From Montréal to Halifax: Kareem Sow proves student-athletes can chase two dreams

When Kareem Sow arrived at the University of Montréal in 2018, he believed his dreams of playing professional soccer had likely come to an end.

The Canadian Premier League didn't yet exist, and Sow had already mapped out a different future. He enrolled in mechanical engineering, intent on earning his degree and moving on from the game he had played since childhood.

Instead, he discovered he didn't have to choose.

"At first I kind of thought that I was done completely with professional soccer," Sow said. 

"I thought, okay, let me just do my degree, I'm done, I'm not going to play soccer anymore. But then obviously the CPL getting created kind of re-sparked an interest and made me think, 'Oh, maybe there's a chance that I can just do both.' And that's exactly what happened." 

Today, the 25-year-old defender is an established member of the Halifax Wanderers, a product of a soccer journey that began in Ottawa, flourished at the University of Montréal and continues to grow in the professional ranks.

Sow's love of the sport started early.

"I started playing from as soon as I could kick a ball, pretty much when I was like four or five years old," he said.

His father coached him during his early years in Ottawa with Gloucester Hornets before Sow moved to Montréal to join the CF Montréal Academy, then known as the Montréal Impact Academy. After several years in the academy system, he returned to Ottawa to finish high school before heading back to Montréal for university. 

What followed became one of the defining chapters of his life.

Because of an extra season of eligibility granted during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sow spent nearly six years with the Carabins, helping build one of the country's premier soccer programs.

"It was probably the best chapter of my life so far," he said. 

"University was a really special, special time for me, and I have nothing but positive things to say about it." 

Winning played a role in those memories. The Carabins captured four conference titles and two national championships during his time there, but the bonds formed off the field stand out just as much.

"Everybody always sticking together, doing their classes in the morning, and then going to training," he said. 

"And then in the evening everybody linking up at somebody's house, doing board games, doing whatnot. University was so fun." 

Those years also shaped the person he would become.

Sow credits University of Montréal head coach Pat Raimondo with instilling values that continue to guide him in Halifax.

"My university culture has a lot of principles that I've kept to this day about culture, about being a good person, about being a good teammate," Sow said. 

"Pat Raimondo really kind of drilled that into the team."

Now one of the veteran players on the Wanderers roster, Sow tries to provide the same encouragement to younger teammates entering the professional environment.

"I kind of try to focus on my interactions with them and make sure that I'm always positive and encouraging them," he said. 

"It's only through positive encouragement that they can really do the best that they can." 

The transition from U SPORTS to the CPL proved smoother than he expected.

Drafted by Halifax in 2020, Sow spent several seasons balancing professional soccer with his engineering studies. The Wanderers supported his decision to complete his degree first, allowing him to miss portions of pre-season while he finished exams.

"They were super, super good with it," Sow said. 

"I wanted to finish my degree before fully committing to the professional world."

That support reinforced a message he now shares with aspiring student-athletes.

"You can do both," he said. 

"It's not soccer or studies. You really, really can do both." 

Sow believes the U SPORTS pathway has become an increasingly viable route to professional soccer, pointing to the growing number of Canadian players moving from university to the CPL and beyond.

"The U SPORTS system has allowed many, many players to join into the league, and even to go further than that," he said.

He points to Canadian international Joel Waterman from Trinity Western University as proof.

"I played against him in my first year, in 2018," Sow said. 

"A couple years later, he's literally at the World Cup. So it's possible." 

As Canada hosts the FIFA World Cup 2026 this summer, Sow is among the many Canadian players inspired by the sport's rapid growth across the country.

"The easiest example is the CPL," he said. 

"Every single year, if you compare the league in 2019 to now, the improvement is massive."

And while he remains focused on helping Halifax succeed, he hasn't stopped dreaming.

"The next World Cup is in 2030 and who knows what can happen," Sow said. 

"Football goes extremely, extremely quickly. You can have two, three good seasons, and you're just going up a level every single time."

He paused before adding one final thought.

"Maybe anyone could be there. Maybe I could be there."