The Halifax Wanderers are pleased to announce the signing of Canadian defender Kareem Sow to a CPL-U SPORTS contract for the 2021 season.
Kareem Sow, hailing from Ottawa, ON is a third year Mechanical Engineer student at Université de Montréal. Sow, 20, is the latest product of Montreal Carabins soccer program to attract the attention of Halifax Wanderers. He was a part of the 2018 team that won the U SPORTS Men’s Canadian Championship alongside Wanderers teammates Omar Kreim and Pierre Lamothe.
Wanderers Head Coach and General Manager Stephen Hart has taken note of Sow’s potential to add strength and depth to the back line.
“He’s a central defender, I was excited to get him because he’s a cool, calm, collected type of defender with good physical qualities and good ball-playing qualities.”
Sow arrived in Halifax last week to begin his 14-day quarantine prior to joining the squad ahead of The Kickoff – the Canadian Premier League 2021 season’s opening stanza set to start June 26 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
“He’s another U SPORTS product that we picked up in the Draft,” explains Coach Hart. “So we’re hoping that gives us some depth at centre back because more than likely Jems Geffrard will not be with us for the first part of the season in Winnipeg as he’s with Haiti for World Cup Qualifiers and Gold Cup. So that gives us some depth there.”
Sow is the seventh CPL-U SPORTS Draft pick signed by the Wanderers to either a full-time or developmental contract, joining Christian Oxner, Peter Schaale, Cory Bent, Jake Ruby and Stefan Karajovanovic as draftees who will now represent Halifax in the 2021 CPL season.
After arriving in Halifax to begin his 14 day quarantine, Kareem jumped on a phone call with Wanderers Brand Manager Dylan Lawrence to discuss his first contract in a professional environment, players he’s looking forward to training with and with more Euro predictions.
Dylan Lawrence: Congratulations on your first contract, Kareem. What does this opportunity mean to you?
KS: It’s something that I was hoping for and pushing for. Although it’s a CPL-U SPORTS contract, I know it’s a great first step and a great first step that I’m grateful to have gotten – from HFX Wanderers especially. It’s definitely a big opportunity for me and it’s been great so far. I’ve been in contact with Matt Fegan through everything and it’s much more than I expected. I’m just grateful.
DL: What are you looking forward to most when you get back onto the pitch?
KS: Meeting the team – I’m really excited to start training with everyone. I’ve spoken with Alessandro Riggi and Peter Schaale, as well as a lot of players from Montreal, but I really want to see them all in person. It’s funny I don’t remember the last time I saw Alessandro Riggi – he used to be at the academy with me and I’ve known about him since I was 12-years-old but I’ve never played on his team. It’s going to be cool playing alongside someone like that. All the guys at the academy used to be like ‘oh my god, that’s Alessandro Riggi’ because he was one of the first ones we saw go to Europe and be successful there. And of course all the other players – there’s a lot of quality on the team.
DL: Going into training camp as a defender, what have you been working on to prepare for the season?
KS: I’ve been working on myself of course, trying to get my fitness up to the maximum. I was able to attend my University’s training camp in April which was good and had a lot of intensity. That definitely helped to keep my match fitness up but it was non-contact which was a little weird. Although things were pretty much in lockdown, luckily being involved with my University I was able to continue to get touches on the ball.
DL: There’s been lots of soccer to watch recently. Have you been watching critically or more so as a fan?
KS: I’ve been keeping up with the Champions League that just finished – it wasn’t my team in the final so I wasn’t too happy about that but it was an entertaining final to watch because it was a defensive minded final. Definitely a lot of tactical choices from Pep Guardiola and Thomas Tuchel and defender Antonio Rüdiger has really stepped up his game. I did watch that final more as a fan though.
DL: With the Euros coming up, which player will you be watching more closely than others?
KS: I’d say my favourite centre back and the player I’d try to base my game on would be Verrane and France is also the team I’m supporting. I’m really excited for the Euros though and especially to watch France – Karim Benzema is back on the team and that guy is insane. He had a really great season with Real Madrid. I really want to see him do well for France but I know it’s his first international appearance with France in a while. Kante too – everybody loves Kante. I would love to see him win the Ballon D’or.
DL: With soccer coming back in full swing in Canada, for this next month what are you looking forward to most in the next month as you enter your first contract with a professional team?
KS: Personally I have some intensive training ahead of me and I’m hoping to earn a spot in the team and to be able to prove myself after the trust the Wanderers have put in me. For the season itself we have high hopes after a strong year last year. This is something we hope to keep up this year and be a top team once again in the Canadian Premier League. Also since it’s my first year in a professional environment, I’m really looking forward to learning from the other players and it’s those extra details – playing in front of fans, interacting with fans is something I’ve never had to be involved with so I’m just really looking forward to learning.
2021 Season Ticket Memberships are available online. Members will receive additional benefits in 2021 including 50% off a jersey for every season seat purchased, 20% off the Wanderers Fan Shop and more!