Before a ball was kicked at the Island Games, 2020 was shaping up to be a special year for midfielder Aboubacar Sissoko.
After signing his first professional contract with HFX Wanderers FC, Sissoko was given an extended six-week trial with the Vancouver Whitecaps of MLS in January. Now with the Island Games well underway, Sissoko’s name has been in the starting XI every game, and his trial on the West Coast has given him confidence on the East Coast.
“It’s easy to play when you have a lot of confidence on the pitch,” Sissoko said. “But I will keep working to get better and better every day, to have success here with the team.”
Through three games, Sissoko shares the team lead in passes alongside defender Peter Schaale with 151 and was named Man of the Match in the 2-1 loss to Cavalry. He’s also played all but 10 minutes of the tournament.
“To be honest, physically, it’s a little bit difficult,” Sissoko noted of the intensity of the Canadian Premier League so far. “When we try to play faster, it’s a good pace…it’s less physical because on the field, my teammates are always open so they give me channel passes and it’s easy to play because they make me better on the pitch.”
Sissoko was originally drafted in the second round of the 2018 CPL-U Sports draft by Forge FC but ultimately left without a professional contract and returned for another year of university soccer with the Montreal Carabins.
“I knew to get my first professional contract, I had to have a good season with my university team. And they helped me — my family and my university teammates and coaches — to be a better player, to have success with them,” Sissoko reflects.
It’s an understatement to say he had a good season with the Carabins. In June, his performance earned Sissoko the 2020 Lieutenant Governor Athletic Award as U Sports male athlete of the year.
“To get that top honour means a lot to me because five years ago, if you told me I would get this U Sports award, just my mom or my family would bet on that,” he said.
Tragically, Sissoko was not able to celebrate the award with his mom who passed away in May. During the Island Games, you may notice him using #MP on Instagram or see those two letters written on his arm.
“Every time I have a good performance, I will mark ‘MP’. It means mom and papa in French. Mother and father, it’s because of them that I’m here, because of my father and mom. I will always dedicate my success to them because they gave me a good education and I’m happy for that,” he said, adding his father passed away eight years ago.
His mother, Yacine Coulibaly, not only was her son’s biggest supporter but she also helped Sissoko transform his diet and eat better last season, cooking whatever he wanted before and after games. His favourite meal of hers was a Senegalese rice dish.
“She also gave some advice on how to be a good person. Every time I was on the phone with her, she was my mom but she was firstly my best friend because I always talked with her,” he said.
Despite going through so much in the past few months, he’s been a bright spot on the Wanderers team and his coach Stephen Hart has noticed.
“He has a willingness to take things onboard, always has a smile on his face. He’s one of those players that loves playing the game,” Hart said.
“I’m very happy with him. He’s brought something to the midfield that I actively went out and sought after. He gives us a sort of a complementary look to somebody like Louis Béland-Goyette or Andre Rampersad.”
Sissoko’s pleased he’s making his coach happy, and while dedicating his performances to his parents, is enjoying being a part of the Wanderers family in the Island Games bubble.
“We hurt for each other and we push together to be higher and we will work hard every day to have success together.”