The Canadian Minifootball Federation [CMF] has a team ready to represent both the CMF and Canada in the upcoming E-PanAm Cup tournament! To get to know about the players that will be donning the red and white, we spoke with the players to learn about them!

In the first part, we will introduce you to Zargham “Jigsaw” Zahid, Marius “MSWP” Pop and Jai “Sujasam123” Brar!

First of all, congratulations on being selected to represent the CMF in the upcoming E-PanAm Cup! How were you recruited by the federation?

Zargham:
They asked in a Discord I’m in, in one of the Canadian leagues and they asked that the e-PANAM Canada team is looking for players to join and then I hit up one of the guys from the discord and they redirect me to Jan. And that’s how I got in touch with Jan and then he got me into the in the roster.

Marius:
I was introduced to CMF by Zargham after I had played him in the final of a provincial FIFA competition. He told me that I should check it out and play for them. I was given the discord and from there I got to learn who everyone was and we went from there.

Jai:
I was told by one of the people I played in my tournament for Richmond Hill that there was a FIFA tournament. Was told by him that I should join the Canadian team. So I reached out to [the CMF] and they said, yeah, we heard about the tournament and we would like you to join the team.

What interested you in wanting to join the team and represent the CMF?

Zargham:
Well firstly, it’s my first tournament like this where I’m representing my own country. I’ve never had this opportunity, FIFA never brings this out to the general public. It’s always usually one famous Twitch, YouTuber or something there, they select one of them to represent their nation. So I just want to take part in and see how it goes. And yeah, that’s why I want to join in. I’ve been looking forward to representing Canada for a long time.

Marius:
For me personally, I don’t really have any competitive FIFA to play after August besides FUT champs, so this was a really good opportunity to keep the game alive for me this late in the FIFA year cycle. When I found out it was representing Canada, I was excited to be able to play representing the greatest country in the world.

Jai:
This is the first time I think I’ve done a FIFA tournament because of the ongoing situation with the pandemic. I thought, “Oh, this would be a really good opportunity for me to be one of the first people there.” And it was nice that they were inclusive of everyone, regardless of skill level. And they still were able to include me, despite the fact that I may not be the best in the world.

Can you describe your prior e-sports experience heading into this tournament?

Zargham:
I play a lot of 11 v 11 like pro clubs, FIFA pro clubs. I’m playing a lot of leads, I’m an admin in one of the leagues myself. This is my first time playing competitively in a 1 v 1 tournament after a year or two. I used to play locally in restaurants or college, or university campuses, local competition. But never internationally against other countries. So this is my first time representing Canada like that.

Marius:
I’ve won the SDKRV Toronto cup in 2018, I’ve just recently won the Ontario e-Sports League a couple of weeks ago, I’ve played in qualifiers and made it to the later rounds for the eCPL where I was knocked out to some of the highest-ranked players in the country. Other than that I’ve pushed top 100 in multiple weekend leagues and played scrimmages against some Canadian pros.

Jai:
I’ve played just the Richmond Hill tournament, that’s basically it really. I played like the tournament’s on FIFA where they have a tournament like every few weeks on Ultimate Team, Call for Champs or something like that. So I used to just play that and then I started progressing more and more and I felt it would be great to join the tournament because of that.

What separates the E-PanAm Cup from other events you have competed in?

Zargham:
Because other events have been more like “I’m representing myself,” it’s me versus some other dude [who] could be my area or another area, but now it’s “I’m representing Canada.” So the responsibility, the pressure is higher. So it makes it much more bigger than a local tournament.

Marius:
I think it’s the fact that we’re all in this together and we’re all behind each other. We’re all playing individually but we want to do well as a team. In most events, there’s usually only one representative for each console in the competition, and here there’s a few of us. It’s also different because we’re playing for our country which is unique.

Jai:
This is one of the biggest tournaments I’ve been in. Uh, it’s really good to be in the tournament, I would say because it’s a good experience for me to kind of get the vibe of being in such a big tournament, but with only a few select players making it. That makes this a really big achievement for me.

What do you hope to get out of this tournament?

Zargham:
I think as a gamer, every gamer wants some sort of recognition when you play in a tournament, even online in a friendly game. I’ve been playing FIFA for about 10-15 years now so I’ve never gotten recognition for it. Even though I think I’m a good player, my friend says I’m a good player, but I haven’t been able to show my skills globally to other viewers So that’s one of the other advantages I guess of playing in the tournament.

Marius:
I would hope for all of us to go far in the tournament and show that we’re ready as a team. Personally, I will aim to win it, but just focus on having a strong finish to be able to put on a player’s resume. By being coached by Henry aka Big, I think he’ll be able to help me do well and make it far in the event.

Jai:
I guess to get in touch with more people in Canada who play within the tournament and kind of learn from them as I play with them. We have a tournament happening in a few days between us, so I get to learn more about my strengths and my weaknesses in the game to help me improve for next year when the new game comes out.

Have you gotten a chance to meet your teammates yet? How do you think the adjustment process will go?

Zargham:
To be honest, we haven’t really gotten to know each other yet and we’re just in a discord right now. We haven’t had time to talk to each other or anything like that yet. I think Jan is gonna help us get to know each other later on, maybe before the tournament begins. We’re supposed to have another tournament or a friendly tournament this week against Brazil. So maybe we’ll get to know each other then we’ll talk to each other, but we really haven’t spoken to each other yet.

Marius:
I have talked to them on discord and was able to play them all already, and it looks decent. We’re all focused on doing well so I think it’ll help us push off of each other to prepare for the event. It’s a nice group of lads and we’ll all do well with each other.

Jai:
I knew one of them because of the tournament I played with him in Richmond Hill. It was fine between me and him. And then the other players, I have played with one of them. And he was really nice to me, was really cooperative, made me feel very good in a whole circle of the Canadian soccer team. Also, the guy who runs the whole thing. He was super supportive and friendlies and all that when I was not able to get a match. All in all, they do a very good job of including me into the whole team even though this is my first big-scale tournament.

What will be the keys to winning the inaugural E-PanAm Cup tournament?/i>

Zargham:
Well, teamwork right? We all have to be communicating with each other. We have to know what we’re doing. We have to study our opponents. We have to know what we’re up against. The Guatemalan guys we’re pretty tough, to be honest. They gave us a hard time. I think two players in our team that are representing Canada didn’t perform that well against them, so we kind of need a lot of practice to warm up. Probably friendlies within amongst each amongst ourselves would help us to get prepared for the tournament.

Marius:
I would say it’ll come down to how focused and prepared we are. I know we’re taking the right steps to make sure we’re sharp going into the event and it’ll all come down to how composed we are in our games. I think just keeping possession of the ball and knowing when to push for a goal will be crucial. The gap between semi-pro FIFA players and the pro players is usually how calm they are and having the knowledge of when to attack and how to do it.

Jai:
Don’t panic really, because many people get stressed or they get overcome by the occasion. And I think when I’m going into a tournament, I should just relax, play smart, and make sure that I’m confident when I play and don’t doubt myself.

While it’s still early in the process, do you envision yourself collaborating with the CMF in the future?

Zargham:
Yeah, this is my first time playing with CMF and collaborating with them. If it all goes well, if it goes as planned, if there is exposure for the players that are actually representing CMF and Canada, then for sure I’ll be down to play again. So far, I’ve liked the organization and the way they’ve organized the tournament. Jan is such a nice guy, he’s been communicating with us and letting us know what to do and how to prepare for the tournament. So yeah, if it all goes well and as planned, I’ll be definitely down to represent the CMF again.

Marius:
Yea for sure. They’ve been really good with communication and they seem to have a really good team. I think they have a lot of room for growth which is awesome for a football-related organization.

Jai:
Yes, I do. Mainly it’s because they’re really nice o me, so I kind of have this good feeling about them as the CMF. I feel like they’re good people to work with and all that, and I kind of look forward to working with them in the future.

Finally, what are your thoughts on minifootball in general? How do you see its potential in Canada?

Zargham:
I think if they continue to run these tournaments, I think there’s there is potential for other gamers, other FIFA players that still don’t know about the organization to have a chance to get in here and get involved. I know there’s a lot of gamers that don’t even know about this tournament. I was just talking to one of my buddies, he’s a Twitch streamer, and I told him about this tournament. He’s like, “oh man, if I knew it before, I would have joined.” So I think if they continue to kind of promote themselves to other Twitch gamers and Canadian gamers, there’s a lot of high potential in the future.

Marius:
Yea there is definitely potential in Canada. The sport is continuously growing in Canada and I can only imagine with more opportunities that there will be more players looking for somewhere to play. The fact that they are focusing on eSports as well is nice to see as I think it will play a massive role in the future of Football culture all over the world.

Jai:
Potentials are great, because I see, especially in my school, many kids who enjoy soccer but don’t really enjoy playing in kind of big games, like with 11 v 11. They prefer playing in a smaller team where they know everyone as well as they know each other. So I think I see a really good rise in the number of people who want to play soccer, especially if it’s fewer people on a team.

In the second part, we will meet our next 3 athletes Artin “Artin-Seinfeld” Tazari, Luca “LucaAug21” Augello and Nilesh “Njoshi92” Joshi!