Atletico Ottawa Teases Player Announcement

While Canadian Premier League expansion side Atletico Ottawa has remained near-radio silent ever since the conclusion of its inaugural season, the club has now brought forth a teasing image of TD Place with the text ‘Ottawa! He is back!’ alongside a countdown for tomorrow morning at 11:00AM EST.

While it’s unclear who the CPL side is referring to, the news that some roster news is finally inbound is a welcome sight – especially given that clubs like York9 FC and the Halifax Wanderers have already released in-depth roster updates.

While guesses of former Ottawa Fury players have already come in, one of the most likely new additions comes by way of an intra-league transfer: Chris Mannella. The former Fury man saw his time at York9 FC stifled by injury, with the Nine Stripes confirming to us earlier this month that it was no longer in active negotiations with the midfielder.

There’s always the strong possibility that the returning player is one of the inaugural roster squad members, too. The club’s first year of action saw breakout campaigns for the likes of Francisco Acuna and Vashon Neufville, both of whom would be quality re-signings for the club.

At the moment, the scope of change that the 2021 Atletico Ottawa roster will see remains largely unknown. While no player has publicly re-signed, it appears that team captain Ben Fisk has been actively promoting the club on social media while Viti Martinez is listed as out on loan, suggesting that both will return next year.

The inaugural roster proved to be competitive on the pitch, keeping its postseason hopes alive until the final matchday of the regular season. That being said, Mista didn’t rely on much rotation for his squad, which stifled game time for youngsters like Matteo de Brienne and Michel Djaozandry, while second choice striker Makysm Kowal has already left to play overseas.

Whoever it is, fans won’t to wait much longer to find out: Atletico Ottawa has teased that the returning player announcement go live this Thursday at 11:00AM EST.