Canada names roster for final U-17 camp ahead of CONCACAF qualifying By Steven Sandor Posted on January 31, 2013 3 0 668 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Sean Fleming Coach Sean Fleming has named his 20-man roster for an upcoming national U-17 camp and two friendlies in Costa Rica. The Whitecaps Residency and TFC Academy have each placed six players on the roster. Canada will convene the U-17 camp in Sunrise, Fla. on Feb. 5. Five days later, the team heads to Costa Rica, and will play friendlies Feb. 12 and 14. This will be the last major preparation period for the U-17s ahead of April’s CONCACAF U-17 Championship, which also acts as the regional qualifier for the U-17 World Cup. While the TFC Academy and Whitecaps Residency players take up 60 per cent of the roster, the player on this squad that has the best chance of breaking into a senior pro squad this season is FC Edmonton Reserves’ Hanson Boakai. Not many training days go by without someone at FCE raving about his potential. Hanson Boakai signs his amateur contract with FC Edmonton’s residency program. The team has already signed 17-year-old Sadi Jalali, who played at the previous U-17 World Cup, to a pro contract. And, there will likely be more reserves who will get promoted before the NASL season. The team is cutting its budget this season — last year, owner Tom Fath predicted a rollback of about 30-35 per cent — and a big part of those savings can be realized by bringing in youth players rather than stocking the depth position with higher-paid veterans. Plus, new coach, Colin Miller’s assertation that “if you’re good enough, you’re old enough” has given rays of light to the players on the FCE Reserves. And, at the FCE November free agent combine, the young players no longer with the Whitecaps Residency and TFC Academy who made the trip were hard-pressed to keep up with the in-game-shape FCE Reserves, who train all year round. It’s telling that of the ex-Whitecaps Residency and ex-TFC and TFC Academy players who came to the combine, none have received callbacks to attend FCE’s February training camp. Meanwhile, Jalali has been signed and there are likely more to come. CANADA U-20 ROSTER GK- Marco Carducci | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency GK- Daniel Milton | CAN / Ajax Thunder CB- Alex Comsia | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency CB- Mathieu Laurent | CAN / Mississauga CB- Elias Roubos | CAN / Toronto FC Academy FB- Kevon Black | CAN / Toronto FC Academy FB- Ian Fernandes | CAN / Toronto FC Academy FB- Aron Mkungilwa | CAN / Académie Impact Montréal M- Hanson Boakai | CAN / FC Edmonton Reserve M- Marco Bustos | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency M- Mikaël Cantave | FRA / FC Nantes M- Matthew Chow | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency M- Kianz Gonzales-Froese | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency M- Jordan Haynes | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency M- Derick Sequeira | CAN / Toronto FC Academy F- Paco Deckers | NED / SC Heerenveen F- Andrew Gordon | CAN / Hearts Azzuri F- Jordan Hamilton | CAN / Toronto FC Academy F- Luca Uccello | CAN / Toronto FC Academy F- Derek Cornelius | Unionville SC
