Chilliwack’s Jordyn Huitema had a Nicaraguan adventure cut short this week as political unrest forced the cancellation of the 2018 CONCACAF World U-17 Championship.
Huitema and her Canadian crew got one game in before the plug was pulled, blanking Bermuda by a 3-0 count last Friday.
Huitema was in the starting lineup, logging 58 minutes and nearly scoring a goal on a header off the post.
The Canadians were due to face Costa Rica Sunday and the United States Tuesday at the Estadio Nacional de Fútbol de Nicaragua.
But violent protests broke out throughout the country, with Nicaraguans demanding the resignation of president Daniel Ortega.
More than two dozen people have been killed.
In Managua, where the tournament was taking place, dozens of shops were looted, though Huitema’s team was kept safe with a police escort to and from the stadium.
On Monday, Canada Soccer tweeted out the following.
“Canada Soccer’s Women’s U-17 National Team and Canadian referees have all departed Nicaragua and are safely on their way back to Canada.”
The tournament was supposed to produce qualifiers for the U-17 World Cup, which takes place in Uruguay this November.
See canadasoccer.com.
