Vancouver Whitecaps FC announced on Tuesday that Pedro Dias has been named head coach of the Whitecaps FC BMO Saskatchewan Academy Centres. Dias will officially start on July 1, and will hold two special free identification combines on Friday, July 5 in Saskatoon and Friday, July 12 in Moose Jaw. See more details and registration information below.
“Bringing Pedro on board is fantastic news for our BMO Saskatchewan Academy Centres,” said Marinos Papageorgopoulos, Whitecaps FC BMO Academy Centres director. “We wanted to ensure that we had the right person in place, both to give youth in the province the best possible mentorship, and also to strengthen the alignment to Vancouver. Pedro’s experiences both playing and coaching at an elite level will be greatly beneficial. This is a tremendous opportunity for all youth players in the province.”
Dias played more than 17 years of professional soccer in his native Portugal, including time spent at Sporting Clube de Portugal and Clube Desportivo Nacional.
A Canadian A licence and UEFA B licence coach, Dias is familiar to Canada. Previously he spent seven years as technical director & head coach of the Sporting FC Academy in Toronto, where he planned and executed training methodology in alignment with Sporting CP. Additionally, Dias was a provincial team coach with the Ontario Soccer Association, while also previously spending time coaching youth and implementing academy programs in Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, South Africa, the United States, and his native Portugal.
“Our partnership with Vancouver Whitecaps FC as the boys EXCEL provider within Saskatchewan is an asset for players who will continue to have tangible steps through the player pathway,” said Rahim Mohamed, Saskatchewan Soccer Association director of soccer. “We have seen the impact of having players like Brett Levis and Thomas Hasal now serve as role models for the youth here, and hopefully more players will be inspired to follow in their footsteps.”
All interested players can attend the free academy combines in Saskatoon and Moose Jaw by registering online. Details below:
Whitecaps FC Saskatchewan Combines
Saskatoon
Friday, July 5 at the Elite PROformance Centre
Open to all motivated players from Saskatoon and surrounding areas
Note players registered in the current July academy program are not required to attend
Moose Jaw
Friday, July 12 at the Yara Centre
Open to all players from Moose Jaw, Regina and surrounding areas
Training times for both Saskatoon and Moose Jaw Combines
Boys and Girls U-9/U-10: 3 to 4 p.m.
Boys U-11/U-12: 4:15 to 5:15 p.m.
Boys U-13/U-14: 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Girls U-11 to U-14: 6:45 to 7:45 p.m.
Girls U-15 to U-18: 8 to 9 p.m.
*No Cost. Space is limited*
Players must register through the appropriate website below.
Saskatoon: whitecapsfc.com/academy/saskatoon
Moose Jaw: whitecapsfc.com/academy/moosejaw
For more information on the Whitecaps FC BMO Academy System, visit whitecapsfc.com/academy.
