Brampton Men’s National Team in Honduras

At BAS, we’ve taken to referring to the Canadian Men’s National Team as the ‘Brampton Men’s National Team’ over the course of the past year. We do so, partly in jest, but also with a sense of pride. It’s Canada’s team, without a doubt, but we can’t help but feel a swell of pride for the Brampton soccer community every time the official roster is released in the lead up to an international window.

Tonight (January 27th, 2022), the CMNT will be stepping onto the field in San Pedro Sula, Honduras with the intention of remaining unbeaten for the 2022 Qatar World Cup Qualifying campaign. They will then return to Canada where 12,000 lucky Canadians (50% capacity worth) will see the team host the United States at Hamilton’s Tim Horton’s Field on January 30th, 2022. Then it’s a another round trip to Central America, this time to San Salvador to meet with El Salvador for their third match in a less than a week on February 2nd, 2022.

You can catch ALL of Canada’s National Team matches, Men’s and Women’s, on OneSoccer.ca.

Brampton Men’s National Team

Why though, is the notion of the CMNT being referred to as the Brampton Men’s National Team, a funny thing?

It’s funny, because it’s kind of true.

In Canada’s 25 man roster for this window, 8 of the players were either born in Brampton and spent their formative years playing Brampton soccer, or they moved here at a young age and then spent their formative years playing Brampton soccer. It’s unquestionable now, the late 90s through to the 2000s have proved a valuable proving ground for talented professional footballers.

32% of the CMNT roster played on the same pitches, for the same youth clubs and academies, that most members of BAS did. Many BAS participants used to be teammates with them.

So who are these Brampton natives that now comprise the segment of the CMNT that we refer to as the Brampton Men’s National Team?

1. Atiba Hutchinson, 38, Beşiktaş JK
2. Junior Hoilett, 31, Reading FC
3. Jonathan Osorio, 29, Toronto FC
4. Doniel Henry, 28, Free Agent
5. Cyle Larin, 26, Beşiktaş JK
6. Iké Ugbo, 23, KRC Genk
7. Tajon Buchanan, 22, Club Brugge KV
8. Liam Miller, 22, FC Basel

(Bet you thought they’d all be MLS players, they’re not.)

We’ve included their ages because it’s important to note that this isn’t a single ‘generation’ of players that all managed to get to a high level of professional football and then move on to represent Canada. This is a multi-generational trend and indicative of the depth and breadth of the Brampton soccer community.