There has been a recent influx of Canadian based players moving to the League of Ireland, especially at Galway United, which has left many fans wondering, well, why?
The answer is Eikon Sports group, an agency group based in Canada that represents many of these players that have come over including the likes of Moses Dyer, Jeannot Esua and more recently, Gianfranco Facchineri and Kris Twardek.
Who is Josh Carabatsakis?
Eikon is run by Josh Carabatsakis, a 29-year-old, FIFA licenced agent, from Winnipeg in Canada, where he was also briefly Director of Football at Valor F.C.
However, Josh didn’t always see himself as becoming a football agent, initially he played the game competitively until he was 22 and then studied criminal justice in college.
The football agent part he says, he almost fell into through “passion for the game, love for the game, and a belief that Canadian players have a lot of upside and that the sport hasn’t really maximised or reached its peak in Canada yet, and I want to be a part of it reaching its peak in the next 10 or 20 years”.
How He Got Started in Football Representation
He first got involved with the business side of the game seven years ago, when the Canadian league was forming, by promoting players he thought could play in the league on social media.
“I see it all the time now, and maybe I was ahead in that sense, these kind of pseudo scouts, player identification pages. So, I was doing that for Canadian players through social media, just promoting players I thought were going to play in the Canadian Premier League.
Then an agent from Toronto contacted me and was like “hey you’re promoting these players and they’re all signing contracts, you must know something, do you work for the league or a club”?
And I was like no I’m just a guy who loves the game. So, he kind of showed me the ropes a little bit and I was like I think I can do this.
I started working then with just one player, who I brought to our local club Valor F.C, who was an international and then from there I actually founded Eikon and then grew it in Canada, and now we have players that we send other places as well”.
Eikon Sports Group and Its Expansion into Ireland
Eikon now represents 30 players overall and has started sending some of them to the League of Ireland, with most playing for Galway United, but now also Sligo Rovers, Waterford and Treaty United.
It was someone from Galway United who initially contacted Josh about bringing some players over and the link has grown from there.
“I had got in touch with someone who is actually based in Galway, his name was Anthony O’Neill, and he was either working for Galway or volunteering in some way.
I think he reached out to me, he just saw our agency, maybe on social media, and saw that we had some players. And I think he was just being proactive himself, because he had been in the US for a little while.
So, kind of saw the connection Canada/America, and saw that we have some players who maybe could be suitable for the Irish League, and obviously, specifically Galway.
So then one thing led to another. Jeannot (Esua) and Matteo (De Brienne) were the two players I had initially shown John Caulfield and we’d done zoom calls. And he was kind of considering signing both and I, thanks to Anthony and my own research as well,
I watched the league, and obviously I saw the characteristics of the players in the league and the style of play, and quickly I realized, like, this isn’t a league for every player we represent, that’s for sure, but for the right ones, it’s a great leap. So, yeah, Jeannot was the first one I saw that for.”
Why the League of Ireland Appeals to Players
While the physicality of the league is part of the reason Josh sees it as a good “proving ground” for his players, the expansion of the Europa Conference League and the pathway to European competitions opening up for Irish clubs, has also been a big draw.
“One, it’s a first-tier league in Europe, which I think is always like that status is important, obviously, now with the European competitions and the expansion of the Conference League, like I see that there’s more eyes, more attention on the league.
I know it’s growing in terms of the following. Obviously, the supporters are great. I think the league itself is really a good proving ground, like we’ve talked about, how physical, how aggressive the league is, sometimes direct, even though there are a lot of teams that do try and play in moments and kind of find the time for it.
I think the right players from Canada that have European passports as well is a big piece to it, if they come to Ireland, that sort of as a stepping stone into Europe, shows that they’re capable and mentally, have the ability to sort of fight through the challenges of the league.
Because it’s a long season, it’s a condensed schedule, like 36 matches. In Canada we play the same time of the year, we only play 28 matches, for example.
And I’m again, sort of wearing the hat of a sporting director in, let’s say, a Scottish premiership club or an English League Two club, or a team in Portugal or a team in Sweden, like, if we’re sort of comparing, say the Canadian League, or the USL, for example, with the League Of Ireland. I think those players that want to play in Europe are going to have that pathway through Ireland.
And that remains to be seen a little bit, to be fair, because obviously, like, I’ve only been bringing players recently, but that’s just something I believe in. Obviously, I’ve spoken with my clients about it, and they’re on board with that.”
Photo taken by Cian Kelly
Moses Dyer: A League of Ireland Success Story
The most successful of Eikon’s clients that have played in the League of Ireland so far is undoubtedly Moses Dyer.
The New Zealand striker was simply unplayable in the first half of the season last year for Galway United scoring ten goals in 20 games, before leaving in July to join Cambodian side Phnom Penh Crown F.C.
While a return looks unlikely for Dyer, Josh smiles and says it shouldn’t be completely ruled out, “never say never, on a return, though, you never know”.
Future Plans for Eikon Sports Group
With five players currently playing in the league Josh isn’t ruling out any further expansion either, although it would most likely come in the top two tiers and not in the new national league.
“(We) would be (trying) to keep them in the top two divisions, and even preferably the Premier Division, obviously, but understanding that sometimes, like at the end of the day, if a player really wants to play in Europe, and maybe they don’t have the resume to get into a top division, it’s still a good stepping stone.
But I think mostly the first and second division. I think the biggest thing is that if the club is full time or hybrid, like, that’s, I think, for a player to go abroad that’s the biggest thing”.
He also feels that other agency groups may look to copy their success in Ireland and send some players, “I think as far as Canadian agencies, we’d be the only one right now.
But yeah, I guess imitation is a form of flattery, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see other Canadian agencies maybe try and get in touch with some clubs over here”.
Impact on the League of Ireland
The expansion of agencies such as Eikon into the Irish market is certainly adding some variety to the league in terms of players with different styles of play coming in and helps clubs outside of Dublin who have potentially fewer resources put together more competitive teams.
This is something we have seen over the past few seasons, as the league table has become far more condensed and competitive.
These are real signs of growth and progress for the domestic game in Ireland, and this will only help the league continue to make more strides in the coming years.
What’s Next for Josh Carabatsakis and Eikon?
Next for Josh and Eikon, he will be looking to continue to grow the business by adding another full-time agent and enter the Women’s game.
With the early signs being very promising for many of his players in the League this year let’s hope we can keep a hold of them for another while and that more of these quality players keep coming to Ireland.