Craig Forrest

Ipswich Town

Forrest joined English league side Ipswich Town in 1984 and remained with the club until 1997, making 263 league appearances. Forrest saw his first first-team action with 11 appearances on loan to Colchester United in the 1987–88 season. From 1988 to 1989 through to 1996–97, Forrest was in the Ipswich Town goal, including during the 1991–92 season when the club won promotion to the newly established Premier League by winning the old Football League Second Division. Forrest was ever-present that season. He was also one of only 13 foreign players to play on the opening weekend of the FA Premier League along with John Jensen, Jan Stejskal, Anders Limpar, Peter Schmeichel, Andrei Kanchelskis, Robert Warzycha, Eric Cantona, Ronnie Rosenthal, Michel Vonk, Gunnar Halle, Roland Nilsson and Hans Segers. He was the goalkeeper for what was then the heaviest Premiership defeat in history when Ipswich lost 9–0 to Manchester United at Old Trafford in March 1995. His goalkeeping helped Ipswich beat United (then in the early years of their period of dominance of English football) on one occasion in the first three seasons of the Premier League in a 3–2 victory there in September 1994 - as well as holding them to draws at Old Trafford in August 1992 and November 1993 - on the latter occasion he ensured that Ipswich were one of just three sides who visited United in the league without conceding a goal that season. He was voted Goalkeeper of the Month in the Premier League…

Forrest played at the 1987 FIFA U-20 World Cup and made his debut for the Canada senior team in a May 1988 friendly match against Chile. He earned 56 caps (excluding the May 1990 North American Championship match against the US), the most of any goalkeeper in the national team's history tied with Pat Onstad and earned the most clean sheets in the country's history before retiring from international football in 2002. The highlight of his international career was undoubtedly helping Canada win the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup, in which Forrest was named tournament MVP and Most Valuable Goalkeeper for allowing a mere three goals and stopping two penalties in his side's five games. Also during his international career Canada had secured a 1–1 draw against Brazil only a month prior to the World Cup in the US in 1994. Forrest had further success against Brazil in 2001, recording a clean sheet in a 0–0 draw in the 2001 Confederations Cup in Japan. In 2012, Forrest was voted by the fans into the Canadian best XI in the CSA's first 100 years.

Forrest began working as a sports analyst with Rogers Sportsnet (now Sportsnet) upon his retirement from playing. He appears frequently as a broadcaster for the men's national team and Toronto FC on Sportsnet as well as Sportsnet's Soccer Central Matchday. Forrest is now the Canadian FIFA Ambassador for SOS Children's Villages. He was a commentator for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Born and raised in British Columbia, Forrest began playing football at age 12. He first tried goalkeeping when a friend could not make it to a game and he decided to play as a replacement. He began playing with Coquitlam Bel-Aire City and also played for the BC U-16 and U-18 provincial teams. He was scouted by scouts from England and, in 1984, he travelled to England, signing a two-year apprenticeship deal with Ipswich Town at the age of 17 and soon after was training with the English national youth team.