Tabla set to represent Canada internationally
Attacking midfielder Ballou Tabla has committed to Canada.
The Canadian Soccer Association has confirmed that the 19year-old has chosen Canada over the Ivory Coast.
“Ballou Tabla is all in,” the CSA tweeted.
A subsequent tweet showed a bubbly Tabla, who left the Montreal Impact for FC Barcelona’s B team in January, wearing a red Canada jersey.
“Yo Canada. This is Ballou Tabla,” he says in a video. “This is the jersey and I can’t wait to fight for it again. See you soon.”
Tabla has been in Canada camps from under-15 to under-20 and played five games for Canada at the CONCACAF U17 Championship in 2015. He was named Canada’s under-20 player of the year in ’16.
But his senior allegiance had been up in the air until now.
“I’m very happy to be back with the national team,” he said in a CSA interview. “I’m proud and I can’t wait to see my teammates.”
The Canadian men’s team’s next game is a CONCACAF Nations League match against Dominica on Oct. 16 in Toronto. Canada is currently ranked 79th in the world.
The five-foot-nine, 155-pounder was born in Ivory Coast but came to Canada at the age of eight and was raised in Montreal. He joined the Montreal Impact academy in August 2012 before leaving in December ’13. He then rejoined the Impact under-18 squad in April ’15 and played with FC Montreal, the Impact’s USL entry in ’16. He graduated to the first team in October ’16.
Tabla played in 21 games (11 starts) for the Impact last season, picking up two goals and two assists with 1,146 minutes played.
He now plays for the Barcelona B side in Spain’s second division.
Tabla’s coming on board is more good news for coach John Herdman, who is targeting the 2022 and ’26 World Cups, with Canada, the U.S. and Mexico hosting the ’26 event.