One of Vancouver FC’s missions is to invest in local Canadian youth players and provide them with an excellent professional environment to capitalize on their true potential. This objective is bearing its fruits as South Surrey’s Lennon Thompson and North Vancouver’s James Cameron became the eighth and ninth Canadian VFC players (tenth and eleventh total), respectively, to make their professional debuts over the last two weeks.

“Lennon is a football prodigy who combines talent, fighting spirit and football IQ,” says Afshin Ghotbi, VFC head coach. “It’s special for me to coach him because his father (Niall Thompson) is my assistant and has become a good friend, so I see [Lennon] almost as one of my sons.” Thompson jumped on the pitch for the last minutes of the Derby match against Pacific FC on June 2nd, where he completed one block, won one tackle and won a duel. 

“My [whole] life has been working towards that moment, so when I first got called, I was super excited,” comments Thompson. “As I got on the pitch, I stayed super focused on the game. I was just super happy and proud of myself.” Thompson brings his dedication to every training session to be a better player and get more professional minutes, a dream he, “…couldn’t even picture without being here with Vancouver FC.”

Cameron is another instance of a talent that might not have been given a professional chance if the CPL didn’t exist. After excelling in youth clubs and in the BC Soccer Premier League, he received his first professional opportunity with VFC at 18 years old. Amongst all developmental contracted players in the CPL, Cameron has received the most playing time after he was subbed in the 72nd minute of last Sunday’s match against Cavalry. In that game, Cameron collected an impressive statline of 10 successful passes, three recoveries, one interception, two duels won and two tackles won. 

“James impressed me because he has an incredible work rate and a very strong will,” says Ghotbi. “He combines speed, power and explosiveness in his game and then he is the kind of guy that never gives up.” Although these players are only allowed to make a total of three appearances during the season (stipulated by their developmental contracts), Thompson and Cameron are receiving valuable time and practice that will make them appealing acquisitions for any professional club. “You know, when I heard I was about to get subbed on, I was very excited, my heart started racing,” shares Cameron. “I wasn’t really nervous. I was really happy to get on the pitch and play in front of an exciting fan base in a nice field.”

“I think we have been very fortunate because Canada has such a rich talent of football players,” shares Ghotbi. “I believe that…you can take [the province of] British Columbia and make a ‘national team’ that can be competitive on the world stage. There’s that much [football] talent in this city and in this region.”

Thompson and Cameron still have a long path of growth ahead of them but Ghotbi believes they could be very successful if they focus on writing their own stories. “My advice to the young players is ‘don’t try to be anyone else.’ You can learn and take a little bit from different people, but in the end, be yourself, be true to yourself. When you do that, then you can bring a certain consistency and you will be a happier person.”

Watch and support the future of Canadian football right in your backyard at any one of Vancouver FC’s home matches. The team’s next match is Tuesday, June 20th with a 7 p.m. kick off and tickets can be purchased here.