Canada’s finest youth talents have made a habit of cutting their teeth on the global stage at the FIFA U-17 World Cup™. In fact, the forthcoming edition of the extravaganza, which will take place in Qatar from 3 to 27 November, will be the nation’s ninth appearance at the showpiece event.
Everyone in the North American nation has everything crossed that this will be the instalment in which the national team finally breaks the curse that has dogged them since their debut campaign in 1987. In 24 outings and counting, the Canadians are still searching for that elusive win.
Nobody is more convinced that he and his team-mates have what it takes to right that particular wrong on Qatari soil than jet-heeled attacker Shola Jimoh. The Canadian boy wonder, who is making waves both at home and abroad, exudes confidence and candour when talking about the upcoming competition. “I think that we’re going to shock a lot of people and that we’re going to do well at this World Cup,” assures the fresh-faced dynamo.
Given his tender years, Jimoh holds the rare distinction of already competing in the professional ranks of the game, plying his trade for Canadian Premier League outfit York United, and he will undoubtedly be one of the leading lights in Canada’s campaign in the Middle East. The raw talent – who was born in the English footballing hotbed of Newcastle upon Tyne – has lived and breathed the beautiful game for as long as he can remember and has always looked very much at home with a ball at his feet.
“Even back when I was in the UK, all my schoolteachers would tell me that I was really athletic, and they always said I loved to kick a ball, even though I didn’t know what football was,” Jimoh tells FIFA. “And then when I moved here, even my teachers at elementary school were saying the same thing to my parents. So, my parents just signed me up for football and ever since, I’ve liked it.”
After his family upped sticks from the UK to Ontario, the natural-born baller gradually progressed through the ranks, moving from Brampton East Soccer Club to Brampton League Soccer Academy and then Dutch Connections, before joining the academy at Major League Soccer (MLS) titans Toronto FC. Following an earlier spell at York United, he returned to the Nine Stripes in a bid to ready himself for the rigours of men’s football, and the secondary-school student was rewarded for his efforts with a professional contract last June at just 16 years of age.
Considered to be one of the brightest up-and-coming talents in the Canadian top tier, Jimoh’s decision to check back in at York has proved to be a sound one, with his dazzling displays for the Toronto-based side having caught the eye of senior national-team coach Jesse Marsch. Indeed, the USA-born tactician didn’t think twice before inviting him to a training camp last November. Needless to say, the last thing the left-footed winger was expecting was to find himself being put through his paces alongside Jonathan Osorio, Nathan-Dylan Saliba and other established Canadian internationals.
“I was out buying some food, and then I saw Jesse Marsch was calling me,” recalled the budding ace. “I was really shocked because I didn’t really know. I didn’t think he knew who I was at the time. But I was wrong. They [the other players] welcomed me so well because I’m obviously really young – less experienced than they are – and they were all really welcoming, and they were really patient with me, and they helped me to improve.”
Having acquired some valuable experience during the senior-team get-together, Jimoh got back down to work at York and with the U-17 national team, helping the latter to book their golden ticket to Qatar in February. In November, the fledgling flanker is set to line up alongside the likes of Sergei Kozlovskiy and Richard Chukwu as Canada pit their wits against France, Chile and Uganda in Group K at Doha’s Aspire Academy.
Nothing is likely to faze the unassuming attacker. “We’re going to make history, because no U-17 Canadian team have won a game [at the tournament], and we’re going to be the team to win that game, make history and make it out of the group.”
Those heading to Doha to follow Canada’s fortunes and catch a first glimpse of Jimoh in action can expect to be treated to the talents of a lively, energetic performer and, in his own words, “a warrior”, whose fierce determination on the pitch stands in sharp contrast to his calm and composed off-field persona. Beneath his confident demeanour, lies a reserved – almost shy – young man.
As for his footballing upbringing at home, Jimoh’s Nigeria-born parents raised him watching the mesmerising magic of Super Eagles’ icon Jay-Jay Okocha. “When I was younger, my parents used to always show me videos of his dribbling and his skills,” explained the tantalising teen talent, who was also captivated by the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018™, a tournament that fuelled his ambitions of making a name for himself on the global stage.
“I remember the 2018 tournament really vividly. Coming back home from school and watching Kylian Mbappe just running past everyone, dribbling past everyone. I said to myself that one day I’ll be in the World Cup, doing what he did.”
While he intends to pursue his studies, the secondary-schooler finds it hard to imagine a future in anything other than sport. He is aiming high – and while it may be a long shot, he is not ruling himself out of being a wildcard pick in the Canadian squad for next year’s edition of FIFA’s flagship tournament, which will take place in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
“Definitely, being at the 2026 World Cup in Toronto is a big dream of mine, and I think I can achieve it,” he says. “I think if I make it, it’ll be really good because it’ll be close to home and all my friends and family will watch me for sure.”
Jimoh is nevertheless aware that he has his work cut out and that to figure in Marsch’s thinking he will need to shine brighter than ever before at the upcoming U-17 World Cup. Luckily, that is all part of the starlet’s master plan.
Photos: Canada Soccer
