2019 CPL Player of the Year returns to Hamilton for 2021 season
Forge FC announced Friday that attacking midfielder Tristan Borges has been acquired via loan from Belgian club Oud-Heverlee Leuven of the Belgian Jupiler Pro League for the 2021 Canadian Premier League season.
Borges, 22, made 33 total appearances for Forge FC in 2019, including 27 in CPL play, four in Concacaf League and two Canadian Championship matches. He finished as the CPL’s Golden Boot winner with 13 goals and was tied for league lead with five assists. The 5-7 native of Toronto, Ontario scored the game-winning goal in the first leg of the inaugural CPL Finals en route to being crowned a 2019 CPL Champion, the U-21 Player of the Year and the CPL Player of the Year.
In addition, Canada Soccer named Borges to the Men’s National Team roster for a 12-day camp in January 2020 where he made his debut as a substitute in an International Friendly against Barbados on January 7. He was then transferred from Forge FC to OH Leuven on January 22, 2020.
“We’re very happy to welcome Tristan back to our club,” said Forge FC Director of Football Costa Smyrniotis. “The cooperation with OH Leuven has been very good here, with the common, important goal of furthering the competitive development of Tristan over this upcoming year.”
Prior to his time with OH Leuven and Forge, Borges was a standout player at Dutch club SC Heerenveen from 2016 to 2018 for their Under-21 team in the Beloften Eredivisie. He also previously represented Canada at the youth international level, including at two major CONCACAF championship tournaments. In three appearances at the 2017 Men’s Under-20 Championship in San Jose, Costa Rica, Borges registered one assist. He also posted one goal in six matches at the 2015 Men’s Under-17 Championship in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
About Oud-Heverlee Leuven
Oud-Heverlee Leuven is a Belgian football club from the city of Leuven created in 2002 from the merger of the clubs F.C. Zwarte Duivels Oud-Heverlee, Daring Club Leuven and Stade Leuven. OH Leuven is owned by King Power International Group, the owners of Leicester City in The Premier League. Their home stadium is “King Power @ Den Dreef Stadium”, located in Heverlee. After winning the first period of the Belgian First Division B 2019/2020 season, OH Leuven was promoted to the Belgian Pro League. OHL has played five seasons at the first level, the previous time being in 2015–16.