Surrey 17-year-old signs to play soccer with Whitecaps FC2, has shot at top club

After five years with the Whitecaps FC BMO Academy, Surrey teen Jeevan Badwal has signed to play with the soccer club’s FC2 team, next in line to the top squad.

The 17-year-old was the youngest player at Whitecaps FC preseason training in Marbella, Spain, and is the 12th Canadian teenager to be signed to a professional contract since WFC2 began play in MLS NEXT Pro in 2022.

Then on Tuesday (Feb. 6) Badwal and fellow young midfielder Jay Herdman signed MLS short-term agreements for Wednesday’s Concacaf Champions Cup Round One first leg (Feb. 7) against Tigres UANL, at Starlight Stadium in Langford (Vancouver Island).

“This is a great opportunity for Jeevan and Jay,” said Axel Schuster, Whitecaps FC sporting director.

“Our second team is an extension of our first team, providing a clear pathway for all of our players such as Ali Ahmed, who started his career in MLS NEXT Pro and has gone on to play with the Canadian men’s national team. We look forward to seeing Jeevan, Jay, and all of our young players continue to progress in their development.”

STORY CONTINUES BELOW

Training in Spain with @WhitecapsFC: How Surrey 17-year-old Jeevan Badwal signed to play soccer with FC2 squad and has a shot at top club.

STORY: https://t.co/3urvdIMRhs pic.twitter.com/BuD9qdwZH5

— Tom Zillich (@TomZillich) February 7, 2024

In his youth, Badwal played at Coastal FC, Surrey FC, Supra Academy and B.E.S.T. Academy, then joined the club’s BMO Academy as a 13-year-old in 2019.

A lifelong Newton-area resident, Badwal went to Tamanawis Secondary for Grade 8 before transferring to Vancouver’s University Hill Secondary, where Whitecaps academy players are schooled. He’s now in Grade 12.

Last July he was picked to play at the MLS NEXT All-Star Game in Annapolis, Maryland.

On the international stage, Badwal has represented Canada at the U17 level, starting all three matches at the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Indonesia, and aims to play for Canada’s U20 at the upcoming CONCACAF qualifier games starting Feb. 23 in Trinidad & Tobago.

Now home from training in Spain with the Whitecaps, Badwal dreams of playing for the club’s top team one day, after playing a few games with FC2 last season.

“It was a different experience, obviously, it’s professional,” Badwal said in a video interview with the Whitecaps media team.

“Obviously playing with older guys, playing faster, playing stronger and everything, it’s a good experience for me.”

Badwal said it feels “really good” to rise up the ranks as an academy player in the Whitecaps organization.

“I feel like a standout, but obviously I can’t get over my head,” he said. “I gotta tell these kids that you can’t get too cocky getting this far. Obviously, it can get taken away like that. But yeah, telling every kid that it’s possible, don’t let go of your dreams.”