While the 2015 Amway Canadian Championship kicks off on Wednesday for Vancouver Whitecaps FC, a new tournament showcasing the future talents of Canadian soccer starts today at the Kia Training Ground in Toronto.
The first-ever National U-15 Identification Competition is a part of the men's EXCEL stream, a new approach by Canada Soccer to unite and strengthen the ways that players are identified and to develop our most promising young athletes in Canada to help drive elite men's soccer forward.
Canada Soccer have welcomed academy teams featuring U-15 players from our country’s three MLS clubs: Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Toronto FC, and Montreal Impact. They’ve also put together a fourth team comprised of prospects who aren’t currently at either of the three clubs, selected from regional identification camps held earlier in the year and recommendations from technical directors across the country
“This is another step of our comprehensive process to identify and track up-and-coming talent,” said Canada Soccer technical director Tony Fonseca. “The event will give the country’s top young players the opportunity to test themselves against their peers in a challenging environment.”
It’ll be a great opportunity for the young players in the Whitecaps FC Pre-Residency program, and it comes on the heels of a major announcement on Monday for the program.
The tournament is serving as a national evaluation camp, allowing Canada Soccer to get a close look at up-and-coming young players. Below is the schedule:
Tuesday, May 5 – WFC vs. TFC – 12:30 p.m. PT
Wednesday, May 6 – WFC vs. CSA – 10:30 a.m. PT
Friday, May 7 – WFC vs. IMFC – 10:30 a.m. PT
Whitecaps FC Pre-Residency travel roster:
Trevor Schneider, Evan Ince, Travis Selje, Ali Zohar, Nikolas White, Brandon Bassi, Niko Papakyriakopoulos, Tudor Mihaila, Alessandro Hojabrpour, Michael Baldisimo, Sahil Dindsa, Tristan Torresan, Nicolas Budisa, Eryk Kobza, Devin O’Hea, Jared Carlin, Gabe Escobar, Jude Barrow, Rodrigo Santamaria
Whitecaps FC Saskatchewan Academy player
