Vancouver Football Club has signed three Canadian players to 2023 Developmental Contracts: midfielder Lennon Thompson, fullback James Cameron and forward Kourosh Jamshidi.
The Langley-based pro soccer team made the announcement Wednesday, May 3.
All three players currently represent Unity FC of League1 BC. In signing Developmental Contracts for the 2023 season, Thompson, Cameron and Jamshidi are now eligible to train full-time with Vancouver FC, and may appear in as many as six Canadian Premier League games, while maintaining their place on Unity FC’s roster.
“One of our main missions is to invest in local Canadian youth players and provide them an excellent professional environment to realize their true potential and dreams,” said Vancouver FC head coach Afshin Ghotbi.
“All three of these players are exciting prospects with exceptional talent who can contribute to both the future of VFC and Canadian football.”
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Thompson, 18, represented Coastal FC before joining the Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency program in 2019 at the U15 level. The Surrey native spent three years with the program before he was invited to trial with Sirens Football Club of the Maltese Premier League in 2022. Thompson returned to his roots, playing one season with TSS Rovers in 2022 before committing to Unity FC.
He is the son of Vancouver FC assistant coach Niall Thompson, a former member of the Canadian Men’s National Team who competed at club level for Crystal Palace, Colchester United, Montreal Impact, Seattle Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps, among other teams.
Cameron, 18, grew up in North Vancouver and played for multiple youth programs including North Vancouver FC, Mountain FC in the BC Soccer Premier League (BCSPL), and Blaise Soccer Academy. Cameron recently represented Team BC at the 2022 Canadian Summer Games in Niagara, where he scored one goal and helped the team secure a fifth place finish in the tournament.
Jamshidi, 17, was born in Toronto, where he played for Wexford Soccer Club and Markham Soccer Club before joining North Toronto of the Ontario Player Development League (OPDL) at the age of 15. Last season, Jamshidi played for the Richmond Hill Raiders U21 in League1 Ontario, where he made 11 appearances and scored one goal.
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