He may have just graduated highschool, but 17-year-old teenager Ahmed Alghamdi isn’t having the typical post-graduate summer most teens of his age do. Having signed a professional contract with Pacific FC a few months ago, he’s made eight appearances for the Vancouver Isle throughout the Canadian Premier League‘s inaugural season so far, though none of them for the full 90.

Still, he’s impressed head coach Michael Silberbauer during his 304 minutes of playtime. He scored a beautiful curled effort against spring season winners Cavalry FC, with the gaffer calling his development ‘very impressive’.

The Pacific FC boss evidently isn’t the only manager to notice the youngster’s efforts, as Alghamdi has now been called up to the Saudi Arabia U-20 squad, which is set to play two friendly matches against Bahrain and Tajikistan. Alghamdi is already away on international duty, though it’s unknown if he will be available for the club’s match against Valour FC next Wednesday.

Words of praise came in from club CEO Rob Friend, who knows exactly what such a call-up feels like: the former Canadian international played for both the Canada U-20 and U-23 sides before going on to make 32 appearances for the senior national team:

We are extremely proud of Ahmed’s recent call up to the Saudi U-20 National team. We continue to support the development and growth of all our young players, and we know Ahmed has a very bright future ahead of him.” Rob Friend, Pacific FC Ceo

It’s great to see young Canadian Premier League player get notice with a national team. Pacific FC is certainly doing its part in that regard, as 20-year-old midfielder Noah Verhoeven was invited to the Canada national team training camp to help the squad practice ahead of the Gold Cup.

While no CPL player has yet to receive a call-up to the Canadian national team itself, it’ll be interesting to see if Alghamdi can cement a place in the Saudi Arabia U-20s. At just 17, he’s got plenty of time to develop. For Silberbauer, he hopes the youngster will pick up some valuable experience that can lead to even greater heights:

It shows everybody that the youth national team is not that far away. I hope that the youth national team is not the goal for these guys but to go onto something bigger. Michael Silberbauer

With Pacific FC already being the youngest team in the league, it’ll be interesting to watch as other young players on the club’s roster continue to develop. The club has found itself scoring ample goals up front, though it continues to lack defensive concentration – something that Pacific FC fans will hope the return of 28-year-old German defender Hendrik Starostzik can help solve.

The additional of the province’s biggest field house will also help players keep fit and continue developing in the off-season, when the Vancouver Isle weather gets less-than-favourable.

We wish Alghamdi the best of luck as he plies his trade on international duty.

Source: Canadian Premier League