Neil Ellett (born in Richmond, British Columbia) was a Canadian

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who spent his career with Vancouver teams, including the

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March ...

of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

. He also played for the member of the Canadian national and Olympic soccer teams.

Club career

Neil Ellett graduated from

Burnaby North Secondary School Burnaby North Secondary School is a secondary school in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. It encompasses two buildings at 751 Hammarskjold Drive in Burnaby. Nearly 1,800 students from grades 8 to 12 attend the school. A statue of a Viking hea ...

. He began playing for Vancouver North Shore of the Pacific Coast Soccer League when he was seventeen. He played at least one season (1969–70) in the Pacific Coast Soccer League (when the league was amateur) with soccer club Croatia S.C. He also played for Vancouver Eintracht. Ellett was an original member of the

, playing with the team in 1974 and 1975. His only Whitecap goal was the first scored by the team in their history, on May 4, 1974 at Empire Stadium.

National team

From 1967 to 1973, Ellett made 12 "B" (Olympic) and seven "A" appearances for Canada. He was part of Canada's Pan American Games team in 1967 and 1971 as well as the Olympic Qualifying team in 1971. In a memorable CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying match at Empire Stadium in Vancouver, he scored the lone goal on a header in a 1–0 win over Mexico. He also participated in one round of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in 1972 (he was 27 years old when he made his debut at the "A" level).

Referee

Ellett is currently a soccer referee and a National referee assessor in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. He was inducted into the Burnaby Sports Hall of Fame in 2007. He is also a member of the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame.Canada Soccer Hall of Fame: Neil Ellett
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References

External links

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Canada Soccer Hall of Fame The Canada Soccer Hall of Fame honours people and institutions for their contributions to Canadian soccer. It was founded in 1997 by the Ontario Soccer Association and was originally located in Vaughan, Ontario. As of 2019, the Canada Soccer Hal ...

NASL stats
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellett, Neil 1944 births Living people Soccer people from British Columbia Canada men's international soccer players Canadian men's soccer players Canada Soccer Hall of Fame inductees Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Men's association football utility players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players Sportspeople from Richmond, British Columbia Eintracht Vancouver players Vancouver Whitecaps (1974–1984) players Pan American Games competitors for Canada Footballers at the 1967 Pan American Games Footballers at the 1971 Pan American Games