The Halifax Wanderers Football Club has signed Senegalese/Canadian forward Mour Samb to a standard player contract for the 2022 Canadian Premier League season. The deal includes a club option for 2023. They also announced the signing of Canadian defender Kareem Sow to a U SPORTS developmental contract.
“Mour shows a lot of desire and passion for the game, and his enthusiasm is always present,” head coach Stephen Hart said. “I think the fans will love his willingness to run at the opposition and his ability to play with both feet, which means he can play anywhere across the front three.”
A 27-year-old forward with experience in France, Norway and the USL Championship, Samb most recently played for Diambars FC in the Senegal Premier League. He qualifies as a domestic player through Canadian permanent residency.
“We’ve been actively pursuing another attacking option to complement the squad right away,” sporting director Matt Fegan said. “Our priority was finding a player who we felt could best adapt to the CPL and immediately hit the ground running. In Mour, we’ve secured a player who has tremendous experience overseas as well as more recently in two seasons in the USL.”
Samb began his career at Diambars before moving to French side Lille OSC, scoring seven goals in 41 matches for Lille B between 2012 and 2015. He returned to Diambars in 2015 before moving to Norweigian top-flight side Tromsö in 2017, making 27 appearances over two seasons.
In 2019, Samb signed with the Ottawa Fury, where he played with current Wanderers Aidan Daniels and Jeremy Gagnon-Laparé. He scored eight goals in 19 matches for the Fury to go along with six assists. He played for St. Louis FC in the 2020 USL season, again with Gagnon Laparé – scoring twice in 11 matches.
“He is versatile and can play in many positions across the front line — most importantly, he has proven he can score goals at this level.”
PLAYER DETAILS
Full Name: Elhadji Mour Samb
Age: 27
Position: Winger, Striker
Height: 6’0
Birth Date: December 5, 1994
Hometown: Quebec City, Quebec
Nationality: Senegalese/Canadian
Last Club: Diambars FC (Senegal)
Jersey number: 8
Sow played for the Wanderers in the 2021 CPL season, making 11 appearances. The club selected him in the 2021 CPL U SPORTS draft.
“We are delighted to have Kareem back with us,” head coach Stephen Hart said. “He was a big part of the squad last year, showed he had the quality from game one and always placed the good of the team above all else.”
A left-footed defender that can play at left-back or centre-back, Sow returned to the University of Montreal last fall and was a part of the Carabins 2021 national championship team, his second in three seasons.
“After his strong first season with us in 2021, we had ear-marked a place for Kareem on our squad heading into this year,” sporting director Matt Fegan said. “We supported his academic obligations through to early May, and now we’re ready to welcome him into the group.”
Sow has returned to Halifax and will join his teammates in training ahead of Sunday’s match against Cavalry FC. Sow intends to complete his engineering degree and will return to university for the fall semester.
“He is another young Canadian talent with a high ceiling, and we’re really looking forward to seeing how he can develop with another CPL season.”
PLAYER DETAILS
Full Name: Kareem Sow
Age: 21
Position: Centre-back, left-back
Height: 6’1
Birth Date: September 28, 2000
Hometown: Fleurimont, Quebec
Nationality: Canadian
Last Club: Montreal Carabins
Pronunciation: kah-REEM soh
Jersey number: 16