Vancouver FC's Jeevin Kang is currently in the Middle East with the Canada national team for the U17 World Cup, where he is serving as team manager for the competition. (Vancouver FC/Special to Black Press Media)
Seven months before Vancouver co-hosts the main event (the FIFA World Cup 2026), I'll get an early glimpse of the magnitude of a World Cup as its U17 version kicks off in Qatar.
I was honoured to be asked to represent Vancouver FC - where I am director of football operations - as well as the Lower Mainland, and City of Surrey (where I grew up), as the Canada under-17s team manager for this tournament.
First we're in Dubai for a preparation camp this week, and then off to Doha - with our first game against Uganda on Nov. 5. Chile and France are the other teams in our group.
It's going to be a great experience seeing so many different cultures and perspectives all in the same city, mingling and united under one sport - seeing the way different countries navigate the football world (little things, like how many staff they travel with).
But the biggest thing will be getting an insight into the level of professionalism and eliteness, and how FIFA as an organization drives that logistically and operationally.
It's only a glimpse, but being able to experience it - seeing how many people a World Cup brings to a city, the economic impact, the level of infrastructure required - and then to bring it back home, ahead of next year is a privilege.
It's been a full circle moment.
Growing up as a player, I went to a couple of camps myself at the Canada U18 level. So now it's a special feeling being able to come back and help guys that are in the same position I was just about a decade ago, to be able to mentor them, and push them to try to achieve their goals.
Prior to this tournament, I was at a camp in Spain and one in Finland and both times there were Vancouver FC players involved. It was really cool to be able to share the experience with them.
The club is creating a pathway for young talent in the Lower Mainland to go from grassroots and university soccer to professional soccer, all within a Canadian system - where they can make mistakes, learn, and showcase their ability to progress to the highest levels.
One of our best talents at the moment is Emrick Fotsing, who was in Finland with the U20s, along with T.J. Tahid, who recently secured a transfer to the European leagues. They're following in the footsteps of Grady McDonnell and James Cameron, who moved to Belgium and the U.S. last season. I'm sure more will follow.
Kevin Podgorni was with this U17 team at the camp in Spain earlier in the year and is part of the wider squad. We discovered him at an open combine last offseason, and now he's adjusting to being a professional.
Felipe Jaramillo Drolet was the first player in Vancouver FC history to sign a pro contract out of the U19 program and he's now involved with the Colombia U17 squad at this World Cup.
But this pathway is not only creating opportunities for professional players, it's improving the whole soccer economy - creating opportunities for referees, for coaches, and for guys like myself on the administration and operational side of things.
Plus, there's guys like Ben Fisk on the partnerships side of things, and Niko Giantsopoulos on the coaching side.
So we need to educate not only the professional players within the league, but the young players coming up within the youth systems, to know there's multiple pathways to be involved in professional football - it's not always as a player.
However, that is how I started out too. I played first for Surrey United, and then for the Whitecaps academy from U14 to U18 - actually with our head coach at Vancouver FC, Martin Nash, coaching me for a year there.
I played in university and at semi-pro level in Australia, too. But, I realized that my ceiling as a professional footballer might not be as high as my ceiling as someone on the business side of the game.
So, I picked up a bachelor's degree in management at UBC Okanagan, where I also played in the U Sports system for five years. Then, I completed a masters in sports management in Melbourne, where I picked up experience working with an A League club academy, as well as completing a masters diploma in sport direction and football coaching at Real Madrid's graduate school.
I would say I switched my dream of wanting to become a professional footballer to wanting to own or manage a professional football club. And I think once I switched my goals (or my ambitions) to that, is when I really dove into it.
To follow that dream at a club, just 15 minutes down the road from where I grew up, is an option that did not exist all that long ago.
When I tell people what I do - talking to agents, the contract negotiations, and the roster composition - lots of them think it's like real life career mode or football manager on a console game. But, I would say that's probably only 20 per cent of the job.
A lot more of it is managing people, problem solving, watching film, and all of the operations.
For instance, in Qatar, I'll be in charge of logistics, itineraries, flights, and hotels.
I am so proud to be involved and help in any way I can. Any time you represent Canada and stand there with that badge on your chest during the national anthem, it gives you goosebumps, both as a player and staff member.
It doesn't get any bigger or better than a World Cup - except for next summer for the main event.
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- Jeevin Kang is Vancouver FC's director of football operations, and the
Surrey native is a former director of operations at Surrey FC.