Pacific FC’s newest signing Monday, Christian Greco-Taylor, could miss part of the Canadian Premier League season this summer. But that would be a good thing because it would be switching from club purple to national-team red for the 2024 CONCACAF U-20 championship in Guanajuato, Mexico.
Greco-Taylor made three appearances, one as a starter and two off the bench, as Canada went 3-0 in February against Dominica, St. Vincent and Trinidad and Tobago in the CONCACAF U-20 qualifying tournament in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, to establish himself as a rising 19-year-old defender.
“He’s proven he is one of the top young Canadian players through his recent games with the men’s U-20 Canadian national team,” PFC manager of football and player development Jamar Dixon said in a statement announcing the signing.
The deal is for the 2024 and 2025 CPL seasons with a club option for 2026.
“He is a young, left-footed left back with very high potential,” said Dixon.
And one with international experience.
“We see it as a real blessing to be able to bring a new generation of players together and do it in such meaningful matches,” Canada U-20 head coach Andrew Olivieri said in a statement, during the CONCACAF qualifying tournament in February.
Greco-Taylor has been groomed in a pro club environment since 2019 in the Vancouver Whitecaps Academy and had two assists in 21 appearances last season for the Whitecaps’ development team that plays in MLS Next Pro. Greco-Taylor is from Calgary and came out of the Rangers and Foothills youth program in his hometown.
“This continues our commitment to playing and developing young Canadian players,” said Dixon.
The CPL encourages that with a U-21 incentive, in which players under the age of 21 can be signed to a club’s primary roster with a hit of only 50 per cent of their total salary counting toward the CPL salary cap, which for this season is a ceiling of $1,212,500 and floor of $750,000 per club. The minimum salary for 2024 is $30,000.
The CPL sees itself at the introductory level to pro soccer in this country and requires that three Canadian players under the age of 21 must play a minimum of a combined 2,000 minutes per season. PFC was third in minutes played by U-21 players last season with 2,674 minutes, with 1,620 of that provided by starting goalkeeper Emil Gazdov, 564 by defender Paul Amedume and 455 by U Sports-contract midfielder Eric Lajeunesse. The other 35 minutes were by Abdul Binate.
Vancouver FC led the league with 5,203 minutes played by U-21 players with Valour FC of Winnipeg second with 4,390. Both those teams missed the playoffs. Scrapping by just over the limit were Forge FC of Hamilton with 2,052 combined minutes for U-21 players, Cavalry FC of Calgary with 2,044, Atlético Ottawa with 2,034, HFX Wanderers of Halifax with 2,032 and York United with 2006.
Greco-Taylor will join a PFC back line in 2024 that includes Amedume, Kunle Dada-Luke, Thomas Meilleur-Giguère, Aly Ndom and Georges Mukumbilwa.
PFC opens the CPL season April 13 at Starlight Stadium against the HFX Wanderers.
