P.E.I. soccer player going to Madrid with Vancouver Whitecaps Academy

A P.E.I. soccer player has been given the chance to showcase his skills internationally.

Fifteen-year-old Riad Jaha has been selected to travel to Madrid with the Vancouver Whitecaps Academy, where he will play against other youth academies, train in a professional soccer setting, and watch professional soccer matches. 

"At first … I couldn't process it really well because I was really tired. And then later that night, I was just thinking that's like insane. I felt really good about it," said Jaha, who plays centre back for the PEI FC U15 team. 

One of 4 players selected nationally

Jaha was selected for the opportunity after attending a Vancouver Whitecaps high potential players training camp. The P.E.I. Soccer Association has partnered with the Whitecaps for the last three years, sending four young players to training camps each year. 

From more than 50 players who attended the training camp, four were selected to go to Madrid with the Whitecaps Academy team. 

"It's immense. For one, it's great to see our partnership with the Whitecaps showing a great positive step," said Jonathan Vos, technical director with the P.E.I. Soccer Association.  

"For Riad, it's amazing, it's going to be a really cool opportunity to go to one of the biggest soccer clubs — Real Madrid — in the world, to take part with some of their coaching staff, to watch some games, to play some games. So, you know, it's a really great opportunity."

'Quiet confidence'

Jaha started playing soccer when he was six years old. 

"I was forced to by my dad, because I didn't really like it at the start. And then after I stepped on the field for the first time, I liked it," he said.

He likes that the game requires both physical and mental presence. Vos said Jaha's knowledge of the game has helped to set him apart. 

"He's got a great quiet confidence about himself. He knows and reads the game really well," Vos said. 

"But you know I think for me it's just his composure and his confidence, his steadiness at the back that really sets him aside."

Jaha  has dreams of someday playing professionally, and he hopes his experience in Spain will get him one step closer to that goal. 

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