York9 FC To Host Scouting Combine In Mexico

York9 FC may have only utilized three international player roster spots throughout its inaugural campaign, but that isn’t stopping the York Region club from looking outside of Canada’s borders for its next potential star.

Today, York9 FC revealed that it is hosting an international scouting combine in Leon, Mexico, which will take place from November 24-30. The combine will see trialists get a chance to impress members of the York9 FC coaching staff and potentially earn themselves a contract with the Canadian Premier League club.

York9 FC will also need three new domestic U-21 players in 2020 to comply with league regulations, as the likes of Emilio Estevez and Diyaeddine Abzi will be 21 at the start of the next season. To help with this, the club is holding a U-21 identification camp in the York Region this December in the hopes of finding some local talent.

More details regarding this local camp are expected to come forth in the near future. Unlike the Got Game Trials that allowed for players to trial for every CPL club at the same time, both the upcoming excursion to Mexico and the local U-21 identification camp will be for York9 FC’s eyes only.

The news comes amidst controversial rumours regarding a league-imposed international player age limit, which ties in with additional rumours that the league will work with a scouting agency to build a central list of international players for clubs to pick from.

Fan reaction to the idea of a ‘discovery list’ of sorts was negative, with many seeing it as a reduction to the autonomy of CPL clubs. Recently, Wanderers President Derek Martin reassured fans that this was not the case, while Forge FC co-founder Bob Young jumped in with a quote from Moneyball about ensuring the league’s sustainability.

Of course, an international scouting combine being held by York9 FC implies that a central roster of allowed internationals won’t be enforced by the league, which has remained quiet regarding the rumours.

In any event, it’ll be interesting to see what changes come to York9 FC ahead of its second-ever season. Nine Stripes gaffer Jim Brennan had previously stated that he was happy with the core of his club, but told fans that mistakes made in the 2019 season would be rectified for 2020.

At the moment, it’s not clear how much turnover the York Region club will see: it rose from sixth place in the spring season to third in the fall, suggesting that the club is on the right track despite its struggles with consistency.

At the present time, only explosive full-back Morey Doner has confirmed that he has renewed his contract for another year. Given that FC Edmonton and Pacific FC just announced the first of their respective roster cuts, an announcement from York9 FC likely isn’t far behind.

Source: York9 FC (via Twitter)