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Jeff Carlisle
Canada men’s national team manager Jesse Marsch has had discussions with Vancouver Whitecaps defender Tristan Blackmon about possibly representing Canada at international level, sources told ESPN.
Blackmon, 28, has spent parts of the last four seasons with the Caps, and has delivered some stellar displays during Vancouver’s run to the final of the Concacaf Champions Cup, in which it will face Cruz Azul in Mexico City on June 1.
One source characterized the discussions as exploratory in nature, with Blackmon taking a wait-and-see approach to determine if he will get called up to the U.S. men’s national team. The 60-man preliminary rosters for the Gold Cup are set to be announced on Monday.
The Las Vegas native doesn’t have Canadian citizenship, but sources tell ESPN that if he decides to move forward with the proposal, the Canada Soccer Association is prepared to try to fast-track Blackmon’s application for a Canadian passport.
According to Section 5(4) of Canada’s Citizenship Act, “the Minister may, in his or her discretion, grant citizenship to any person to…reward services of an exceptional value to Canada.”. The idea is that Blackmon would receive his passport some time before the 2026 World Cup, but also with enough time to get acclimated to the Canada national team setup.
There is precedent for Canada granting citizenship to American athletes. Last December, world champion pairs figure skater Deanna Stellato-Dudek became a Canadian citizen, clearing the way for her to compete with partner Maxime Deschamps at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan.
FIFA regulations, however, state that for players that began living in a territory from the age of 18, they must have lived there for at least five years to be eligible to play for the country’s national team.
Canada is set to co-host the 2026 World Cup alongside Mexico and the U.S.
Blackmon has never appeared for the U.S. internationally at any level, though he was on the preliminary roster for a USMNT training camp that was held last January.
He played collegiate soccer at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif. before making his professional debut for LAFC in 2018, where he initially started out as a right back. He also had loan stints with USL Championship side Phoenix Rising in 2018 and 2019. Overall, at the professional level, Blackmon has made 217 appearances in all competitions, scoring nine goals.
Blackmon was part of the LAFC Supporters Shield-winning side in 2019, and was part of three Canadian Championship sides with the Whitecaps in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
