Photo courtesy of Cintia Freitas

For the first time in its history, the GBC Huskies men’s soccer team will play in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Men’s National Championship.

The tournament, which kicked off on November 8 and will run until this Saturday, features the top-ranked college varsity teams in Canada. The Huskies will be taking on the Douglas Royals, who were the silver medal winners of the competition in 2017, in the championship quarterfinals on November 10.

The tournament, hosted by the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) in Calgary, will feature eight teams from across Canada that have qualified through their respective provincial competitions.

Winger Anas El-Bogi, who scored four goals in nine games so far this season, says the Huskies are ready for the challenge. He expressed how excited the team is and how focused they are in training to be at their best for the national championship.

“In training, we watched Douglas Royals tapes. They are a very physical side, and feature in this competition regularly,” El-Bogi said.

Huskies would have to count on their pace to create an advantage and break into open spaces against their rivals, he added. This is a strategy where wingers can play a crucial role.

As a construction management student who is set to graduate soon, he discussed the prospects and challenges that college athletes face regarding breaking into the professional soccer scene in Canada.

But El-Bogi is no stranger to overcoming barriers. Palestinian by descent, he was born in Saudi Arabia and moved to Canada with his family when he was 10 years old.

El-Bogi didn’t know a single word of English and found it hard at first to get by and make friends at school. However, it turned out that playing soccer was not only his passion and refuge but also his ticket to integrating with his community.

“All I did was play soccer. My whole life revolved around it. When people saw that I played well, they wanted to be friends with me,” he said.

El-Bogi began playing soccer in the streets of Jeddah when he was merely six years old.

During his school years in Toronto, he played for the Mississauga Falcons and Erin Mills Eagles Soccer Club.

In this period of his life, he also scored opportunities to travel to different locations in the States for showcase games and ended up getting sporting scholarship offers from different American schools.

However, he didn’t accept any of them. His ultimate dream is to play in Europe.

His decision to study construction management was a practical one, a backup plan. 

“In soccer, players might get injured so badly that it ends their careers. God forbid, but if that were to happen, what are you going to do then? I at least have a degree to fall back to,” he said.

But his true passion and goal is to play professional soccer, he added.

This is why he allocates the maximum energy and time he can in improving his soccer skills, despite being a full-time student. Currently, he also works for a cleaning business with his brother.

El-Bogi believes that every college athlete should do all that they can to break into professional sport.

“It’s better to try and fail than not to try at all and regret it 10 years later,” he said. “Failure is the mother of success. Where you fail is where you can improve as a player.”

El-Bogi also received an offer from the Palestinian National Youth Soccer Team. But when the opportunity came, conflicts were particularly rife in Palestine and accepting it would have come with significant safety concerns. 

Playing for the Palestinian national team is another dream that he holds very dear to his heart. He hopes that someday he will get the opportunity to play for Palestine, a place he has never been.

After graduating, his plans are to either try for professional soccer in Canada or travel to Europe to try for whatever tier of league he can get into there. He is happy to move to more competitive environments and feels that it would help him become a better player.

El-Bogi remarks that it would be easier for him to pursue professional football after graduation, as he no longer would have to tend to his studies.

“I’ve already been in contact with a few agents, they are waiting for my highlight reel from this year,” he said.

For now though, all his focus and energy is directed towards winning the first game for Huskies in the national championship.

“I don’t want to come back without a medal.”