Brampton’s Soccer Talent Strikes Again

In the first match of the CONCACAF 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign (the Octo) I watched Canada and Honduras reach a 1:1 draw at BMO field. We had our stars there. Davies, David, Larin, Hutchinson, Eustaqio, Osorio, Johnson, Vitoria… but Honduras equalled everything we had and while we could and perhaps should have won the match, it ended level.

Several years later, in their first group stage game of the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Canada absolutely swept aside Honduras with a thrilling 6:0 win driven heavily by Brampton’s soccer talent as two Bramptonians combined for three of the six goals. To be clear, Honduras haven’t suddenly had a huge drop off – they are, for the most part, as good as they were back in 2021. The difference however is with Canada. New additions, like Brampton’s Promise David, Burnaby’s Niko Sigur, Fulham’s Luc de Fougerolles, Nathan Saliba, Mathieu Choinière, etc. have only served to push Canada to the another level, to even higher heights.

Brampton’s Soccer Talent Promises Big Things

Of particular interest to all of us in the Brampton soccer community is Promise David, another one of Brampton’s soccer talents making global headlines. Just this past year he helped Royale Union Saint-Gilloise win their first league title in 90 years and is considered a promising young striker in Europe, and definitely one of THE best strikers in Belgium. His addition to the Canadian national program, joining fellow Bramptonian Tajon Buchanan in scoring against Honduras is a large aspect of why Canada are considered the favourites in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Promise David’s footballing pathway saw him travel from youth programs in Brampton to the TFC Academy, then Vaughan Azzurri, which led to a trans-atlantic trip to play for Trnje in the Croatian 3rd division before returning to play for Tulsa FC in the USL. His senior career saw him hopping around Europe’s smaller football nations as he played in Malta, Estonia and finally landed himself with RUSG in Belgium.

We’ve yet to see the Vancouver Whitecaps’, Jayden Nelson, another Bramptonian, in the Gold Cup but there’s still time, perhaps against Curaçao. Remember, this is the Whitecaps team that handily defeated Messi’s Inter Miami in the CONCACAF Champions League and reached the competition’s final.

There was some worry that with Atiba Hutchinson and Doniel Henry retiring, Junior Hoillett, Jonathan Osorio and Cyle Larin slowly getting up there in years, that Brampton would find itself under-represented in Canada’s Men’s National Team. There’s still Jacen Russell-Rowe, Shola Jimoh, an injured Liam Millar, Ike Ugbo and Luke Singh knocking on Jesse Marsch’s door. (Although, having 2 senior caps for Trinidad and Tobago, Singh may no longer be eligible for Canada.) So rest assured that Brampton’s soccer talent will still have a lasting impact on Canada’s and the globe’s soccer scene for at least another generation.

Make sure you tune in to watch Canada take on Curaçao on Saturday, June 21st at 7:00PM.