do to help develop players in the country. (Shane Clausing/650 CKOM)

Who is Jesse Marsch?

Marsch came to Saskatoon bringing with him a wealth of experience from around the world.

After playing for over a decade in Major League Soccer, Marsch began coaching as an assistant with the United States men’s soccer team, which led him to securing various head coaching jobs in the United States and Europe. Marsch was most recently the head coach at Leeds United in the English Premier League from 2022-2023.

Marsch was hired as the head coach of the Canadian men’s national soccer team last June, and has taken the team to new heights.

At the Copa America last summer, Canada finished fourth in the tournament against some of the best teams in the world. The Canadians also drew a friendly match against the World Cup runner-up French team ahead of that tournament.

In 2026, Canada will play host to the World Cup, along with the United States and Mexico, with group stage games set to be played in both Toronto and Vancouver.

With the tournament 500 days away, Marsch said he wants his Canadian team to be “the people’s team.”

“I want people to feel a real connection to what we’re doing, to be proud of what we’re doing,” Marsch explained. “I know from being in the U.S. and having a lot of foreigners come into our country that it can be really polarizing this position, and I want to convey to everyone that I’m here to help in every way to help build the best national team we possibly can, but also really help encourage more positive developments in the sport.”

Development in Saskatchewan

Right now, there are no players from Saskatchewan on the rosters of either the Canadian men’s or women’s soccer teams.

Marsch said he feels that implementing an aggressive playing style in soccer communities across the province and country could lead to a major soccer star coming from Saskatchewan in the future.

“I’ve challenged everywhere to think less about completed passes and more about dynamic, aggressive play,” he explained.

“I’ve talked a lot about counter pressing, I’ve talked a lot about pressing. I think it’s really important that we understand the game is so much more than connecting passes and that the game is so much more than just what happens on the ball – that there can be a lot more accessing of the physicality and the speed and power in the match, which for me, actually matches our player pool.”

Marsch said there are incredible athletes all over the country.

“We’ve recognized that and we kind of helped figure out how to adapt a bit to what we’re doing,” he said. “The game is developing, and I think this style of football can help the game develop even further.”

Future games and the 2026 World Cup

As a co-host of the 2026 World Cup, Canada doesn’t need to qualify for the tournament and will get to play its group stage games in Toronto and Vancouver.

Because there’s no World Cup qualifying for Canada, that means the Canadian Soccer Association has to schedule friendly matches against other countries to let the teams prepare for the tournament.

In the past, Canada has struggled to secure games because of a lack of funding, but with 2026 right around the corner, Marsch said the team’s schedule is mostly full and will include matches against some high-end teams.

“We have slated almost the entire year for what our opponents will be, and it’ll be some really good opponents,” Marsch said.

Marsch couldn’t say which teams Canada will be playing, but did mention that some of those games will be on home soil.

“I think the majority are in Canada, but we’ll have one European stint,” Marsch said.

When asked if Mosaic Stadium in Regina could play host to one of those friendly matches, Marsch said he couldn’t promise anything.

“I was in Winnipeg – I saw that they have a beautiful stadium and big enough for a football pitch, but it’s just turf, right? So it’s the same here a little bit in Regina,” he said.

“If we call it the people’s team, we need to get the team out with the people, right? We’re always thinking about how to make this team a real, strong representation of the entire country. So we’ll see.”

Marsch said he’s very excited to see what his team can do in 2026.

“We have a good team. We know that we have good players. We have guys with big experiences now playing at big clubs. There’s real belief in the team and what we’re doing and they’ve had now a wealth of experiences,” Marsch said.

“I think now it’s the right mixture of chemistry where we have potential to really make history and do something special. We’re excited. We don’t fear anyone. We know that we can play with anybody and we look forward to the next year and a half and the buildup to the World Cup.”