Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - November 7, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba Anagram contest PRESENTED BY + LOCALLY OWNED FOR 40 YEARS!! PLAN YOUR OWN ADVENTURE TODAY WITH Scan for full trip details and photos. Your journey awaits! Unscramble the weekly anagram for your chance to win an unforgettable VIA RAIL TRIP TO THE CANADIAN ROCKIES Contest runs November 3 to December 7, 2025 Read the News & Ride the Rails VISIT OUR ONLINE CONTEST PAGE FOR FULL DETAILS SUBMISSIONS + REGISTRATIONS. HOW TO PLAY: • Read the Free Press each day from Monday to Saturday and look for our “Read and Ride the Rails” contest ad that contains our daily letters(s). The daily contest ad can be found in the Free Press print edition and on our Free Press E-Edition app. Be sure to download the app today! • Each week collect all the letters provided over Monday-Saturday and once you’ve solved the anagram, submit your ciphered anagram word(s) by logging in at “winnipegfreepress.com/read-and- ride-the-rails” or by scanning our Contest QR code. This website will contain our weekly submission form, our complete rules, and links to register for both our digital apps and a variety of our newsletters. Each correct answer will be awarded a single entry for our weekly draw. Every week, we will randomly draw 4 winners. EARN UP TO 3 BONUS ENTRIES! If you are a subscriber and submit the correct anagram word…. 1. You will automatically receive 1 additional entry! 2. If our records show that you are logged into our News Break App, you will receive a SECOND bonus entry! 3. If our records show that you are logged into our E-Edition App, you will receive a THIRD bonus entry! PRIZES Weekly Prizes. Each week, four (4) winners will be randomly drawn from all correct entries (including any bonus entries). Deadline to submit is 11pm Sunday November 9,16,23, 30 & December 7. Each weekly prize winner will receive a Canada Proud Manitoba Strong tote bag, t-shirt, mug, and sticker! Each winner will also be profiled in our Wednesday edition of our contest ad. Grand Prize. You MUST be one of our 20 weekly winners to be eligible for our grand prize draw. This draw is for our Grand Prize consisting of a 9-day Via Rial package for two to the Canadian Rockies! Value of this package is estimated at $8,000! A draw time and place will be communicated at a later date and the winner will be profiled inside the pages of our Saturday December 20th edition. This AMAZING grand prize consists of: • Two round-trip economy airfares from Winnipeg, Manitoba • Via Rail transfer from Edmonton-Jasper-Kamloops • Coach transfer from Kamloops-Kelowna • Hotel accommodation for eight nights • Walking “foodie” tour in Edmonton • Evening wildlife tour, Maligne Lake cruise, Jasper Sky Tram ride in Jasper • Zombie scavenger hunt in Kamloops • Wine tours of four wineries in Kelowna No purchase necessary to play. A complimentary daily copy of the Winnipeg Free Press will be available to read in the lobby of the Winnipeg Free Press at 1355 Mountain Avenue. TODAY’S LETTERS I T S Two words this week FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2025 D4 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM W HILE Jesse Marsch prepares the Canadian men for next year’s World Cup, the search continues for new talent. “With how multicultural this country is, we’d be foolish not to try to use every resource possible to get the best players under our umbrella,” he said. “And we’ve done that.” Three new dual-national faces will be in camp for the November interna- tional window in Tigres winger Marce- lo Flores, Middlesbrough centre back Alfie Jones and Huddersfield Town goalkeeper Owen Goodman. The 28th-ranked Canadian men close out their 2025 schedule against No. 23 Ecuador on Nov. 13 at Toronto’s BMO Field and No. 50 Venezuela on Nov. 18 at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The 22-year-old Flores, who was born in Georgetown, Ont., to a Cana- dian mother and Mexican father, has already represented Mexico at senior level. The winger is eligible for a one- time FIFA switch under the current regulations, introduced in 2021, which allow players who have played up to three senior international caps prior to the age of 21 to change allegiance. Canada Soccer lists Flores as a train- ing player for the November camp — meaning while he won’t play, he will get a taste of life with Canada. The 28-year-old Jones, an En- glish-born centre back who has Canadian ties through a grandparent, is in the final stages of finalizing his Canadian citizenship and could take his citizenship oath when he arrives in Toronto. Goodman, 21, was born in England to an English father and Nigerian mother, moving to Canada with the family when he was five. Goodman, who played youth soccer in Alliston, Ont., already has his Canadian citizenship. Such finds could be aimed more for the future which Marsch, who took over the team in May 2024 on a con- tract through July 2026, says he wants to be around for. “I’m very happy here. And quite honestly (Canada Soccer chief exec- utive officer) Kevin (Blue) and I have had discussions about what it would be liked to continue the project and keep moving forward. “I think the things that we’re trying to establish are so much more than just a two-year appointment.” Former Canada head coach John Herdman tried to bring Flores, then a 17-year-old Mexican youth interna- tional, into camp in Florida in January 2021, only to be frustrated by pandem- ic-related restrictions. Still hopeful, he included Flores in his preliminary 60-man roster for the 2021 Gold Cup, although nothing came if it. Flores opted for Mexico. “Despite the ability to represent several countries, I have always been a part of the evidently Mexican national team system,” Flores said in a May 2022 social media post. “It’s where I feel most comfortable.” “Today I speak from the heart and feel the need to communicate some- thing I’ve known to be true for a while that I think is important you heard directly from me,” he added. “I will represent Mexico wholeheartedly for the rest of my professional life.” That has evidently changed. “He’s become more and more eager to really consider what it would be like to be… a Canadian national team member,” Marsch, who has visited Flores twice in Mexico, told a virtual availability Thursday. “He sees this as something that is meaningful to him and not just a ca- reer choice but a life choice. And that to me is very encouraging,” he added. The 5-6, 132-pound attacker made his senior Mexico debut at 18 against Chile in December 2021 and now has three caps. A young Flores spent time in En- gland with Ipswich Town before join- ing the Arsenal academy in February 2019, signing his first pro contract in October 2020. Flores rose through the Gunners youth ranks and made the bench for Arsenal’s Premier League game against Crystal Palace in April 2022. He had a 15-game loan spell at Real Oviedo in the Spanish second tier in the 2022-23 season, eventually leaving Arsenal for Mexico’s Tigres in Septem- ber 2023. Tigres currently sits fourth in Mex- ico’s Liga MX Apertura at 9-16. Flores has one goal in 149 minutes played. In his 2022 social media post, Flores also spoke warmly of Canada. “I was born and raised in Canada,” he wrote. “All my childhood memo- ries are full of happy moments there with the ball at my feet. My mother is Canadian. She was the one that taught us to love Canadian culture. Canada is where I fell in love with soccer. I will always be connected with that beauti- ful country. Thank you, Canada.” Jones joined Middlesbrough in July on a four-year contract from Hull City, which is home to Canadian interna- tional Liam Millar. Middlesbrough currently stands second in England’s second-tier Championship. Born in Bristol, Jones is a graduate of the Southampton academy. The du- rable centre back had loan spells with Scotland’s St. Mirren and England’s Gillingham before joining Hull in the summer of 2020. Marsch says Goodman feels “very Canadian” and wants “to fight to be part of this national team.” “Certainly he’s a player with big po- tential and we’re really excited to have him under our umbrella,” he added. Marsch remains without several key players, including captain Alphonso Davies (knee) of Bayern Munich, OGC Nice centre back Moise Bombito (frac- tured leg), Celtic right back Alistair Johnston (hamstring) and Vancouver Whitecaps defender Sam Adekugbe (Achilles). Wingers Jacob Shaffelburg and Liam Millar and defender Luc de Foug- erolles are dealing with minor injuries. — The Canadian Press CANADIAN Jonathan David has been named the 2024-25 CONCACAF Men’s Player of the Year. Rewarded for both his play at club and inter- national level, the 25-year-old Juventus forward becomes the second Canadian man to win the award after two-time winner Alphonso Davies. David, a two-time Canada Soccer Player of the Year (2019 and 2024), was also nominated for the CONCACAF award in 2021, 2022 and 2023-24. Haiti’s Melchie Dumornay, who plays her club football in France for OL Lyonnes, won the CON- CACAF Women’s Player of the Year Award for the second year in a row. The awards, which cover the period from August 2024 to July 2025, were decided by a vote of CONCACAF member association players and coaches, as well as media and fans, from a list of six nominees in each category. David is Canada’s all-time men’s leading scorer with 37 goals in 67 appearances. “On behalf of the entire CONCACAF football family, I would like to congratulate Jonathan and Melchie on being named the CONCACAF Players of the Year,” CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani, a Canadian who doubles as FIFA vice-president, said in a statement. “Their accomplishments this past season, both at the international and club levels, representing their nations and our region across several important competitions, were truly inspiring.” At club level, David scored seven Champions League goals for France’s Lille, the most by a CONCACAF player in a single edition of the tour- nament this century, and became Lille’s all-time top scorer in European competitions. David also scored 16 Ligue 1 goals, fourth-most in the French league, before making a July move to Italy’s Juventus. Goals have been harder to find in Juventus colours. The Ottawa native has one goal and one assist in 13 appearances for the storied Italian side. The other men’s nominees were Mexico’s Ed- son Álvarez (Fenerbahce, Turkey, on loan from England’s West Ham), Raúl Jiménez (Fulham, England), and Angel Sepulveda (Cruz Azul, Mexi- co), American Malik Tillman (Bayer 04 Leverku- sen, Germany) and Costa Rica’s Manfred Ugalde (FC Spartak Moscow, Russia). Dumornay is just the second woman to win the CONCACAF award more than once, joining American Alex Morgan (2017 and 2018). The 22-year-old midfielder was named the UEFA Women’s Champions League Young Player of the Season — for the second consecutive season — and to the competition’s Best XI after scoring six goals in the tournament, including two in the semifinals against Arsenal. She also helped lead her French club side to the league title, finishing second in the league with 15 goals. Also nominated for the women’s award were Mexico’s Charlyn Corral (CF Pachuca, Mexico) and Jacqueline Ovalle (Orlando Pride, NWSL), Americans Emily Fox (Arsenal, England) and Lindsey Heaps (OL Lyonnes) and Jamaica’s Khadija (Bunny) Shaw (Manchester City, En- gland). Jimenez’s free kick goal against Canada in the CONCACAF Nations League Finals was been vot- ed Goal of the Year by fans. The Fulham striker scored both goals in Mexico’s 2-0 semifinal win over Canada and added two more in the 2-1 victo- ry over Panama in the final. — The Canadian Press SPORTS I SOCCER NELL REDMOND / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES Canada’s David CONCACAF Men’s Player of the Year NEIL DAVIDSON Forward Jonathan David is the second Canadian to win player of the year honours. PHIL NOBLE / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES Alfie Jones has Canadian ties through a grandparent and will be in camp for November’s international window. Marsch opens ‘umbrella’ in quest for talent Coach brings in three new faces with ties to Canada NEIL DAVIDSON ;