‘I improved so much’: Karifa Yao on CPL experience ahead of 1st Whitecaps season

On Saturday, former Cavalry FC defender Karifa Yao is set to kick off his 2023 season with a new club, Vancouver Whitecaps FC of Major League Soccer.

In anticipation of that, he appeared on new OneSoccer show OneNation to chat with Andi Petrillo and former York United midfielder Jordan Wilson.

Yao spent the last two seasons on loan at Cavalry from CF Montréal, making 56 appearances in all competitions and scoring twice for Tommy Wheeldon Jr’s side. This off-season, however, he swapped coasts in MLS as the Vancouver Whitecaps picked him up in the 2022 MLS Re-Entry Draft.

Now he will be looking to finally find his breakthrough at the MLS level, with a Whitecaps team who will compete in four competitions this year, including Concacaf Champions League and entering the Canadian Championship as defending champions. He knows it will be a tough squad to break into, but is confident he has the abilities to do so.

“I think, honestly, just play my game, like usual,” he told OneNation during the interview. “Be solid, make good tackles, play simple, have good passing and make good decisions on the ball and be a leader, that’s what I need to do.”

That game, he said, was exponentially improved by his two seasons in the Canadian Premier League. In the league, he learned how to transition from an academy player into a day-in and day-out professional.

“After playing academy, coming to the CPL it was a good opportunity because we are not playing against kids, we are playing against men, against professional players,” said Yao. “Against guys who have experience. Within those two years, I learned a lot. Playing some minutes too helped me improve my confidence, my decision-making. Those two years with Cavalry and Tommy [Wheeldon Jr.] were amazing. I learned a lot and I’m really happy that I did those two years, because now I am more of a man, and I improved so much and now I think I’m ready for the next step.”