Klaidi Cela (born July 16, 1999) is a Canadian

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who plays for

Vaughan Azzurri Vaughan Azzurri is a Canadian semi-professional soccer team based in Vaughan, Ontario, that currently competes in the League1 Ontario men's and women's divisions. The semi-professional team was founded in 2014 by the Vaughan Soccer Club, which ...

League1 Ontario League1 Ontario (L1O) is a semi-professional men's soccer league in Ontario, Canada. The league began play in 2014 and is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association as a pro-am league in the Canadian so ...

Club career

Early career

Cela began his career at the age of eight when playing for Mississauga Falcons SC. In October 2012, he joined the

Toronto FC Academy Toronto FC Academy, also known as TFC Academy, is the youth academy and development system of Canadian Major League Soccer club Toronto FC. The academy has divisions from U14 to U19 and includes over 110 young players. The senior academy team is ...

Toronto FC II

On May 1, 2015, Cela signed with

Toronto FC II Toronto FC II is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, who play in MLS Next Pro, a third tier league of the United States soccer league system. It is the reserve team and minor league affiliate of Toronto FC as well as i ...

, alongside Gabriel Boakye, Malik Johnson and Brogan Engbers. He made a single appearance for the affiliate club during the

2015 USL season The 2015 USL season was the fifth season of the United Soccer League (USL) and the first under its new name (previously the league was called USL Pro). This season represented a substantial expansion from 14 teams in 2014 to 24 teams in 2015, and ...

. Cela made his professional debut on the final day of the season, playing for 29 minutes in a 2–0 defeat to

Rochester Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...

. He also appeared for

Toronto FC III Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

in both

and the

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental association football, soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United Stat ...

Gafanha

In summer 2016, Cela signed with Campeonato de Portugal club Gafanha, where he would play for two seasons.

Sigma FC

After leaving Gafanha, Cela returned to Canada and spent the remainder of the 2018 season with

Sigma FC Sigma Sports is a Canadian youth soccer development academy and player management company based in Mississauga, Ontario. They also operate a senior academy soccer team that currently competes in League1 Ontario, as Sigma FC. Over 140 Sigma player ...

, making one league appearance and another three appearances in the playoffs.

Forge FC

On April 3, 2019, Cela signed with

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; french: Première ligue canadienne, links=no) is a professional men's Association football, soccer league in Canada. At the top of the Canadian soccer league system, it is the country's primary nationa ...

side

Forge FC Forge FC is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Hamilton, Ontario, that competes in the Canadian Premier League, the top tier of Canadian soccer. The club plays its home matches at Tim Hortons Field. Forge FC joined the CPL in 2019 as ...

Sigma FC and Forge FC return

In 2021, he returned to

. In August 2021, it was announced that Forge had re-signed Cela on a short term deal. Cela rejoined Forge for a single game in September, and was eventually signed in October by Forge for the remainder of the

2021 Canadian Premier League season The 2021 Canadian Premier League season was the third season of the Canadian Premier League, the top level of Canadian soccer. Forge FC were defending champions, after defeating HFX Wanderers FC in the 2020 final. The season was planned to co ...

Toronto FC II

On March 31, 2022, Cela signed with

MLS Next Pro MLS Next Pro is a men's professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that is affiliated with Major League Soccer. It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and will expand to 28 in 2023. The league comprises 27 reserve sides for MLS club ...

side

International career

Due to Cela's parents being born in

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

, he is eligible to represent both

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and

. Cela was chosen to be included in the Canada Under-15 camps in

Vaughan Vaughan () (2021 population 323,103) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increas ...

and

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

, as well as an Under-18 development camp. However, he is yet to make an international appearance for either nation.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cela, Klaidi 1999 births Living people Association football defenders Canadian soccer players Soccer players from Mississauga Canadian people of Albanian descent Canadian expatriate soccer players Expatriate footballers in Portugal Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Toronto FC II players Forge FC players USL Championship players Campeonato de Portugal (league) players League1 Ontario players Canadian Premier League players G.D. Gafanha players Sigma FC players Toronto FC Academy players MLS Next Pro players