VANCOUVER, BC – Vancouver Whitecaps FC announced on Sunday that Homegrown midfielder Damiano Pecile will be loaned to the youth team of Italian Serie B club Venezia FC next month, pending medical. The loan is through June 2022 and includes an option to purchase.
“Damiano made a big step last year and he is much closer to earning meaningful minutes with our first team squad; however, to get only a few minutes this year is not enough for his development,” said Axel Schuster, Whitecaps FC sporting director and chief executive officer. “After connecting with Damiano, his family and his agent, we all agreed that the right platform for him, at this moment, is to continue his growth on loan with Venezia FC. We will be following him closely and we hope that after this year, he will have developed a lot, and will be ready for the next step.”
Pecile joined the first team in February 2020 and made his professional debut late in the 'Caps season finale last year. The VWFC BMO Academy product, who turned 19 last month, will continue to train with the ‘Caps for the next couple weeks before moving to Italy in June.
A Canadian-Italian dual citizen, Pecile originally joined the club’s Academy program at age 13 in 2015, eventually moving up to the Development Squad in 2019.
Prior to joining Whitecaps FC, Pecile had a training stint with Serie B club U.S. Cremonese youth teams in 2013.
Born in Vancouver and raised in Burnaby, Pecile has represented Canada at the youth level, most recently starting all three matches at the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
