HALIFAX—Halifax’s new pro soccer team will show off their skills for the first time at home this Saturday — but their karaoke abilities are already well established.

It’s been more than a month since most of the 22-man roster of players from around the world landed in Halifax to begin training for the first-ever Canadian Premier League (CPL) season. However, they haven’t had much time to relax as they’ve been busy training in Nova Scotia and in the Dominican Republic for pre-season games before their first match in Victoria last weekend.

Many of the players not hailing from Nova Scotia, including places in Europe, Asia, South America, Africa and other provinces, have been placed together in the same Halifax apartment building with a view of the Bedford Basin.

Assistant captain and defender Elton John jokes he’s gotten a “cold” welcome in Canada thanks to the chilly weather compared to his sunny country of Trinidad and Tobago. But he said Haligonians have been very friendly, and he enjoys living in the same place as his fellow players.

“I think it helps a lot for the team, the camaraderie for the team. We do a lot together,” John said Thursday afternoon after a practice at the BMO Soccer Centre, just two days from their first Wanderers Grounds match against Forge FC.

Since teammates are always a door away, John said they often hang out together to play a FIFA video game, cards or have singing competitions.

“You pick a song like karaoke, and you sing,” John said with a grin, adding that he usually chooses a soca tune (a rhythmic Trinidadian genre) but is a fan of all types of music.

John said he’s enjoyed trying out some of Halifax’s bars and restaurants with “excellent food,” and has gone dancing at the Toothy Moose, which had a great mix of music.

He’s had the chance to go out with some of his teammates, and after seeing them on the pitch for so long John laughed that “it’s a shock to see when it’s time to party. Some of the guys come out of their shell.”

That bonding is what Wanderers owner Derek Martin said he’s been hoping to see, since you “always play harder for people you know well.”

When it comes to salaries, Martin said the CPL isn’t disclosing specifics but said they’re “comparable” to the CFL. In that league, an average player makes upward of $50,000.

Martin said it’s fair to say Major League Soccer (MLS) is a “step above” (some players make more than $1 million), but that’s a well-established North American league with huge cities like Los Angeles. However, he said the CPL has high hopes to continue growing after this inaugural year.

“They’re making enough that they don’t need to have another job, they’re full-time professional soccer players,” Martin said, and the players’ schedules are full of training, keeping fit at the gym, then going over footage at night.

Both John and Juan Diego Gutierrez of Lima, Peru, talked about how safe they feel walking around Halifax at night compared to their own cities.

Gutierrez, a midfielder, looks forward to visiting the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic’s Titanic exhibit with his girlfriend after she arrives next week.

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“It’s history, you know, culture, so it will be really interesting for me to know more about it,” he said.

Defender Peter Schaale may be from Germany originally, but has already had a taste of Nova Scotia life after studying and playing soccer for three years at Cape Breton University in Sydney.

One of his favourite things to do is walk the Halifax harbour boardwalk, and he’s looking forward to hitting up some nearby beaches this summer, Schaale said.

So far, Schaale said everyone on the team gets along with each other and there hasn’t been any arguments, even with so much time together.

Originally from the Ivory Coast in Africa, Kouamé Ouattara has also been in Canada for the past few years, having moved to New Brunswick to study and play at the Université de Moncton.

Ouattara said he loves that Halifax is a nice combination of a big and small city, and he has already found a favourite breakfast spot at Cacao 70, which has great crêpes and chocolate.

Although the players hail from all over the world, speak various languages and sometimes communicate differently on the field, Ouattara said at the end of the day, it’s a good thing because they learn from each other; and “we all bring something different to the table.”

Music has also kept bonding the team through their travels, Ouattara said. They danced together in the Dominican, and “everyone” had to sing karaoke before their first game against Pacific FC.

“So we know now who is a good singer and who is not. Now, we’re just waiting for the coaches to sing,” Ouattara said.

When asked if head coach Stephen Hart might step up to the mic, Ouattara said he “probably” will after their home-opener on Saturday.

The Wanderers game on May 4 vs. Forge FC has already sold out, but fans can watch at home via live streaming coverage at cbcsports.ca or on CBC Gem at 2 p.m. AT.

The spring season runs until July 1 but picks right back up for the fall season on July 6 and continues until mid-October.

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