Four East Kootenay soccer players have been selected to represent Canada at a pan-American sports tournament in Peru.
Orien Domin, Caden McMurray, Keion Sandberg and Nathan Lockhart will play on Team Canada at the IFA7 COPA AMERICA Raising Stars competition in Lima, Peru, running April 17 to 21.
They will face off against teams from North, Central and South America for the title of America Champion. This is one of the most important single-event soccer competitions for the continents, with anywhere from two to six million viewers on television, and it is the first time that soccer players from East Kootenay will represent Canada.
“I’m just excited for a different experience. I’m so used to playing soccer in Canada. It’s just going to be really cool to play other countries and see what they’re all about,” said Sandberg.
The four athletes currently play for the Rovers and train with Whitecaps Academy in Cranbrook. Sandberg and Lockhart live on home turf, while Domin is from Sparwood, and McMurray is from Invermere. They were scouted for the competition at the F7 Summit Tournament in Calgary.
“[It was] very unexpected. I came home from school and got told. It was completely out of the blue,” Domin recalled.
President of the Canadian Soccer Federation Daniel Balcorta said they were selected for their technical skills.
“They’ve been showing great technicalities and abilities. We’re going to be a strong contender for the title,” he said.
Raising Stars is an opportunity for soccer players to get international exposure. FIFA will be scouting at the event and athletes could get the opportunity to try out for professional clubs. Balcorta said they’ve sent six Canadian players to international teams since 2014.
All four athletes said they’ve wanted to pursue soccer professionally since they were young.
The athletes are hosting fundraisers to cover some of their trip expenditures, which amount to $5,500 USD per person. There will be a dinner and silent auction on March 15 at Crumbs Bar and Grill in Sparwood and a dinner at the Portuguese Centre in Calgary on March 16. The teammates are also holding an ongoing bottle drive.
Funds will cover uniforms, jerseys, flights, accommodation, food and coaching.
Anyone interested in supporting them or attending one of their events, can reach out to Terri Domin at at tdomin@shaw.ca.