FC London Lands Former Eddies Youngster Kelsey Egwu

Former FC Edmonton youngster Kelsey Egwu has signed on with League1 Ontario side FC London for the upcoming season.

The teenage defender had joined FC Edmonton on a developmental deal last May, making his professional debut in a sole appearance against Pacific FC. While the Eddies lost out 2-1, Egwu played all ninety minutes in a match that pitted him against the likes of Marco Bustos, Alejandro Diaz, and Josh Heard.

The MacEwan Griffins defender now joins League1 Ontario side FC London, who are on a mission to rise upwards after finishing bottom of the table last year and, barring a remarkable turnaround, could find themselves placed in the second division when a multi-tiered structure comes into play next season.

See Also: Here’s Where League1 Ontario Clubs Stand Ahead Of Promotion And Relegation

To help with the turnaround, the club has recruited former Cavalry FC analyst Yiannis Tsalatsidis, who put Egwu on his radar after watching him at the Canada Summer Games last year.

“His move to FC London is a conscious choice to grow as a footballer and a leader,” says Yiannis, the team’s new head coach. “We’ve spoken many times leading up to his signing, he’s aware that this is the part of his footballing journey to slow down and focus on the key habits of his craft to make a career for himself.”

Yiannis is confident that the youngster can showcase himself over the next season with FC London and, if all goes to plan, will have suitors from the Canadian Premier League level calling again.

“We are here to accelerate football talents. Kelsey is going to blaze a new pathway for young players in Canada to not skip any steps,” adds the gaffer.

Egwu had been a longtime member of Edmonton’s BTB Academy, having previously played for both the St. Albert Impact and Edmonton Strikers. He was born in Toronto before spending a few years in Nigeria before moving to Edmonton in 2015.

The centre-back had a training stint with Pacific FC in 2021 before inking his developmental deal with FC Edmonton a year prior and, as fate would have it, made his debut against the team he once trained with.

He now comes to FC London with high hopes of helping them establish themselves as a top four League1 Ontario club.

FC London has also signed another interesting youngster in Ravens standout Scott Mazzotta, with team captain Carson Wood and forward Santiago Fonseca also returning.

The 2023 League1 Ontario season will the league’s final campaign before the introduction of a multi-tiered system featuring promotion and relegation.

FC London has aplenty to do if it’s to start that era off in the L1O top flight, so it’ll be interesting to see how Egwu fares in the competition.