Valour FC Sets Preseason Camp Start Date

Canadian Premier League side Valour FC has announced that its preseason training camp is scheduled to kick off on Monday, May 17 at IG Field.

The Winnipeg-based side will become the sixth team to kick off on-field preparations for the 2021 Canadian Premier League, with only Ontario-based sides Forge FC and York United still without any concrete start date for team-based training. That being said, a new lockdown in Nova Scotia means that the Halifax Wanderers had to step away from full team training for the time being, too.

Valour FC head coach Rob Gale will be eager to get things started at IG Field after a promising Island Games campaign saw the team finish just three points out of a group stage position, with perhaps the most noticeable improvement for the club coming at the defensive end.

It gives us something to focus on and the first step back to whatever normal is now. If all goes well with travel and everything we should have 15-16 players through quarantine and ready to train by then

Rob GGale

The Canadian Premier League side currently has 17 players on the books for the upcoming season, with Valour FC having just mutually terminated the contract of Costa Rican international Nestor Monge earlier today due to visa difficulties caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

We had some knowledge that this was going to happen, so we’re working diligently on filling our roster needs. Anytime you lose someone down the middle of your team, your spine, that’s a challenge. Nestor is a top-quality player, so we don’t want to rush to fill it with just any player.

Rob Gale

The club is expected to re-sign Spanish midfielder Jose Galan in the near future, who was on a verbal agreement for such and has already returned to Winnipeg. It is not expected that Sporting Cristal loanee Jared Ulloa will have difficulties entering the country due to his Canadian heritage. An easy arrival is also expected for Panamanian defender Amir Soto, who signed for the club last year but only saw his visa approved following The Island Games.

It remains to be seen what’s in store for Venezuelan striker Ronny Maza, whom Gale described as the club’s main goalscoring threat. The club gaffer previously teased that the club was close to confirming the ‘last couple pieces‘ of its roster, including a key defender and another signing in the middle of the park, though he may have been referring to Sean Rea at the time.

The CPL side states that its training camp will consist of the all players under contract with Valour FC, it’s two CPL-U SPORTS Draft picks, and players who have been invited as trialists by the coaching staff. It is currently unknown who all the club is keen to take a look at, but the Winnipeg-based side has ample roster room to make additions.

At the moment, the club has begun training in a limited fashion, with seven players training at IG Field at a time. A full media schedule will follow when the club kicks off its training camp on May 17, which is just two days after the Canadian Premier League promised to release a schedule update regarding the 2021 Canadian Premier League season itself.