Welcome to CPL50, a series where we’ll reveal the top 50 players from the 2021 Canadian Premier League regular season, as voted on by a panel of coaches from all eight teams and media from OneSoccer and CanPL.ca.

For more information on the voting process and method, click here. 

The next Forge FC player to appear in CPL50 is prolific centre-forward Mo Babouli.

The 28-year-old striker has been a lethal attacking weapon for the club since joining shortly before the 2020 season, having scored some huge goals for the team over two seasons in Hamilton. This year, he played 22 CPL games, tying for the team lead with seven goals in league play. Though the CPL50 voting was based on league play, Babouli’s season also can’t be chronicled without a mention of the Concacaf League, where he provided three goals and two assists in just six games to help spur Forge to the semi-final in 2021.

Back home, he was a force to be reckoned with, always stepping up when his club needed him. Five of Babouli’s seven CPL goals were game winners — joint for tops in the league — and he went three for three from the penalty spot. Creatively, Babouli was also good at setting up his teammates, making the fourth-most through balls in the league and contributing 20 key passes and two assists. Babouli’s first touch is phenomenal and his finishing is clinical, and he has an extraordinary arsenal of tricks for getting past defenders to either score or create chances.

GOAL ?@ForgeFCHamilton get on the board quickly vs. @yorkutdfc as Kwame Awuah finds Mo Babouli in the box for the half-volley #CanPL | ? https://t.co/hishXepRT3 pic.twitter.com/OIa4iPcGx0

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) July 30, 2021

Babouli also demonstrated some versatility this season, taking on several roles aside from his natural centre-forward position. He dropped into midfield on a few occasions, and spent some time out on the wing — getting the start on the right flank for the CPL Final.

The 28-year-old, born in the United Arab Emirates but raised in Mississauga, Ontario, was a well-known quantity in Canadian soccer when he signed for Forge in 2020. He had spent several years in the Toronto FC system, playing 20 times for the first team in 2016, but he also had stints with Sigma FC and Al-Ittihad of the Syrian Premier League. Babouli also has some experience with indoor soccer, from a brief stint with the Mississauga MetroStars.

Babouli has represented Canada’s U-23 team six times on the international stage, including at the 2015 Pan Am Games and Concacaf Olympic Qualifying.