After a lost season, Kareem Sow is embracing his strong start with the Wanderers
It had been a long time since Kareem Sow had felt that feeling.
And although he had said all the right things, done all the work on and off the pitch, and stuck around through rehab to support his teammates, that feeling — of contributing on the pitch and making a difference — evaded him all last year.
2024 was, in many ways, a lost year for Sow, a player who had been selected by the Halifax Wanderers through the CPL - U Sports draft and worked his way up to the first team over the course of several seasons. But things didn't go as planned last year as he was plagued by multiple injuries, making just one league appearance.
Sow's fortunes have continued to mirror the club as the 24-year old centre-back has found his form and forced his way into head coach Patrice Gheisar's starting XI amid a red-hot start. The Québec-born defender has played a full 90-minutes through all seven of Halifax's contests so far, developing a partnership with the authoritative Thomas Meilleur-Giguère.
When asked during an interview with HFX Football Post about how it feels to be back in the mix, Sow said there was a moment he could pinpoint, noting he had found that feeling that evaded him all of 2024.
"It's about doing what you love," he said.
"I felt like it had been a really long time since I had that feeling of, yes, it's good when the team wins, you feel like you're a part of it. But when you're really contributing on the field — like, for example, that York United game where I was able to get an assist for Tiago (Coimbra) at the end where he came on — I hadn't gotten that feeling in a long time of really feeling like you contributed to the win and contributed on the field with your play."
"It's an amazing feeling. It reminded me of the joys of playing as a little kid. It's about those feelings for me."
Sow said he's enjoying his growing role with the Wanderers after so much time off the pitch. Last year, following the completion of his engineering degree at Université de Montréal, he signed his first professional contract with the Wanderers — his two previous stints being U Sports deals— and looked forward to fully committing himself to professional football.
However, before he even arrived in Halifax, a scan revealed a broken scaphoid —one of the fine bones in the wrist — that required immediate surgery.
“I remember having to call Matt (Fegan) and Pat (Gheisar) to tell them the bad news because I wasn’t in Halifax yet," said Sow. “I remember them being super supportive about it and helping me through it because I feel like they understood right away it was most likely going to be a long-term problem.”
Scaphoids are notoriously slow to heal and often are accompanied by complications. Risk of re-injury is also very high, meaning pushing through was simply not on the table for Sow. He elected to have surgery in February, 2024.
"They were completely understanding that this was a problem we needed to solve now," said Sow of the club's support.
Sow spent the next several months recovering and rehabbing, finally getting the nod to suit up for his first match in July away versus Forge FC. But less than two minutes into his season debut, he sprained his ankle.
He tried to play through it.
"I'm saying in my head: 'There's no way it's that bad.' I just went through this whole wrist thing. There's no way I just sprained my ankle. Reality hadn't hit me," he said, shaking his head in disbelief.
That match marked the end of his season but fueled him to come back even stronger in 2025.
Sow said he feels like he's come a long way from when he first joined the Wanderers back in 2021. He's mentally stronger from his experiences, enjoying his time with his teammates and said the family atmosphere around the locker room is set by captain Andre Rampersad.
It's one of the reasons, said Sow, the current group is so close.
"Rampy is the one that sets the mood and sets the tone for that. When players arrive and see that the captain is like that, welcoming them, and being super friendly towards them," he said.
But Rampersad also isn't afraid to show his competitive side.
"I don't know if he remembers this but I remember pretty clearly, in my first year in the Winnipeg bubble, we were playing against FC Edmonton. At the last minute of the game, or very close to the end, I had a big mistake that cost us a goal. We were winning 1-0 and ended up 1-1 so we lost two points from that game," recounted Sow.
"I remember Rampy coming to me at the end of the game and being very firm towards me: 'You cannot be making these kinds of mistakes, even a young player, you need to learn from this.' And I feel like that's why I really like Rampy: because, no matter who you are — a younger guy or an older guy with lots of experience — he'll always speak truthfully to you. I feel like I needed to hear that and it was my first year. I didn't need to be babied."
It's these little lessons which have made Sow a better player as, although unassuming, the centre-back is one of only four Wanderers to play every single minute of the season. He's second behind only Lorenzo Callegari for passes completed with 275. And his aerially presence — taking a page out of partner Meilleur-Giguère's playbook — has been integral in helping the Wanderers defend crosses and rediscover their defensive form.
The season is young and the Wanderers are yet to prove they're different from last year's squad. But Sow has shown he's working to become a piece the club can't do without.
"I've been really happy," he said.
Josh Healey
Josh Healey
Josh Healey
Cover Photo Credit: Trevor MacMillan / Halifax Wanderers FC
