Canadian soccer is on the rise — even Forbes is taking notice. Forbes unveiled its annual 30 Under 30 lists on Wednesday, with two Canadian national team players making the grade in the sports category: OL Reign’s Quinn and Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies.
Congratulations to our very own @TheQuinny5 and @AlphonsoDavies, each named to the @Forbes Sports 30 under 30. #CANWNT @CANWNT #CANMNT #ForCanada https://t.co/hYNuMShinS
— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) December 1, 2021
Forbes’ 30 Under 30 honors high-performing individuals under the age of 30 in North America. While at one point in the distant past the annual list only featured 30 people, this year there were 30 people honored in 23 different categories, making for a total of 690 members of the Class of 2022. Recently, American footballers like Crystal Dunn, Julie Ertz and Christian Pulisic have been named to the list.
Meet the #ForbesUnder30 Class of 2022: https://t.co/VFjCmCOiEA pic.twitter.com/LqqHhMuM9v
— Forbes (@Forbes) December 1, 2021
This year, Quinn and Davies were the only two soccer players named to the list. Additionally, Megan Lindon was given a spot among the 30 Under 30 for her work as senior manager of marketing at new MLS club Austin FC.
Quinn, 26, earned their place on the list after becoming the first openly transgender athlete to compete at the Olympics. They then became the first openly transgender athlete to win gold, helping the Canadian women win the soccer competition. Quinn identifies as nonbinary and uses their platform to fight for gender equity and against anti-transgender legislation with Athlete Ally.
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Alphonso Davies, 21, is one of the world’s best left backs, having won a Champions League and Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich in the last 15 months. The precocious wingback has helped Canada to top spot in the qualifying group for the 2022 World Cup after eight of 14 matches; the Canucks have only reached one prior World Cup, in 1986.
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Other notable athletes on the Forbes 30 Under 30 athletes list include Carl Nassib, the first openly gay active NFL player, baseball player Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and U.S. swimmer Simone Manuel.
