MONTREAL – CF Montréal announced on Thursday that its U23 team will play two friendly matches against Sunderland's U23 squad later this summer as part of the English club’s North American preseason schedule.
The pair of matches will be played on Friday, August 5, and Sunday, August 7, in Moncton, New Brunswick, and Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, respectively.
The August 5 match in Moncton will take place at the Croix-Bleue Medavie Stadium while the August 7 match in Charlottetown will be played on the grounds of the University of Prince Edward Island.
“This is a great opportunity for us to play against a renowned club,” said CF Montréal Academy Director Patrick Leduc. “It will be a different experience and we think it will benefit our players’ development. We look forward to visiting the Maritimes for these two special games.”
“All at Sunderland AFC are grateful for the opportunity that has been given to our U23 squad to head to Canada during preseason,” noted SAFC Academy Manager Lewis Dickman. “It is a fantastic opportunity for the players to gain experience against elite opposition and test ourselves against some of the best young players in Canada.”
Sunderland earned its promotion to the English Championship (second tier) following a Playoff Final victory against Wycombe a few weeks ago. The team placed fifth in the League One table in 2021. The northeastern English club competed in the Premier League until 2017.
Sunderland’s U23 team competes in the Premier League 2 (Division 2) championship following relegation from Division 1 in the 2017-18 season. The team also competes in the Premier League Cup. Notable alumni from Sunderland’s youth development program include goalkeeper Jordan Pickford (Everton FC), midfielder Jordan Henderson (Liverpool FC) as well as current youth prospects Anthony Patterson, Dan Neil and Elliot Embleton.
All preseason matches in Canada between CF Montréal and Sunderland AFC were made possible by On Ice Entertainment and their Match Agent partners, Pro Soccer Consulting Ltd.
