Rumour: Atletico Ottawa Preseason To Begin In Madrid

Newly-founded Canadian Premier League side Atletico Ottawa will begin its preseason in Madrid and will utilize the word-class facilities of Atletico Madrid, if TSN reporter AJ Jakubec is to be believed.

The Ottawa-based reporter recently stated that the newest Canadian Premier League team will officially begin its preseason on March 11, with Jakubec also reporting that the club has already assembled a ‘significant portion’ of its allowed 23-man roster.

It was only one week ago that the club revealed its badge, colour scheme, and first-ever head coach, where it was also revealed that Atletico Madrid was utilizing its own scouting department of 80+ employees to help curate a list of good signings for the team ahead of its first-ever season.

New club president Jeff Hunt declared that if anyone could quickly put together a competitive roster, it’d be Atletico Madrid – and it won’t be long before that claim is put to the test. Of course, the CPL head office also provides league-wide scouting information for U-23 internationals through its partnership with 21st Club, too.

While players like former Ottawa Fury man Maxime Tissot have expressed a great interest in staying in the capital, there’s a healthy selection of domestic free agents who would be considered good picks, too: the likes of Emile Legault, Daniel Gogarty, Tomasz Skublak, Ben Fisk, and Ottawa-born left-back Ndzemdzela Langwa all seem like solid, CPL-worthy options for the Ottawa-based club.

With the club still yet to reveal its first-ever player signing, there’s plenty of interest to see who all makes the list for the club’s first-ever preseason camp, which is expected to kick off with ten days spent in Madrid before a return to the nation’s capital.

Of course, a player’s inclusion in preseason training doesn’t guarantee that they’ll ultimately earn a contract for Atletico Ottawa. After all, some players who took photos in club kits last season never ultimately signed for the teams they held preseason camp with.

With the club having been fast-tracked to expansion in order for the CPL to secure itself a more balanced schedule, it’ll be interesting to see if Atletico Ottawa can put together a competitive roster for 2020. With preseason apparently just two-and-a-half weeks away, fans should expect player signings to arrive in the near future – especially with Jakubec claiming that the club has already assembled a significant portion of its roster.

Should the rumour be true, it means that a selection of potential Atletico Ottawa players will spend ten days at Ciudad Deportiva Atletico de Madrid, which features two grass pitches, two artificial pitches, and the same world-class facilities utilized by the likes of Diego Costa, Joao Felix, and Hector Herrera.

Last year, the Canadian Premier League hosted its seven inaugural clubs in Punta Cana for their collective preseason. 2020 will see clubs independently plan their own preseasons, which may include international travel, friendlies, and differing start dates.

See also: Everything We Know About Atletico Ottawa So Far

Source: AJ Jakubec (via Twitter)