Latest news with #Froese
Hamilton Spectator
6 days ago
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
Midfielder Kianz Froese returns to his Manitoba roots, signs with Valour FC
After nine years in Germany, Kianz Froese was working on the family's coffee plantation/farm in Cuba when he got a call from Josh Carabatsakis, Valour FC's director of football operations. The message was simple. '(He) told me I should come play,' Froese recalled. 'And then presented me the opportunity to come home and play.' The 29-year-old attacking midfielder said yes, agreeing to a one-year contract with the Canadian Premier League side, plus a club option for 2026 It's a homecoming for Froese, who was born in Cuba but came to Manitoba with his family when he was one. 'It feels good,' he said. 'It's been a while since I've been back in Winnipeg. So (I'm) happy about it.' A former Canadian youth international at the under-17 and under-20 ranks, Froese was 19 when he won senior caps for Canada against Ghana in October 2015 and the U.S. in February 2016 Froese was born to a Cuban mother and Canadian father. They met in Cuba, where his father was involved in a project bringing solar ovens to Cuba. His mother returned to Cuba after Froese's father died. Froese joined the Whitecaps residency in September 2011 after a training stint with FC Edmonton, making the move from his hometown of Brunkild, Man. He was named the Whitecaps' Most Promising Player for 2015, after a productive year that saw him make his MLS debut, score his first MLS goal and make his senior international debut. He left for Germany and the second division club Fortuna Duesseldorf in early 2017. He had the option of staying in Vancouver, but wanted to experience playing in Europe. In December 2017, he was promoted to the Duesseldorf first team. In July 2019, he switched to FC Saarbruecken before moving to TSV Havelse and SV Wehen Wiesbaden, which he helped gain promotion to the German second division before leaving in July 2024. Froese set a record in the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) for assists by a lower-division club while with Saarbruecken, which was promoted to the German third-tier while he was there. Froese, who also won promotion to the second tier while playing in Germany, says after the first few years, life in Germany started becoming normal. 'And now I'm maybe more German than Canadian,' he said with a laugh. Froese didn't speak any German before arriving. That has changed, especially with a German girlfriend. She will be joining him 'for a bit' in Winnipeg before she heads to China to study He wasn't sure about his football future after Germany, saying he was 'looking but passively' for a new club. 'Some things did come up, opportunities, but I decided not to take them,' he said. Time went by, and he began to think about a return to soccer. He chose Winnipeg over several other offers from Europe. 'I made a decision more for the soul … I wanted to do something different,' he explained. 'Come back home and experience being back here.' Valour is delighted to land Froese, who will wear No. 80 'This is a big moment for our club,' Valour GM and head coach Phillip Dos Santos said in a statement. 'Kianz adds quality and versatility to our group of attackers with a high level of experience. He's a local guy with ties to the community who brings a competitive edge to compete and win for this city.' Also Wednesday, Valour announced that midfielder Dante Campbell has been placed on the inactive list with a season-ending knee injury. The CPL club will receive cap relief on the compensation owed to Campbell for the remainder of the year. Valour (2-6-2) currently stands seventh in the eight-team CPL, two points ahead of cellar-dwelling Vancouver FC. After a 0-4-1 start to the season, Valour has gone 2-2-1, losing 3-0 at league-leading Atletico Ottawa last time out. Valour has conceded a league-worst 21 goals while scoring only nine, tied for second-worst. Only Pacific FC, with eight goals, has scored fewer. Valour hosts second-place Forge FC (5-0-5) on Sunday at Princess Auto Stadium. —- This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2025
Winnipeg Free Press
18-06-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Homecoming for Froese
One of the finest talents produced on a Manitoban soccer pitch has returned home. Kianz Froese, the Cuban-born and Winnipeg-raised attacking midfielder, agreed to a contract with Valour FC, the city's Canadian Premier League side, on Wednesday. The deal secures the 29-year-old for the remainder of the season, with an option for the club to bring him back in 2026. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Cuban-born, Winnipeg-raised midfielder Kianz Froese signed with the Winnipeg's Valour FC on Wednesday. 'I think he's one of the best players that Manitoba has produced,' said an excited head coach and GM Phillip Dos Santos, who first crossed paths with Froese as a teenager on the youth national team. Valour's goalkeeper coach, Patrick Di Stefani, coached Froese during their time with Manitoba's provincial program. 'He has a track record that — for any young Manitoba player — you look at and say, 'Man, I would like to have a career like the one he's had,'' Dos Santos added. 'And he's young, he's 29, he still has very good years ahead of him.' Froese hasn't played at home since he was 16. He's spent the last seven years playing professionally in Germany, where his mettle was tested while playing in the country's lower divisions with Fortuna Düsseldorf II, FC Saarbrücken, TSV Havelse and SV Wehen Wiesbaden. 'Hard,' Froese, who netted 32 goals in 190 matches, said of his time in Germany. 'It's a hard thing when you go abroad and get used to Germany as a culture. Extremely different. I mean, Canadians are extremely nice when you think about the culture and the way they treat you, and there, I think it's very demanding, in terms of sport, in terms of pressure — they are on it when it comes to sports. 'I had to adapt to that at the start. Then I got used to it. And then, obviously, at some point I didn't really remember it, but now I'm able to reflect back and say, 'Hey, look at the differences,' so it's kind of like a reflective time period right now for me.' Froese was a sensation as a young player in the Garden City area. It didn't take long for him to earn the attention of evaluators at the provincial and national level, as he later went on to play for Team Manitoba and take part in the National Training Camp (NTC) program. At 16, he joined the Vancouver Whitecaps Academy and quickly ascended through the ranks to make his professional debut in Major League Soccer in 2014. At 19, Froese made his debut with the Canadian men's national team in a friendly against Ghana, the first of two international caps he's earned. Now he returns to the place where it all started, with a wealth of experience behind him. 'I think it's nice to be in a familiar environment,' said Froese, who had offers to continue playing in Germany last year but decided to go back to Cuba. 'That's just part of who I am, in a sense, and even if I don't remember everything, I still feel that being back where I grew up, where I spent those early years, formative years of my life, is just a nice thing for me.' This was the right time for him to join a new club. If he didn't do it now, he said, it's unlikely he would've ever returned to the pitch. 'That's sort of the main point, and the reason why I chose Valour over whatever else I could have done, because that's kind of what I'm looking for.' Froese is exactly what Valour needs right now. Dos Santos credited him with possessing a level of decision-making and 'game intelligence' in the final third that the club is looking for. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Winnipeg Valour's head coach Phillip Dos Santos has high hopes that midfielder Kianz Froese (centre) will be the boost the club needs to climb in the Canadian Premier League standings. Winnipeg's side is once again struggling for offensive production. Valour, which currently sits seventh in a table of eight teams at 2-6-2, has nine goals in eight matches this season, tied with Vancouver FC for the second-fewest behind Pacific FC. 'Everyone sees it,' said Dos Santos. 'I think the common observer could see that. We were looking at our last five league games, where you outshoot the opposition… (but) there's actually an opportunity to maybe get in and put a teammate into closer spaces. So I think that he's a player that's going to give us that. He's a player that's gonna read those moments and increase the quality that we could have in those positions.' This will be Froese's debut season in the CPL. He is perhaps the biggest homegrown player that fans can cheer for since his once-close friend Marco Bustos, who scored seven times in Valour's inaugural season, then fled to West Coast rival Pacific. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. 'Quality. Clarity in the final third. Explosiveness in space. We're not talking about straight-line fast here, we're talking about football fast. Experience — so many things,' Dos Santos said of Froese. 'Definition, goals, assists — but again, there's a process and the process is that it's still a player that's going to need time to get rhythm.' Dos Santos said it will be 'a few weeks' before Froese dons Valour's colours in a match. His last game action was July 2024, so the first step is re-establishing his conditioning for a 90-minute contest. 'He's almost going through a pre-season right now, so we're gonna take our time with him and make sure we have a healthy fit, and that he's ready when he's gonna step on the field for the first day,' Dos Santos said. Valour hosts second-place Forge FC (5-5-0) at Princess Auto Stadium on Sunday (3:30 p.m.). Joshua Frey-SamReporter Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the Free Press. Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He reports primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports. Read more about Josh. Every piece of reporting Josh produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Global News
18-06-2025
- Sport
- Global News
Midfielder Kianz Froese returns to his Manitoba roots, signs with Valour FC
After nine years in Germany, Kianz Froese was working on the family's coffee plantation/farm in Cuba when he got a call from Josh Carabatsakis, Valour FC's director of football operations. The message was simple. '(He) told me I should come play,' Froese recalled. 'And then presented me the opportunity to come home and play.' The 29-year-old attacking midfielder said yes, agreeing to a one-year contract with the Canadian Premier League side, plus a club option for 2026. It's a homecoming for Froese, who was born in Cuba but came to Manitoba with his family when he was one. 'It feels good,' he said. 'It's been a while since I've been back in Winnipeg. So (I'm) happy about it.' A former Canadian youth international at the under-17 and under-20 ranks, Froese was 19 when he won senior caps for Canada against Ghana in October 2015 and the U.S. in February 2016 Story continues below advertisement Froese was born to a Cuban mother and Canadian father. They met in Cuba, where his father was involved in a project bringing solar ovens to Cuba. His mother returned to Cuba after Froese's father died. Froese joined the Whitecaps residency in September 2011 after a training stint with FC Edmonton, making the move from his hometown of Brunkild, Man. He was named the Whitecaps' Most Promising Player for 2015, after a productive year that saw him make his MLS debut, score his first MLS goal and make his senior international debut. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy He left for Germany and the second division club Fortuna Duesseldorf in early 2017. He had the option of staying in Vancouver, but wanted to experience playing in Europe. In December 2017, he was promoted to the Duesseldorf first team. In July 2019, he switched to FC Saarbruecken before moving to TSV Havelse and SV Wehen Wiesbaden, which he helped gain promotion to the German second division before leaving in July 2024. Froese set a record in the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) for assists by a lower-division club while with Saarbruecken, which was promoted to the German third-tier while he was there. Froese, who also won promotion to the second tier while playing in Germany, says after the first few years, life in Germany started becoming normal. Story continues below advertisement 'And now I'm maybe more German than Canadian,' he said with a laugh. Froese didn't speak any German before arriving. That has changed, especially with a German girlfriend. She will be joining him 'for a bit' in Winnipeg before she heads to China to study He wasn't sure about his football future after Germany, saying he was 'looking but passively' for a new club. 'Some things did come up, opportunities, but I decided not to take them,' he said. Time went by, and he began to think about a return to soccer. He chose Winnipeg over several other offers from Europe. 'I made a decision more for the soul … I wanted to do something different,' he explained. 'Come back home and experience being back here.' Valour is delighted to land Froese, who will wear No. 80 'This is a big moment for our club,' Valour GM and head coach Phillip Dos Santos said in a statement. 'Kianz adds quality and versatility to our group of attackers with a high level of experience. He's a local guy with ties to the community who brings a competitive edge to compete and win for this city.' Story continues below advertisement Also Wednesday, Valour announced that midfielder Dante Campbell has been placed on the inactive list with a season-ending knee injury. The CPL club will receive cap relief on the compensation owed to Campbell for the remainder of the year. Valour (2-6-2) currently stands seventh in the eight-team CPL, two points ahead of cellar-dwelling Vancouver FC. After a 0-4-1 start to the season, Valour has gone 2-2-1, losing 3-0 at league-leading Atletico Ottawa last time out. Valour has conceded a league-worst 21 goals while scoring only nine, tied for second-worst. Only Pacific FC, with eight goals, has scored fewer. Valour hosts second-place Forge FC (5-0-5) on Sunday at Princess Auto Stadium.
Winnipeg Free Press
18-06-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Midfielder Kianz Froese returns to his Manitoba roots, signs with Valour FC
After nine years in Germany, Kianz Froese was working on the family's coffee plantation/farm in Cuba when he got a call from Josh Carabatsakis, Valour FC's director of football operations. The message was simple. '(He) told me I should come play,' Froese recalled. 'And then presented me the opportunity to come home and play.' The 29-year-old attacking midfielder said yes, agreeing to a one-year contract with the Canadian Premier League side, plus a club option for 2026 It's a homecoming for Froese, who was born in Cuba but came to Manitoba with his family when he was one. 'It feels good,' he said. 'It's been a while since I've been back in Winnipeg. So (I'm) happy about it.' A former Canadian youth international at the under-17 and under-20 ranks, Froese was 19 when he won senior caps for Canada against Ghana in October 2015 and the U.S. in February 2016 Froese was born to a Cuban mother and Canadian father. They met in Cuba, where his father was involved in a project bringing solar ovens to Cuba. His mother returned to Cuba after Froese's father died. Froese joined the Whitecaps residency in September 2011 after a training stint with FC Edmonton, making the move from his hometown of Brunkild, Man. He was named the Whitecaps' Most Promising Player for 2015, after a productive year that saw him make his MLS debut, score his first MLS goal and make his senior international debut. He left for Germany and the second division club Fortuna Duesseldorf in early 2017. He had the option of staying in Vancouver, but wanted to experience playing in Europe. In December 2017, he was promoted to the Duesseldorf first team. In July 2019, he switched to FC Saarbruecken before moving to TSV Havelse and SV Wehen Wiesbaden, which he helped gain promotion to the German second division before leaving in July 2024. Froese set a record in the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) for assists by a lower-division club while with Saarbruecken, which was promoted to the German third-tier while he was there. Froese, who also won promotion to the second tier while playing in Germany, says after the first few years, life in Germany started becoming normal. 'And now I'm maybe more German than Canadian,' he said with a laugh. Froese didn't speak any German before arriving. That has changed, especially with a German girlfriend. She will be joining him 'for a bit' in Winnipeg before she heads to China to study He wasn't sure about his football future after Germany, saying he was 'looking but passively' for a new club. 'Some things did come up, opportunities, but I decided not to take them,' he said. Time went by, and he began to think about a return to soccer. He chose Winnipeg over several other offers from Europe. 'I made a decision more for the soul … I wanted to do something different,' he explained. 'Come back home and experience being back here.' Valour is delighted to land Froese, who will wear No. 80 'This is a big moment for our club,' Valour GM and head coach Phillip Dos Santos said in a statement. 'Kianz adds quality and versatility to our group of attackers with a high level of experience. He's a local guy with ties to the community who brings a competitive edge to compete and win for this city.' Also Wednesday, Valour announced that midfielder Dante Campbell has been placed on the inactive list with a season-ending knee injury. The CPL club will receive cap relief on the compensation owed to Campbell for the remainder of the year. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Valour (2-6-2) currently stands seventh in the eight-team CPL, two points ahead of cellar-dwelling Vancouver FC. After a 0-4-1 start to the season, Valour has gone 2-2-1, losing 3-0 at league-leading Atletico Ottawa last time out. Valour has conceded a league-worst 21 goals while scoring only nine, tied for second-worst. Only Pacific FC, with eight goals, has scored fewer. Valour hosts second-place Forge FC (5-0-5) on Sunday at Princess Auto Stadium. — This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2025
Winnipeg Free Press
17-06-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Bidding wars heat up
First, Noella Delorme tempered her expectations. A home's listing price might read $275,000. To her, that was code for upwards of $320,000 and a stressful bidding process against others. 'I'd kind of write it off,' she said. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES Increased demand for houses in Winnipeg combined with a lack of inventory has lead to bidding wars across the city. The 28 year old has found house hunting in Winnipeg to be a daunting experience. In several neighbourhoods, the average house sells above list price — 112.2 per cent of list price in East Kildonan, for example. This spring was the busiest since the COVID-19 pandemic, Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board tracking shows. In May, more than half of homes sold — 52 per cent — went above asking price. A home in South Osborne, on Jubilee Avenue, recently sold for nearly $150,000 over asking price. Five weeks ago, Delorme paid $26,000 more than list price for a home in North Kildonan. 'I felt like that was still pretty conservative,' she said, adding she sized up the home, listed for $265,000, with her real estate agent. It was her sixth time bidding since February. The homes she eyed sold, regularly, for $50,000 to $100,000 more than list price, she said. After feeling defeated, she took a month away from house hunting to 're-calibrate.' When she returned, she implemented a new strategy: focus on homes below her budget with the expectation prices would rise via bidding war. 'Every buyer is going to have to take an approach that they're comfortable with,' said Michael Froese, the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board's president. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. 'They may have to make concessions on the house (or) where it is… when you're looking into highly competitive neighbourhoods or highly competitive price points.' Increased demand has collided with a lack of inventory, leading to bids across the city. By the end of May, Winnipeg had 2.04 months' worth of inventory, Froese said. Meaning, if houses stopped being put up for sale, it would take roughly two months to sell everything available, given demand. Roughly three months' worth of inventory allows for a balanced market between buyers and sellers, Froese said. At least 1,400 homes would need listing to create a balanced market amid current demand, Froese estimated. 'We're still quite a ways away from achieving that,' he noted, adding the listing-to-sale ratio usually rises in the winter. Froese, a practising real estate agent, cited several reasons for the low inventory: homeowners are holding onto places longer than expected and children are staying at home longer; pandemic-era supply chain snarls delayed construction, causing a ripple effect; and slow permitting for new builds. 'Despite the prices rising, we still have (an) affordable major market in Canada.'–Michael Froese, Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board president Meantime, demand is booming. Millennials have entered the market, noted real estate agent Catherine Schellenberg. Manitoba accepted many highly skilled immigrants in recent years, added Froese. 'Despite the prices rising, we still have (an) affordable major market in Canada,' he said. 'We have… also a very stable economy.' Historically low interest rates help, as does a growing population that's generally employed, he said. (Winnipeg had 815,599 residents by July 1, 2023. The population could grow by 62,300 people by 2028, a 2024 city report projected.) Most Winnipeg buyers seek homes in the $350,000 to $500,000 range — and that's where bidding most commonly occurs, Froese said. West Fort Garry joins East Kildonan as the city community with the highest average sale price above listing (at 112 per cent of list price). River Heights, Crescentwood and North Kildonan follow at 111 per cent. Citywide, sale prices have averaged 100 per cent of list prices from March to June. In the five years preceding the COVID-19 pandemic, the average hovered closer to 98 per cent. Not all sales end in bidding wars. Some houses may sit on the market or sell for less than asking. Such homes may be areas with more stock available or are listed at a luxury price point, Froese said. Properties that require renovations may also sit for a while, Schellenberg added. She's watched the market shock prospective home buyers — from first-time purchasers to downsizers, to people moving from larger metropolitans, like Toronto. Froese said some buyers have to shift to condos and attached homes, like row homes, to meet their budgets. 'I had to almost get uncomfortable and just put a lot of money towards (my) home,' said Nadine Meilleur, recalling her 2024 house search. She bid on five homes; most sold for $40,000 to $70,000 above asking price. She didn't want to compromise on a neighbourhood, and having three bedrooms for her children was important. It was a discouraging experience at times, she said. 'I had to almost get uncomfortable and just put a lot of money towards (my) home.'–Nadine Meilleur on her 2024 house search It's ultimately the sellers' choice on how to price their home, said Schellenberg, who's president of the Manitoba Real Estate Association. Real estate agents tend not to under-price properties, though they obey the seller unless the price is 'ridiculously low or ridiculously high.' On the buying side, Realtors must share historical information of similar homes with clients, letting them know what to expect, Schellenberg said. Sellers may look beyond bid prices when making a decision — there are possession dates and terms of offers to consider. Some jurisdictions, like Ontario, offer a more transparent bidding process where sellers can share submitted bid prices with possible buyers. It strays from the blind bidding process in Manitoba; bidders don't know the contents of others' proposals. Schellenberg said she doesn't see the practice changing any time soon. Manitoba's Real Estate Services Act doesn't mandate any bidding process for real estate transactions, noted Erika Miller, communications manager of the Manitoba Financial Services Agency. 'The Act just legislates the Realtor's conduct expected in all situations – that is, to be fair and avoid all deceptive dealing,' Miller wrote in an email. Schellenberg believes competition will always be present: 'It's just on a bigger scale. Now we have more people at the table shopping.' Last May, home sales increased four per cent while listings were down 11 per cent year-over-year, real estate board data show. The average price of a residential detached house was $459,320, up eight per cent year-over-year. Gabrielle PichéReporter Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle. Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
