York United Adds Silviu Butnaru To Scouting And Development Role

York United is currently enjoying a strong run of form under an ownership group that has changed aplenty in terms of club staff, with the team now adding Silviu Butnaru to the freshly-made role of Director of Scouting and Development. 

Butnaru, who holds UEFA A and Canada B licenses, will work closely with Sporting Director Jorge Villalpando to identify local athletes who have the potential to enter the York United pipeline, reinforcing the club’s commitment to developing local Canadian talent.

Club ownership have taken their own stance as to how best approach this, ceasing their exclusive partnership with The United Academy as they seek out a new approach to their development pipeline.

Former United Academy member Shola Jimoh signed an Exceptional Young Talent contract with the side this year, becoming the league’s second-youngest goalscorer when he scored against Cavalry earlier this month.

Butnaru was once a member of the Canadian Paralympic Team and is a familiar face in Ontario Soccer circles, where he has worked as a learning facilitator since 2017. He has also volunteered as a director in the league management committee of the Toronto Soccer Association.

He has also previously served as the General Manager and Technical Director of the Rosedale Moore Park Association and the Director of Education at Anderson College, ultimately collecting over twenty years of experience as a coach and educator. The native of Romania was recently the General Manager of Oakville’s Crusaders Rugby Club.

The value of identifying young domestic talent is exponential in a league like the CPL, which requires each club dedicate 2,000 Canadian U-21 minutes to athletes each season.

See Also: At Season’s Midpoint, Just Over Half Of The CPL’s Teams On Track For Youth Minutes

Defender Noah Abatneh is having a strong season in this category, displaying the resolve and talent to be a regular feature at just 19 years old. Markiyan Voytsekhovskyy has also impressed since arriving from League1 Ontario circles last year.

The Nine Stripes are in a strong run of form under new head coach Benjamin Mora, who has guided the team to second place. The team will be back in action against Vancouver FC tonight.