Mehdi Essoussi (born 28 February 2001) is a

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; ) is a professional Association football, soccer league in Canada and the highest level of the Canadian soccer league system. The league comprises eight teams, from five of provinces and territories of ...

club

Vancouver FC Vancouver Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club that competes in the Canadian Premier League, the top tier of the Canadian soccer league system. The club is based in Langley, British Columbia (district muni ...

Early life

Essoussi was born in

Tunis, Tunisia Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

, before moving to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada, when he was one, followed by a move to

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

at age two. He began playing youth soccer at age four with the Nepean Hotspurs SC, before moving on to Ottawa South United and spending some time in the Ottawa Fury Academy. He then moved on to join the

Toronto FC Academy Toronto FC Academy, also known as TFC Academy, is the Youth system, youth academy and development system of Canadian Major League Soccer club Toronto FC, which competes in MLS Next. The academy has divisions from U14 to U19 and includes over 110 ...

. He also played with the Team Ontario provincial team and attended a Canada national team identification camp.

University career

In 2023, he began attending the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, playing for the men's soccer team, making one appearance that season. In 2024, he was named the team captain and was named an OUA East First Team All-Star.

Club career

In 2018, he began playing for Toronto FC III in the semi-professional

League1 Ontario League1 Ontario (L1ON) is a semi-professional men's soccer league in Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association. League1 Ontario consists of three tiers – League1 Premier ...

. He scored his first goal on 12 August against

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 playe ...

. He was named a 2nd team all-star at the end of the season. On 27 September 2018, he signed his first professional contract with

Toronto FC II Toronto FC II is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, that competes 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 we ...

to join them for the 2019 season. He made his debut on June 19 against the Lansing Ignite. On 21 May 2022, he signed a short-term loan with the first team

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

. In 2023, he began playing with Alliance United FC in

. At the 2025 CPL–U Sports Draft, Essoussi was selected in the second round (10th overall) by

. On 24 March 2025, he signed a U-Sports contract with Vancouver for the 2025 season.

International career

Eligible to represent both his native Tunisia and Canada, he was called up to the Canadian under-15 national team camp in March 2016.

Career statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Essoussi, Mehdi 2001 births Living people Canadian men's soccer players Tunisian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Footballers from Tunis Soccer players from Ottawa Toronto FC Academy players Toronto FC II players Toronto FC players Alliance United FC players Toronto Varsity Blues men's soccer players League1 Ontario players USL League One players MLS Next Pro players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen Vancouver FC draft picks Vancouver FC players University and college men's soccer players in Canada Canadian Premier League players