Haines Junction’s own Callum Weir has all but made Team Canada in futsal.

The Star talked to Weir Sunday in Montreal following the national team’s training camp. The camp is taking place Nov. 30 to Dec. 5.

“Honestly, it’s a dream come true,” said Weir. “I won’t lie, since I was 12, and I started playing futsal, proper futsal, not just indoor soccer, this is one of my dreams – I told my parents and classmates, I want to play for Canada. So I haven’t got my first international cap yet, but we’ll see what happens and just being here with the guys, it was incredible. It’s such a great experience and I’m just absolutely stoked.”

Weir has known about this opportunity for quite a while.

“Just after Canada Summer Games, actually, my coach Jake (Hanson) sent me a text and said, ‘Hey, I talked to the coach’ – because we know the coach quite well – ‘He’s having a camp in December and he wants to bring you in.’ So I found out then and had to keep it hush hush – I don’t think I told my parents that first week because they would be going ballistic so I had to keep it close to the vest; so I’ve known since the end of August.”

Weir isn’t sure if he’ll be starting for the team yet.

“It’s just a camp. It’s just this weekend. So all twenty of us just met up in Montreal at a camp for four or five days.

“We don’t have any official games or friendlies or anything right now. We just had a couple of intra-squad games. So just within the team.

“We’ll see what happens in the coming weeks and months.”

The camp is in advance of qualification for a competition Canadian soccer fans should be familiar with.

“It’s for World Cup qualification,” explained Weir. “The World Cup is in 2024, in October. They haven’t named a location yet … so qualification through CONCACAF is in May 2024. And then we’ll have some friendlies against Costa Rica, Guatemala and things like that. Probably in 2023, would be my estimate. So it’s getting a group of us together to prepare for World Cup qualifiers.”

Weir and Team Canada will be taking a similar route to what the Canadian men’s soccer team just took.

“Pretty much, slightly different but almost identical actually.”

Weir thinks qualifying for the World Cup can be done.

“World Cup qualifiers in 2021, we lost from penalties. We were a penalty kick away.

“So I and all the staff and all the boys hope that we can qualify. Obviously, that’s the goal. And I think we’re well set up to qualify, but (it) really just depends. We’ll see how we go and what route we get but full faith in the boys and the coaching staff, that we can do so … it’s definitely possible, so we’ll just see how we go.”

Weir explains how this opportunity came about.

“I was playing football in Germany and Greece during this past year. I came back in April for Canadian futsal nationals, so I represented Yukon Selects and I played well there. I had some award nods, but didn’t win anything, unfortunately, but I played well there and impressed … I had a suspicion that I might get a call up, but I wasn’t one hundred per cent sure.

“And then I guess Canada Summer Games as well. The coach, Kyt, came down and watched. So I guess he was also impressed there. And then got a call from that.

“We don’t know who’s going to be named to that actual qualifying squad, but we’ll see. Things look good coming out of this camp, so I’m happy with how I performed and shown my character so we’ll see.”

Weir was happy with how he played at the camp.

“I was able to actually play a bunch of futsal beforehand and prepare with all my friends back home and with Jake Hanson, so it was good.

“The first few days training (in Montreal) went really well. The goalkeeper coach and I really connected really well and the other goalkeeper as well.

“We had two intra-squad matches. So yesterday, we played – I played well, but there’s a few things I can improve on.

Today, I played quite well in my opinion and the coaches were very happy with what they saw and very impressed so hopefully, I think I’ve shown myself well and the coach I think – the coach, Kyt, has known me since I was 13 or 12. He knows the kind of character I have and the kind of person I am.”

Kyriakos (Kyt) Selaidopoulos is the head coach of Team Canada.

The goalkeeper coach is Nizar Houhou.

Weir explained why he thinks he has made it this far.

“Firstly, just the support from my parents. My family, my brothers, my grandparents, always just top notch, wanted me to do the best I can.

“Having the seed planted in me from coming up when I was 13 and playing with the men and in that match having a clean sheet playing well … I still remember the day and Kyt said something to my mom back then about having me on the national team when I grew up, so I’m happy that I can make that happen.

“So Kyt planting the seed in my mind and then all the work that we put in especially with Ash Jordan, he was absolutely instrumental especially for me just coaching and helping me develop as a person as well. So his guidance and his help, and then my first Canadian futsal nationals when I was 15 in 2019 at Queen’s University, I went there and I played just half of the matches, just cycling with the other goalkeeper. I was quite young but I played well and a lot of the guys were impressed with me and liked me so I became really good friends with Canadian number one (goalkeeper) Luigi Caruso and I remember he was on an Instagram Live. I went in and I was talking to him and he said ‘Hey my boy Callum from the Yukon, is the future of Canadian futsal.’ Since that day, it was kind of like ‘OK, this actually is possible.’

“And then Jake Hanson, there’s not really words you can say about the guy. I think it’s the same for every footballer in the Yukon, nothing would happen in the Yukon without him. Just to be completely honest … even when things weren’t looking like I could make it home when I was in Europe for nationals, he still said I’ll put you on the roster just in case. I ended up coming home and ended up being able to play.

“Just all of those guys combined. There’s not a single moment but it’s all the people combined definitely gave me the confidence and the ability to be able to play with the Nationals team for sure.”

The futsal nationals take place in April 2023. Weir is hoping to play for Team Yukon there.

“It depends what happens for me in the football world and outdoor world over the next few months, but we’ll see. I really hope to play with them and help them hopefully medal this year because last year we were a kick away from medaling and (that) would have been incredible. But this year I think we have it.”

The future is looking busy for Weir.

“Futsal-wise, I’m waiting on our team to get some matches set up, some friendlies and another camp but I fly home tomorrow morning. Wednesday back in (Whitehorse) we have a league going, so Wednesday back in there with Jake’s team and then I’m back coaching the under-14s for Arctic Winter Games and just trying to help them get a good result there and they have a good squad so I think we can definitely do something.

“Just get home, coach, train, play the best I can and then I’m headed down to Calgary for trials with the professional club Cavalry there in January so I’m going to be off to Victoria to train with all my friends and colleagues down there to get ready for that opportunity.”

The Calgary Cavalry is an outdoor soccer club in the Canadian Premier League.

Weir isn’t currently enrolled in school.

“I graduated when I was 16 to go play futsal with Chelsea in England but then COVID ended up happening and shut everything down. So I went off and played football in Victoria with the pro club there and then went to Germany. And now I’m just trying to see where I can go with football for now but you never know. We’ll see what happens with the schooling aspect as well.”

Weir added he wants to “inspire the younger kids coming up from the Yukon that it actually is possible to do something in this sport.

“And as well as I just want to say a big thank you to Ash Jordan for doing everything that he’s done for me for the past seven years I’ve known him. When I was 12 he started coaching Arctic Winter Games teams … he’s hard on us because he saw the upside that we had. He really pushed us to be better players and be better people. And so he’s really helped develop all of us boys.”