Brandon soccer player thriving in Winnipeg

Brandon native Leaf Klassen and his team FC Northwest hope they can make Manitoba proud at the under-17 national championships from Oct. 6 to 12 in St. John’s N.L.

The team qualified for nationals by winning the Manitoba Soccer Association Cup — otherwise known as the MSA Cup — at the end of July.

“It feels amazing, you know? It was a dream of mine for the last few years,” said Klassen about winning the MSA Cup. “It was (my) first time playing in a tournament that we won, so it was very exciting.”

FC Northwest dominated the tournament, winning all three of its round-robin games while averaging a thunderous five goals per game thanks in large part to a 9-0 win over Winnipeg Phoenix FC.

In the finals, they faced Ak Soccer Academy. It was a tight match that ended in an FC Northwest win in extra time.

For Klassen, the opportunity to represent Manitoba at nationals is validation of the difficult choice he made to leave Brandon in order to play soccer in Winnipeg this season.

Normally, Klassen would have played in Westman, but he learned that there weren’t enough players in the area to field a U17 squad this season. If he wanted to play soccer this year it wouldn’t be in Brandon.

“With his background and desire to play, we needed to find him somewhere to play and driving everyday wasn’t going to work,” said Klassen’s father Mike. “I talked to my parents (Leaf’s grandparents) and they agreed to take him in,”

The move came with a lot of change for the younger Klassen. A new school, a new home and, of course, a new soccer team.

“It was definitely a choice, but I knew I wanted to keep pursuing this, so it was the choice I had to make even though it was hard,” said the younger Klassen. “Still, it’s definitely what I wanted so it’s fine.”

The younger Klassen is living a reality that many rural athletes face if they want to climb to a high enough level. While it wasn’t the Klassen’s first choice sending their son away to live in Winnipeg with his grandparents John and Dorothy Klassen it has been beneficial for the young athlete.

“It’s been pretty good as far as helping him develop some independence and all those kinds of things to be living … away from home,” said the elder Klassen. “It’s been difficult. I love hanging out with my kid, and it’s been hard, but it’s also been wonderful watching him pursue his dream.”

The younger Klassen intends to pursue soccer as far as it will take him. He’s an aggressive, fast striker and attacking midfielder who has a nose for the net.

In the pursuit of a soccer career, he is in conversations with a couple of colleges about what options might be available to him next season. In the past, he’s looked at international opportunities as a way to advance his career.

He travelled to Las Vegas at the end of 2024 and was subsequently selected for the Villereal Academy North American Select Team. The following year SC Braga invited him to a two-week training and trial in Portugal where he played in a pair of matches. He’s been invited back for another trial this year with SC Braga as well as another pro-trial in Sofia Bulgaria.

“In Europe, it’s a lot faster play and different quality,” said the younger Klassen. “I think it was very special.”

The younger Klassen constantly pushes himself to improve at his craft. As the season continues, he is working on improving his finishing as well as playing with his back to his opponents and receiving balls.

Though FC Northwest has already qualified for nationals they are still in the middle of their season. The team is working on getting into shape for the tournament while continuing to compete against other Manitoba-based teams.

The team is using every resource at their disposal including in-class sessions, conditioning and studying video to improve its game alongside their usual work on the pitch.

The tournament will take place from Oct. 6 to 12, though not all the teams who will participate in the event have qualified at this point.

The tournament is organized into four groups of three teams which makes for a very short round-robin.

FC Northwest will start the tournament on Oct. 8, with a game against the Newfoundland and Labrador second team, which is yet to be determined.

Then they will play Vancouver ICSF Columbus FC. After this, the seeding will be decided, and cross-bracket play will begin with quarter final matchups on Saturday Oct 10.

“It will be an amazing opportunity to represent Manitoba,” said the younger Klassen. “Being out there, I’m super excited for that. It will be amazing.”

The younger Klassen is confident in his teammates’ abilities. As a group, they play fast with very high quality. He isn’t worried about the pressure of a large tournament as he knows the team excels at holding its composure under pressure.

“We’re going to win,” said the younger Klassen. “We really have to buckle down for that, but I believe we have a good shot if we keep working how we are.”

Though he no longer plays in Brandon, the younger Klassen knows he is representing Westman soccer while he plays in Winnipeg, and he’s excited to represent his city at nationals even if he plays for another city while he does it.

“I want to thank everyone from Brandon,” said the younger Klassen. “That was definitely a big part of me getting where I’m going.”

»rmccarthy@brandonsun.com