Celebrating International Women’s Day with international soccer star Christine Sinclair
She will deliver the 2025 Knight Lecture on March 11
Christine Sinclair, a four-time Olympian and the most prolific goal scorer in international soccer—for both men and women—is this year’s Distinguished Knight Lecturer at the University of Manitoba.
The Knight Lecture is one of UM’s most prestigious lecture programs intended to enrich academic life and discourse by inviting great thinkers and leaders to our campus to challenge our perceptions.
In her lecture, Sinclair will tell the inspiring story of her rise to soccer success. She will describe the teamwork, passion, and competitive nature that she needed to rise to the top, as well as the obstacles she has had to overcome in her sport.
What: The 2025 Distinguished Knight Lecture with Christine Sinclair, followed by a Q&A
When: March 11, 2025, from 2 – 3:30 p.m. Doors open at 1:30.
Where: The Desautels Concert Hall, Fort Garry campus, 150 Dafoe Rd
Cost: Free to attend. Registration required.
Register Now: Please register here.
Sinclair is the former captain of Canada’s women’s national soccer team. She is among Canada’s and the world’s most decorated athletes and an Officer of the Order of Canada. Her memoir, Playing the Long Game, urges us make space for female athletes to serve as childhood role-models, while reminding us that every athlete comes with human frailty and short-comings.
Sinclair’s Knight Lecture, supported by the R.G. and E.M. Knight Fund, is part of International Women’s Day celebration on the UM campus and this event is free and open to the public.
The event will be emceed by Dayna Spiring [BA/98; LLB/01], the former president and CEO of Economic Development Winnipeg Inc., and recipient of UM’s 2023 IGNITE award in celebration of her legacy as a business leader. Spiring has a strong connection to Winnipeg sports and the champion mindset Sinclair will speak to. She is the first woman to have her name engraved on the CFL’s Grey Cup, and was the first woman to chair the CFL’s Board of Governors. She also spearheaded Jets whiteout street parties and was instrumental in leading a successful bid to host the 2023 World Police & Fire Games, and the 2025 Grey Cup.