Klaidi Cela

Klaidi Cela (born July 16, 1999) is a Canadian soccer player who plays for Valour FC in the Canadian Premier League.

Klaidi Cela
Personal information
Date of birth (1999-07-16) July 16, 1999
Place of birth Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Valour FC
Number 18
Youth career
Mississauga Falcons
2012–2016 Toronto FC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2016 Toronto FC III 23+ (0)
2015 Toronto FC II 1 (0)
2016–2018 Gafanha 0 (0)
2018 Sigma FC 1 (0)
2019–2020 Forge FC 10 (1)
2021 Sigma FC 4 (1)
2021 → Forge FC (loan) 1 (0)
2021 Forge FC 4 (0)
2022 Toronto FC II 4 (0)
2023 Vaughan Azzurri 2 (0)
2023– Valour FC 23 (2)
International career‡
2015 Canada U18 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 6, 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of March 4, 2019

Early life

Cela began playing youth soccer at age four with Mississauga Falcons SC.[1] In October 2012, he joined the Toronto FC Academy.[2]

Club career

In 2015, he began playing with Toronto FC III in League1 Ontario.[3] He also played with them in 2016 in both League1 Ontario[4] and the Premier Development League.[5]

In May 2015, Cela joined Toronto FC II in the USL Championship, signing an academy player agreement.[6] He made his debut on September 24, 2015 in a substitute appearance against the Rochester Rhinos.[3]

In 2016, Cela signed with Campeonato de Portugal club Gafanha, where he would play for two seasons.[7]

In 2018, after leaving Gafanha, Cela returned to Canada and spent the remainder of the 2018 season with Sigma FC in League1 Ontario.[8]

In April 2019, Cela signed with Canadian Premier League side Forge FC.[9] He scored his first goal on October 2, 2019, in a 1-0 victory over FC Edmonton.[10] He won the league title with the club in 2019 as well.[11] In January 2020, he re-signed with the club for an additional season.[12] On August 19, 2020, Cela tore his ACL in a match against the HFX Wanderers, causing him to miss the remainder of the season.[13] Forge won the CPL title again in 2020, with Cela departing after the season.[14]

In 2021, he returned to Sigma FC of League1 Ontario.[15] In August 2021, he returned to Forge on a short term emergency loan deal.[16][17] 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.[18][19]

In March 2022, Cela signed with MLS Next Pro side Toronto FC II.[20]

In 2023, he began the season with League1 Ontario side Vaughan Azzurri.[21] With Vaughan, he played in the 2023 Canadian Championship against Major League Soccer club CF Montréal.[22]

In April 2023, Cela signed with Canadian Premier League club Valour FC, following injuries occurred to Matthew Chandler and Andrew Jean-Baptiste.[23][24]

International career

Due to Cela's parents being born in Albania, he is eligible to represent both Canada and Albania. In 2013, he made his debut in the Canadian national team program, attending a Canada U15 camp in November 2013, also attending another camp in September 2014.[1][25]

In October 2015, he was called up to the Canada U18 team for a pair of friendlies against the United States U18, playing in both matches.[26]

References
  1. Klaidi Cela at the Canadian Soccer Association
  2. "Toronto FC II sign Stefan Karajovanovic and Klaidi Cela". Toronto FC. March 31, 2022.
  3. Campos, Anthony (September 24, 2015). "Match Recap: TFC II Suffer Defeat in Season Finale". Toronto FC.
  4. "Kladi Cela 2016 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario.
  5. "Kladi Cela 2016 PDL Stats". USL League Two.
  6. "Academy athletes make the move". Toronto FC. May 1, 2015.
  7. Urciuoli, Anthony (April 3, 2019). "Forge FC adds Canadians Anthony Novak, Klaidi Cela to inaugural roster". Global.
  8. "Klaidi Cela 2018 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario.
  9. "Forge inks former L1O top scorer Anthony Novak, defender Klaidi Cela". Canadian Premier League. April 3, 2019.
  10. Sandor, Steven (October 2, 2019). "'We've struggled here': Forge breaks FCE's spell at Clarke". Canadian Premier League.
  11. "Klaidi Cela: Favourite Forge FC Memory". Forge FC. June 12, 2020.
  12. Jacques, John (January 8, 2020). "Forge FC Wraps Up Last Of Inaugural Roster Re-Signings". Northern Tribune.
  13. Jacques, John (October 8, 2020). "Forge FC's Cela Undergoes Successful Knee Surgery". Northern Tribune.
  14. O'Connor-Clarke, Charlie (June 24, 2021). "The Kickoff: Forge FC 2021 CPL season preview". Canadian Premier League.
  15. Jacques, John (August 1, 2021). "Canadian Premier League Athletes To Watch In League1 Ontario". Northern Tribune.
  16. Jacques, John (August 4, 2021). "Klaidi Cela Returns To Forge On Short-Term Deal". Northern Tribune.
  17. "Forge FC re-sign Cela as a short-term replacement player". Forge FC. April 4, 2021.
  18. "Forge FC brings back Klaidi Cela for rest of 2021 season". Canadian Premier League. October 8, 2021.
  19. Jacques, John (October 8, 2021). "Forge FC Adds Cela For Remainder Of Season". Northern Tribune.
  20. Jacques, John (March 31, 2022). "Toronto FC II Adds CPLers Karajovanovic And Cela". Northern Tribune.
  21. "Klaidi Cela 2023 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario.
  22. Tait, Ed (April 27, 2023). "Klaidi Cela: "Hey, if you need me there in five hours or whatever it is to play a game, I'm there in five hours. I'm ready to go."". Valour FC.
  23. "Valour FC sign Canadian defender Klaidi Cela". Valour FC. April 27, 2023.
  24. Jacques, John (April 27, 2023). "Valour Adds Former Forge, TFC2 Defender Klaidi Cela". Northern Tribune. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  25. Urciuoli, Anthony (October 8, 2021). "Forge FC Hamilton re-sign Mississauga-native, Klaidi Cela to full-time contract". In the Hammer.
  26. "U.S. U-18 MNT splits two-game set with Canada". Soccerwire. October 30, 2015.
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