Canada played two friendlies this past week against the Czech Republic and Slovenia. Both games were lost.

And while Canada played a good second game – relative to the performances of the last year, and avoided making some of the stupid mistakes it often makes – this column will have another topic, as the story of the Canadian Men’s National Team losing has been told too many times before.

Instead my comment will be on the Ottawa Fury signing their first Canadian player: Carl Haworth. The 24-year old forward from the Fury PDL team isn’t a flashy signing. He is too old to be labelled a talent, and is unlucky to feature for the full Canadian team after featuring for the Canadian U-23 team that attempted to qualify for the Olympics.

What the signing does send, however, is a signal. Haworth played PDL at Forest City London and Ottawa Fury SC. For the NASL Fury to sign him, it’s a nod to other Canadian PDL players that going pro in Canada is an option, even if none of the MLS sides will sign you.

There aren’t many opportunities for young Canadian soccer players after youth soccer, and that the Fury are ready to take a chance on a player like Haworth says that they are truly willing to test the depths of the Canadian player pool to make the team more than just an assembly of foreign players.

Fury manager Marc Dos Santos showed that attitude, as he said in a press release: “This is not only a bonus for what Carl has done with the Ottawa Fury, but also a message to our Academy players that have the dream to play pro one day.”

Hopefully Haworth will be the first of many Canadians in the squad and it will be exciting to see what he can show at the NASL level.