FC Edmonton striker Tomi Ameobi awoke Friday to his phone "going crazy" as news filtered out that Britain had voted to leave the European Union.

"Family, friends back home," the 27-year-old said. "There's a couple of guys on the team talking about it. It's a hot topic."

Ameobi is from Newcastle in northeast England, close to the Scottish border.

Team captain Albert Watson hails from Northern Ireland, while other teammates originate from continental Europe, South America, the United States, Canada,, Africa and the United Kingdom.

The FC Edmonton player roster and coaching staff has members spanning five continents. Given the team diversity, it's understandable that post-practice field chatter took on a different tone Friday.

"I'm quite surprised they're talking politics," said head coach Colin Miller, noting players usually chat about football, women or cars.

Miller, a Scottish national, was taken aback by results showing a majority of Britons voted to leave the EU.

"I thought the U.K. would stay as a member of the EU, but I was pleased to see that Scotland wanted to stay. That's the Scotsman in me," quipped Miller.

For a topic that proved so divisive in Britain, Ameobi said he and his teammates were united in their position, wanting to remain in Europe.

"For the most part, to my knowledge, all of them wanted to stay in the EU. Obviously we couldn't vote. Our votes might have been able to tip the scale," Ameobi said with a chuckle.

While not knowing what the immediate impact will be, he and other players think it could affect them in future.

Soccer players from Britain now enjoy free passage between EU member countries but they could face restrictions once a new system is in place.

'Sometimes we have to take second best'

While head coach Colin Miller lamented Britain's departure from the EU, he also wondered how it will affect how his team is run.

Because FC Edmonton pays players in Canadian dollars, Miller worries a further devaluation will make it even more difficult to attract players to Edmonton.

Collin MIller is the head coach of FC Edmonton. (Tony Lewis/TLSport.ca)

"Sometimes we have to take second best," said Miller. Just this season, the team lost out on acquiring a player from Portugal because of the low value of the Canadian dollar, he said.

ATB financial chief economist Todd Hirsch says uncertainty about the future is fueling overall nervousness in the business community, impacting everything from the price of oil to the value of the dollar.

"So if you're an exporter or importer doing business with Great Britain and you're heavily exposed to that, there are going to be a lot of questions and nervousness because there's a lot of unknowns of what's going to happen next with the United Kingdom."

But Hirsch expects the skittishness in the markets to be short term, as the new reality in Europe and the UK is sorted out over the next two years.

Governor General David Johnston reluctantly commented on the vote while on a tour of Fort McMurray.

Johnston said while in London last week to mark the Queen's 90th birthday it was evident the vote would be close.

"Now the people of the United Kingdom will have to get on with their new future and we in Canada will adjust accordingly," he said.