The Halifax Wanderers signed Canadian midfielders Uchinvyo Kaziya and Mike Kirumba to Development Contracts for the 2026 Canadian Premier League (CPL) season. Both players are members of the Wanderers U18 Development Team and eligible to be signed to a Development Contract for the 2027 CPL season.
“It’s a great feeling for everyone at the club when we get to sign a player in our youth system to a first-team contract,” Wanderers head coach and general manager Vanni Sartini said. “This season our development players have had lots of integration into first-team training sessions, and Uchi and Mike are two players with a very bright future who bring a lot of energy to our team.”
Kaziya, 17, is from Fredericton, New Brunswick, and featured for Wanderers U21 in the 2026 International Summer Series against Nottingham Forest. He played locally for Fredericton District Soccer Association and represented New Brunswick at the 2025 Canada Games.
“Since joining our U21’s for the International Summer Series, Uchi has handled every challenge we’ve put in front of him; he brings imagination to the pitch and backs it up with bravery and intelligence to make the right decisions,” Wanderers head of youth development Jed Davies said. “Seeing a young player from New Brunswick earn this opportunity is exactly why we built this academy pathway for the Atlantic Canadian region.”
Kirumba, 17, moved to Halifax from Ottawa to join the Wanderers U18 squad for the 2026/27 season. He has spent the past two seasons in the Vancouver Whitecaps Academy after developing at Futuro Academy in Ottawa.
“Mike joined us in August and has spent a month training with the first team and never looked out of place,” Davies said. “He solves problems with the ball and keeps finding new ways to play through pressure.”
A player signed to a Development Contract must be a Domestic Under-18 Player, born Jan 1, 2008 or later, and is eligible to make four (4) appearances for a CPL Club while maintaining his amateur status and ability to train and play with the amateur team that holds his registration. There is no time limit to complete these games. In a calendar year, a player may sign a maximum of two (2) Development Contracts in the CPL. Both Kaziya and Kirumba were signed before the league's roster transaction deadline on Sept. 17.