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Three FCE Academy Players Make the Cut for Canadian National U-18 Camp

October 1, 2014 - North American Soccer League (NASL)
FC Edmonton News Release


EDMONTON, AB (September 30, 2014) - The future of Canadian soccer continues to look bright as the Canadian Soccer Association announced today the U-18 Men's roster that will attend a camp in France starting October 2. Three FCE Academy players made the cut in the 20-man roster including first-timers Noah Cunningham and Shamit Shome as well as National Camp veteran Christian Kaiswatum.

Canada arrives in Paris on Thursday, 2 October and will go through three days of training before moving to Limoges on Monday, 6 October. They'll get one more day of training in the following day before getting competition underway on Wednesday, 8 October against the host French at Beaublanc Stadium in Limoges. After that, they'll have games on alternating days with Ukraine the task on Friday, 10 October before wrapping up the competition with a match against Uruguay on Sunday, 12 October.

"To have three players, two of which for their first time, invited to the U-18 camp speaks to the work being done in our Academy and the dedication of our staff and players," said FCE Academy technical director Jeff Paulus. "The five professional academies in Canada are now an integral part of the player development pathway to our national programs, and to become a key component in that structure is a validation of the massive commitment of Tom and Dave Fath."

Midfielder Shome and defender Cunningham will see their first action as part of a national team project while goalkeeper Kaiswatum was a part of the U-17 program last year. All three of these players joined the FCE Academy in 2013 and are still playing with the junior Eddies into the 2014/2015 FCE Academy season. Last season, the FCE Academy took home top honours in the Edmonton Premier League and also captured the gold medal in the Alberta Men's Premier Division.

"Playing in one of the top leagues in Alberta this year has been great," said Kaiswatum. "It's given us a competitive environment and I've noticed a significant difference in my game. I am always honoured knowing I will be representing my country and I always look forward to the high level of competition and guidance from some of the top coaches in the country."

This group may not be involved in any World Cup qualifiers or competitive games in the immediate future, but head coach Rob Gale will be giving this group a chance to match themselves up against some top-quality opposition with an eye on two years down the road when they'll get their chance to qualify for a FIFA U-20 World Cup.

"This will be a great test for our young lads who have not experienced an international football tournament in 16 months," said Gale. "The level of competition promises to be another great measuring stick for this group as we build for two years time."

Players from this group are eligible for next January's 2015 CONCACAF U-20 Championships, it's likely this group will have their moment two years further down the line so Gale is casting a wide net to see the talent pool available to him.

"We have rotated the player pool once again at this age with four completely new additions and ten changes since our last camp as we continue to seek the best players in the best environments," said Gale.

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