Kevin Hatchi made the announcement on Facebook a couple of weeks ago, but FC Edmonton made it official on Thursday. The French defender has agreed to a one-year deal with the NASL club.

If you add the ages of Sadi Jalali and Kianz Froese Gonzalez together, you would still be short of 33 — the age of FC Edmonton veteran midfielder Ilja Van Leerdam. But the two teens were on the same indoor pitch as the veteran at Edmonton’s Victoria Soccer Club Thursday morning.

Teenagers Sadi Jalali and Kianz Froese Gonzalez have committed to leave Canada and play club football in Germany — but they have made FC Edmonton their Plan B.

FC Edmonton will have new kits — and a new apparel provider — for the 2012 season.

The majority of FC Edmonton’s players and coaches gathered Monday for the team’s first training sessions of the new year. Yes, it’s Oct. 31 and the club, still smarting from the first-round NASL playoff exit, is back on the field. But keeper Lance Parker wasn’t one of them.

The club is not confirming that Hatchi is on his way — but the team’s training camp did open Monday. Director of soccer operations Joe Petrone confirmed today that “two or three” of the players cut by the Montreal Impact would likely come in for trial in the coming weeks.

FC Edmonton has confirmed that owner Tom Fath and its brass met with city officials Wednesday to discuss a new venue for the NASL club to call home. “We were in contact with the City about 24 hours ago,” said FCE general manager Tom Leip on Thursday.

FC Edmonton has taken its first step in developing the academy, and more strides are expected in the spring.

It looks as if Lance Parker and David Monsalve will battle for the role of FC Edmonton’s No. 1 keeper in 2012. The NASL club confirmed Tuesday that Rein Baart, who got the lion’s share of the starts in 2011, won’t be back.

Canadian Soccer Association General Secretary Peter Montopoli is hopeful that the FC Edmonton experiment can be repeated in cities across the country — in an all-Canadian Division-2 league.