On Friday, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and Canada Soccer announced the soccer athletes who have been nominated to represent Canada in the men’s and women’s tournament at the TORONTO 2015 Pan American Games from 10 to 26 July this summer.
Canada’s lineup of 18 players features a number of quality young professionals that are just making their first steps into the world of professional soccer, with many of them already having played a few games at the senior level for Canada’s National Team.
The team will be making their first appearance at the Pan American Games since 1999 when they finished in fourth place at the tournament in Winnipeg. That tournament helped start the career of Dwayne De Rosario, the man who went onto become the record goal scorer for the Canadian Men’s National Team and is now a TORONTO 2015 Ambassador.
The team opens competition at the CIBC Hamilton Soccer Stadium on 12 July against world powerhouses Brazil before wrapping up play in Group A with games against Panama (16 July) and Peru (20 July).
The Pan American competition is an Olympic Developmental U-22 event and will be a valuable chance for the team (#canM23) to prepare for qualifying for the 2016 Olympics, which should get underway in the fall. All of the players on this Canadian team are professional players with the majority coming from Canada’s professional clubs.
The top two teams in both of the groups containing four teams will qualify for the medal rounds with the Gold Medal Game taking place on 26 July.
“I’m happy with our squad because I know the majority of the players. We know how they can work with us and develop. I hope that we can reach the semi-finals and we are really excited for that first game against Brazil because it’s a really important game for us.” Antonio Floro, Head Coach, Canada’s Men’s (M-23) Team.
Canada’s Men’s selection (#canM23)
Position- Name | Hometown | Club
M- Kevin Aleman | Brampton, ON | CRC / CS Herediano
M- Manuel Aparicio | Toronto, ON | CAN / Toronto FC (Toronto FC II)
F- Molham Babouli | Mississauga, ON | CAN / Toronto FC II
M- Louis Béland-Goyette | Montréal, QC | CAN / FC Montréal
D- Kevon Black | Brampton, ON | CAN / Toronto FC II
F- Hanson Boakai | Edmonton, AB | CAN / FC Edmonton
D- Adam Bouchard | Oakville, ON | CAN / FC Toronto II
F- Caleb Clarke | Richmond, BC | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC (VWFC2)
D- Alex Comsia | North Vancouver, BC | USA / Carolina Railhawks U-23
GK- Maxime Crépeau | Candiac, QC | CAN / Impact de Montréal (FC Montréal)
F- Raheem Edwards | Toronto, ON | CAN / Toronto FC II
D- Jackson Farmer | Edmonton, AB | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2
F- Ben Fisk | Vancouver, BC | ESP / Coruxo FC
M- Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé | Sherbrooke, QC | CAN / Impact de Montréal
GK- Ricky Gomes | Kitchener, ON | NED / MVV Maastricht
D- Jonathan Grant | Pickering, ON | CAN / FC Montréal
D- Manjrekar James | North York, ON | HUN / Pécsi MFC
M- Chris Mannella | Toronto, ON | CAN / Toronto FC (Toronto FC II)
Coaching staff
Antonio Floro | Head Coach | Silla, ESP
Francisco Javier Perez | Coach | Barcelona, ESP
Carmine Isacco | Coach | Vaughan, ON
Nuno Santos | Goalkeeper Coach | Setubal, POR
Jules Alie | Team Manager | Ottawa, ON
Carlo Bertelli | Equipment Manager | Burnaby, BC
Sebastian Buitrago | Athletic Therapist | Mississauga, ON
Claudio Castro | Video Coordinator | Toronto, ON
