Aly Camara knows all about the New York City FC player development pathway.
That’s because the 15-year-old native of Guinea is one of the brightest examples of its success.
Camara, who competed for NYCFC affiliate Manhattan Soccer Club, is making the move to the NYCFC Academy.
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“I think it’s important to have an inspirational pathway for players through the affiliates and Aly is a good example of a player who has continued to work hard because he wanted to make the next step,” NYCFC Sporting Director Claudio Reyna said. “He’s deserved it and earned it.”
Camara, who lives in the South Bronx, was in his third year with Manhattan Soccer Club, which also helped develop NYCFC midfielder Jack Harrison. According to Ray Selvadurai, the club’s director of coaching, Camara was well liked from the moment he joined.
“He came into our club as a young player with a huge personality, a huge smile and he was a lot of fun to be around,” he said. “He became an instant fan favorite to his teammates because of his magnetic personality. He has a lot of charisma. He’s going to be perfect in front of the camera one day.”
Camara’s skills soon followed suit. Selvadurai said his development hasn’t been linear, in part because some injuries halted his progress. His turning point came when Camara was invited to join the NYCFC Academy on a trip to Bolivia to compete in the XXI Mundialito Tahuichi Paz Y Unidad 2016 tournament in January.
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“I think being part of something larger like NYCFC made him work even more in training,” Selvadurai said. “Once he got back, he was really motivated and was a sponge in a way. He’s a force up front, scoring and setting up goals and he has great tactical awareness. The physical aspect caught up with him through the years and now he’s got a real physical presence on the field as well.”
Selvadurai is confident Camara will continue on his current trajectory and is thrilled to see him take the next step in his development. Camara is the first Manhattan Soccer Club player to make the move to the NYCFC Academy and he certainly won’t be the last.
“We’re excited about it,” Selvadurai said. “This really is a collaboration, which is missing in soccer in this country. We have players from all walks of life, including from West Africa like Aly, and sometimes these players do not get noticed. NYCFC has bridged the gap and we’re pretty thankful for that.”
