Electric City Football Club (ECFC) has signed League1 Ontario’s All-Time Best Midfielder Award winner Mohammad Reza Nafar and CCAA Rookie Standout Aysia King on Wednesday.
Nafar, 25 years old, is a midfielder who is originally from Tehran, Iran and moved to London with his family when he was a child.
He has played in League1 Ontario for FC London before jumping to FC Laval in the Premiere Ligue de soccer du Quebec (PLSQ) and Concordia University.
“Reza was a player we immediately wanted to connect with and share what we were doing here at ECFC,” said Rob Jenkins, ECFC president. “Reza aspires to be a professional and we believe he has all of the qualities to do so.”
Last season with the Concordia Stingers, Nafar was named a Second-Team All-Canadian. He was the leading scorer in the RSEQ conference with seven goals and four assists for 11 points in 12 games. He earned four Player of the Game honours this season.
“The ambition that ECFC has for the future and all the effort that’s been done to make me feel comfortable is what attracted me to play for the club,” said Nafar. “It means a lot that a club of this calibre was interested in me and to be a part of the first group of players to represent the club is something special.”
The women’s team signed attacker Aysia King, a 19-year-old from London who most recently played for Fanshawe Falcons.
Last season as a rookie, King led the Falcons to bronze at the CCAA National Championships, where she scored an assist en route to the third-place finish. She scored four goals and had one assist in the OCAA Regular Season.
“Aysia will be one of the bright young talents in our Women's team this season. We feel she has the ability to be one of the top young players in L1O this upcoming season,” said Randy Ribeiro, ECFC women’s head coach “Her technical ability and confidence to take on defenders makes her very exciting to watch.”
An OCAA and CCAA Championship Tournament All-Star in 2021, King was also named a CCAA Athlete of the Week.
“The community and culture in Peterborough is a huge reason I wanted to be a part of Electric City FC in their first season,” King said. “The amount of support and the fanbase is already amazing. ECFC has a huge future ahead of it and I am super excited to be part of it.”