Egwu joins Lions on loan from Estonia’s JK Narva Trans
WINNIPEG, MB — Feb. 10, 2025 — Valour FC today announced the signing of Canadian defender Kelsey Egwu on loan from Estonian top-flight side JK Narva Trans through the end of the 2025 Canadian Premier League (CPL) season.
The 21-year-old, who stands at six-foot-four, will bring quality depth as the club continues to strengthen its squad ahead of the upcoming campaign. Having most recently represented JK Narva Trans in the Estonian Meistriliiga, where he logged nearly 2,500 professional minutes over 37 appearances in 2024, Egwu, will rely on the experience he has gained both domestically and abroad to make an impact in the club’s backline.
“We have been following Kelsey over the past few seasons.” said Phillip Dos Santos, Head Coach and General Manager, Valour FC. “His qualities are undeniable. He’s extremely athletic, very comfortable with both feet and has a great mentality. Kelsey grew a lot over the past season playing first team football in Estonia. He’s a brave and determined young man. He will add quality and depth to our back line”
While he most recently competed in Europe, Egwu is no stranger to Canadian soccer. Born in Toronto before moving to Nigeria as a child, Egwu eventually settled in Edmonton, Alta. as an adolescent, where he represented such well-known local clubs as St. Albert Impact SC, BTB Soccer Club and Edmonton Strikers and later suited up for MacEwan University men’s soccer team.
His first experience in the CPL came in 2022 when he signed a development contract with FC Edmonton, appearing in one match for the Eddies. Egwu represented FC London in League1 Ontario play in 2023 and has previously trained with MLS Next Pro side Toronto FC II.
Valour fans will have their first chance to watch Egwu and his teammates in person at Princess Auto Stadium on Friday, April 25 when the Lions host Halifax Wanderers FC in the club’s 2025 home opener. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. CT. The squad opens its CPL campaign on the road against Pacific FC on Saturday, April 5, with that match beginning at 6 p.m. CT.
All CPL matches in 2025 will be broadcast on OneSoccer, the dedicated home for Canadian Soccer. OneSoccer is available in 35 countries as an affordable streaming service through the OneSoccer.ca website, via Roku, Chromecast and Apple TV devices and with the OneSoccer app for iOS and Android devices. It is also available as a linear channel on Optik TV (Ch. 980), the pay-TV service operated by TELUS, as well as on streaming service fuboTV Canada.
The 2025 CPL regular season schedule, presented by WestJet, will be released in its entirety on Wednesday, Feb. 12.
Valour has 17 players signed to its 2025 CPL roster as of Feb. 11, 2025.
Goalkeepers: Eleias Himaras, Jonathan Viscosi
Defenders: Roberto Alarcón, Themi Antonoglou, Kelsey Egwu, Gianfranco Facchineri, Rocco Romeo
Midfielders: Jordan Faria, Dante Campbell, Safwane Mlah, Raphael Ohin, Diogo Ressurreição, Xavier Venâcio
Forwards: Shaan Hundal, Kris Twardek, Kian Williams, Erik Pop