Atletico Ottawa’s Telfer Called Up For Gold Cup Campaign

Atletico Ottawa winger Ryan Telfer has been recalled to Trinidad and Tobago national team duty ahead of its Gold Cup preliminary round match against Montserrat.

The national team nod means that the 27-year-old will likely miss the remainder of the bubbled segment of the 2021 Canadian Premier League season, for which Atletico Ottawa is already missing veteran winger Jordan Webb.

The club noted that he will return to the side at the conclusion of the tournament. Assuming the Soca Warriors advance beyond the preliminary stage, the 2021 Gold Cup will run from July 10 to August 1, and he would be required to quarantine upon his return.

The Atletico Ottawa winger looked sharp in his debut for the CPL expansion side over the past weekend, curling in a delicious cross that went inches above the run of Malcolm Shaw. The side ultimately opened its second season with a 1-0 win over FC Edmonton.

Telfer has amassed eleven caps for the national team ever since accepting a call-up from the Soca Warriors in September 2019, shortly after which he scored his first international goal against Martinique.

His last time with Trinidad and Tobago saw him endure a disappointing World Cup Qualification run that took place shortly before the football association reformed its coaching staff amidst financial turmoil earlier this month.

Telfer – who scored the first goal in Canadian Premier League history – has made forty appearances for CPL sides over the past three years. He spent the last two seasons with York United (first on loan, then as a full signing), contributing ten goals and three assists in 2019 before a quieter Island Games campaign last year.

The former York United winger then moved to Atletico Ottawa ahead of the current season, arriving alongside former York midfielder Chris Mannella.

Telfer isn’t the only CPL athlete on national team duty at this stage of the tournament, with Halifax Wanderers defender Jems Geffrard currently with Haiti.