Former York Lion Niko Sigur makes his World Cup debut

Coach and ex-teammate from reigning men’s Canadian national university soccer champions describe Team Canada defender as passionate, focused

On Friday June 12, as York University students don caps and gowns to attend their graduation ceremonies at the university’s Keele Campus, former York Lions Men’s Soccer midfielder Niko Sigur will be going through a different rite-of-passage, putting on cleats and the #23 jersey as he prepares for his FIFA World Cup debut for Team Canada.

One of three host countries in this World Cup, Canada will play their opener against Bosnia-Herzegovina in Toronto. It’s been said that of the billions of people who have walked the earth, only hundreds have had the pleasure of being part of the home team for a World Cup game, and Sigur, 22, will join the ranks of those very few.

For those who knew Sigur when he first came to Toronto at just 17 when COVID-19 dried up opportunities in Vancouver, and joined York in 2021, they knew that someway, somehow, Sigur would make it.

“He knew what he wanted from the beginning. His development here was about redefining who he was, recreating himself,” recalls longtime York Lions master soccer coach Carmine Isacco, who has helped the Lions capture six U SPORTS national championship banners and also has experience coaching with Canada Soccer. “There's something called competitive pace, competitive quickness, competitive will, and I think that’s what Niko exemplifies: the ability to make yourself better, to rise to the occasion.”

Born and raised in Burnaby, B.C. to Croatian parents, Sigur originally played for the Croatian National U21 team and was also part of the senior team, but made a one-time switch to Canada in 2023 when Coach Jesse Marsch rang up, and since then has started in 13 of 18 appearances for Canada and has scored two goals and two assists.

On the club level, Sigur plays for Croatia’s Hajduk Split. Frequently a starter where he quickly developed a strong reputation among the team’s heavily invested owner-supporters, it was friend and former York Lions teammate Daniel Casa who helped Sigur pack his bags at Stong College and drove him from York to Pearson airport when Sigur got the call up to play in Europe in 2022.

“We see a lot of guys from Toronto go overseas, and they end up coming back in six months, 12 months, because it didn't work out,” says Casa. “But Niko fully told me, ‘Thank-you for being one of my closest friends during this time, I don't know if we'll ever see each other again.’ I was thinking in my head, ‘Nik, are you crazy? There’s social media, FaceTime. Dude.’”

A graduating student and one of the captains for the reigning national champions’ York Lions Men’s Soccer team, Casa and Sigur were both fresh out of high school when they met and became close very quickly.

“It was very obvious from the jump that Niko was the best freshman out of all of us,” recalls Casa. “He came in and started playing right away while the rest of us were fighting for fringe spots. I figured I'm a freshman, I'm going to take my time, maybe I'll play my second year, start in my third year. Niko was all about, ‘I want to do this now, I want to play now,’ so he pulled me along.”

They would train together before practice, always at Sigur’s insistence, and grab food at an Italian bakery near campus that suited Sigur’s dietary preferences and talk for hours, mostly about soccer. On weekends, Sigur would want to check out the other local universities’ games.

In his time at the Lions, Sigur helped take the team to the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) finals after scoring the winning goal in the 119th minute of the semis and making an earlier assist.

Noted for his versatility at Hajduk in playing right back and defensive midfield, this versatility came in handy for Marsch this week, who subbed in Sigur at left back after 31 minutes of play for teammate Moise Bombito, still recovering from injuries, in a friendly against Uzbekistan where Canada won 2-0.

“I know there's thousands of books written on grit and they try to put equations to all that, but kids like Niko are the reason these books are written,” says Isacco. “He's not the most overwhelming player physically, he's not the fastest, there were people who told him before that he wasn’t good enough, but that just motivated him to be stronger. You’ll find similar stories with everyone on the national team.”

As for the friendship of Sigur and Casa, they did, in fact, see each other again.

“It was last November, I remember I was walking off the field with the trophy in my hand, after we just won nationals in a snowstorm going into the change room, and a teammate from 2021 told me someone wanted to see me. I see some guy in a big hoodie and big jacket, all cold. I look over and it’s Niko. He watched the whole game but he didn’t message me beforehand,” says Casa. “It was a full circle moment, Niko was there for my first game at York, and my last.”

Carmine Isacco and Daniel Casa are available to talk to media about Niko Sigur’s time at York and the success of the York University Lions Men’s Soccer team. For more on Sigur's time at York and player development, please see here.

Isacco will be participating in an online webinar on June 10 hosted by York U Alumni and Friends called Global Soccer, Local Roots. Isacco will be participating along with York alumna, professional soccer player and activist Farkhunda Muhtaj and Association Football Club (AFC) Toronto CEO Helena Ruken. All are welcome to attend.

More World Cup interview opportunities:

• York University Schulich School of Business sports marketing expert and Team Canada fan Vijay Setlur is following Team Canada’s World Cup journey. He is available for media interviews on the fan experience, ticket sales, etc.

• U.S. born Associate Professor and Sport Management Program Coordinator Sarah Zipp is available to comment on Canada and U.S.'s contrasting World Cup host narratives. 

• Bosnian Canadian Humanities Professor Amila Buturović can speak to the historical and cultural significance of Bosnia-Herzegovina's World Cup journey, within the country and diaspora.
  
•  Faculty of Health Associate Professor Lyndsay Hayhurst can speak to ongoing research in Thorncliffe Park on FIFA World Cup 2026 and sport mega event impacts on marginalized youth.

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Media Contacts: Emina Gamulin, York University Media Relations, 437-217-6362, egamulin@yorku.ca