Rose Sangster-Daley

Rose Daley was a star soccer player in the 1990s, enjoying a successful career at the University of Hartford before later representing Canadian athletic achievement in Canada, Europe, and Asia. 

Daley was born in Kingston, Jamaica, on March 19, 1971, and at 10 years old, she was adopted by an aunt who relocated Daley to Windsor, Ontario.[1]She attended Kennedy Collegiate Institute, where she played basketball and badminton, but found the most success with track – where she qualified for OFSAA in the 100-metre and 400-metre – and with soccer, which would become her professional sport.[2]

Daley was a three-time All-City selection in soccer, leading Kennedy to the 1989 City Championship while playing club soccer for the Windsor FC Nationals. 

Her excellent performances earned her a full-ride athletic scholarship from the University of Hartford, Connecticut. During her three-year stay at Hartford, Daley led the school to three consecutive North Atlantic Conference Championships and brought the school to the NCAA quarterfinals in 1991 and semifinals in ’92.[3]

During her college career, Daley was recognized as one of the country’s finest players. She was nominated for the Hermann Trophy for National Player of the Year twice, and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America selected her as a Second-Team All-American each of her three years of NCAA play. She was a First-Team All-New England All-Star, a First-Team All-Region Northeast All-Star, and a First-Team All-North Atlantic Conference All-Star in every year of eligibility.[4]In 1992 she was selected to the Adidas Scholar-Athlete All-American 2^nd-Team, and in 1993 she was a Missouri Athletic Club nominee for Player of the Year and the Soccer News East Region MVP. At the time of graduation, Daley was ranked third all-time at Harford in career goals (50), assists (23), and points (123).[5]

After graduating, Daley played for the Canadian National Team at the 1993 World University Games, where Canada placed ninth out of 12 countries. In 1994, she moved to Scandinavia to play for UMEA in the Swedish Professional League, where she recorded 20 goals in 20 games and the UMEA finished in third place. The next year, she played in the 10-team Japan Professional League for Fujita Mercury, where she assisted on the goal that won the team the All-Japan Tournament. 

Daley came home to Windsor in 1996, where she coached Senior Girls Soccer at Forster and played amateur soccer as part of the Eastside Kickers. She returned to Japan in 1999, where she spent two years teaching English, but returned to Canada in 2001. Daley was inducted into the Windsor-Essex Sports Hall of Fame in 2003. At the time of her induction, she resided in Toronto, where she worked as an accountant and took courses to acquire a CMA certification, and changed her name to Sangster-Daley after marrying.[6]

Rose Sangster-Daley’s worldwide achievements in soccer contribute to the legacy of African-Canadian sports in Windsor-Essex County and beyond. 

Researched and written by Devon Fraser, University of Windsor student.