CPL HFX Wanderers FC

Kareem Sow Ends his Season with Halifax

August 31, 2021 - Canadian Premier League (CPL)
HFX Wanderers FC News Release


Halifax, NS - To say Kareem Sow made the most of his summer vacation between school semesters would be an understatement.

The final whistle in Sow's hometown of Ottawa in a 2-2 draw between his HFX Wanderers FC and Atletico Ottawa marked the end of his first season with Halifax. Now it's back to the books with the defender returning to Montréal Carabins while he continues his education.

"This season was quite an experience. I came in extremely late to the Halifax team," says Kareem Sow from Ontario during the most recent road trip.

Selected 10th overall in the 2021 CPL-U Sports Draft in January, Sow signed a developmental contract in June allowing the mechanical engineering student to return to Université de Montréal in September to play for the Carabins.

The injury bug bit the backline hard early on in the Wanderers 2021 season with center-back Peter Schaale going down early in the second match of the season against Valour. Eriks Santos and Jake Ruby also missed time early on, meaning Sow made his professional debut for the second half of a 0-0 draw with Cavalry FC.

It didn't take long for the professional minutes to mount. The young defender was named to the Starting XI for six straight matches after his debut, mostly at center-back but also at left-back.

While football certainly isn't the same without fans, Sow actually credits the bubble environment with helping him get used to life in the Canadian Premier League.

Playing in the academy system of a professional team provided Sow with the path to becoming a professional. But the student-athlete was honest with himself, accepting the reality that only a couple players, if any, make it all the way through the academy system and make the senior team.

A return to school was always the game plan. Still, it's a bittersweet goodbye as Sow wrestles with the feelings of leaving a team in the middle of the season. Now that he's had a taste of life wearing the Wanderers blue, he wants to do it all over again next year.

"Ideally, playing for the Wanderers is what I want to do for the next couple summers until I finish my bachelors program. For me, that's always been my priority, to finish my bachelor program before fully committing to the professional aspect of the game," Sow says.

The summer was just the start of the journey for this talented student-athlete with the Wanderers. Stay tuned to see what comes next.

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