THE ARCHITECT:
LUKAS MACNAUGHTON
IT ALWAYS STARTS WITH A DREAM...
but it doesn’t always start with a plan. Lukas MacNaughton is a living example of how the Canadian football system works. MacNaughton was born in New York, moved to Belgium when he was seven and decided not to pursue his dream career in football after reaching the age of 18. It was time for university, but he was left with a tough decision on where to call home. “I never felt like I belonged to a country, '' MacNaughton said. "My dad is Canadian, and I spent a lot of summers in Canada for summer camp, so I decided to come here, although I never felt Canadian.”
MacNaughton dedicated his future to the University of Toronto's school of architecture, and this was his focus, but with a passion for football, he was going to continue playing at any level just to play the sport. “It didn't seem realistic to think about going professional,” said MacNaughton. “You never hear people talk about a Canadian university football player going pro. It’s largely looked at as impossible in the general understanding, so I was just playing for the sake of playing.”
but it doesn’t always start with a plan. Lukas MacNaughton is a living example of how the Canadian football system works. MacNaughton was born in New York, moved to Belgium when he was seven and decided not to pursue his dream career in football after reaching the age of 18. It was time for university, but he was left with a tough decision on where to call home. “I never felt like I belonged to a country, '' MacNaughton said. "My dad is Canadian, and I spent a lot of summers in Canada for summer camp, so I decided to come here, although I never felt Canadian.”
MacNaughton dedicated his future to the University of Toronto's school of architecture, and this was his focus, but with a passion for football, he was going to continue playing at any level just to play the sport. “It didn't seem realistic to think about going professional,” said MacNaughton. “You never hear people talk about a Canadian university football player going pro. It’s largely looked at as impossible in the general understanding, so I was just playing for the sake of playing.”
He began to play for UofT in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) league while he was a student. He spent five years playing for the Varsity Blues and during the later stages, he started playing League 1 Ontario. The affiliate club for UofT at the time was North Toronto Nitros, which changed to Alliance United for his last year. MacNaughton played from 2013-2018 at the OUA and L1O levels. “During this time, I never at all thought that I would go professional. I was only playing purely because I enjoyed it, and I just wanted to play as long as I could.”
His schooling came to an end, and he started working as an architect full time. But a few months later, he received a call from Pacific FC to play in the Canadian Premier League. “I had to take this opportunity to play, I could always come back to architecture, but I can’t play the sport forever," MacNaughton said. "So, I thought in two years if I haven’t made it out of the CPL, I was going to call it and stop playing. During these two years my coaches, other players and team owners were the reason for my motivation. They would tell me I could be playing at the next level, and I took their belief and ran with it.”
Fast forward to now, MacNaughton is the first player to ever win both a CPL and Canadian Championship title. His first year in the CPL went very well, and after the break year during the pandemic in his second season, MacNaughton won the CPL with Pacific FC. Shortly after, he was transferred to Toronto FC, which is where he is now. So far, the 27-year-old has played a large role in his first season with TFC in Major League Soccer. “Even though I didn’t plan to have this career and make it to this point, I had to make so many sacrifices,” he said. "Parties you can’t go to, friends you can’t see, family you can’t see. Some are harder than others, but you must make the right choices to achieve your goals.”
His schooling came to an end, and he started working as an architect full time. But a few months later, he received a call from Pacific FC to play in the Canadian Premier League. “I had to take this opportunity to play, I could always come back to architecture, but I can’t play the sport forever," MacNaughton said. "So, I thought in two years if I haven’t made it out of the CPL, I was going to call it and stop playing. During these two years my coaches, other players and team owners were the reason for my motivation. They would tell me I could be playing at the next level, and I took their belief and ran with it.”
Fast forward to now, MacNaughton is the first player to ever win both a CPL and Canadian Championship title. His first year in the CPL went very well, and after the break year during the pandemic in his second season, MacNaughton won the CPL with Pacific FC. Shortly after, he was transferred to Toronto FC, which is where he is now. So far, the 27-year-old has played a large role in his first season with TFC in Major League Soccer. “Even though I didn’t plan to have this career and make it to this point, I had to make so many sacrifices,” he said. "Parties you can’t go to, friends you can’t see, family you can’t see. Some are harder than others, but you must make the right choices to achieve your goals.”
For MacNaughton, the hardest part of this entire journey has been going against what his family and friends envisioned for him. Saying no and telling them that they had to wait and see what he could achieve was extremely difficult for him. He always felt like he was disappointing all of his loved ones. “Physical pain you can endure anything, but this type of pain is difficult to deal with, disappointing others is sometimes harder than disappointing yourself. This was the most difficult part of my journey, but without it, I wouldn’t be here,” he said.
From the start of his career, MacNaughton had trouble seeing the possibility of becoming a professional, and due to that he lacked goals or plans for this dream of his, yet he's made it this far. What if he does believe in himself, is there any limit? “I want to play for Canada, and I want to play in the World Cup. There is so much I must improve, but now I believe I can get there. Canada has given me so much as a country, Canada has given me my entire life, from all my friends and football. When I was younger, I didn’t know which country I truly was from, but now I completely feel Canadian, I owe everything to this country.”
For MacNaughton, the hardest part of this entire journey has been going against what his family and friends envisioned for him. Saying no and telling them that they had to wait and see what he could achieve was extremely difficult for him. He always felt like he was disappointing all of his loved ones. “Physical pain you can endure anything, but this type of pain is difficult to deal with, disappointing others is sometimes harder than disappointing yourself. This was the most difficult part of my journey, but without it, I wouldn’t be here,” he said.
From the start of his career, MacNaughton had trouble seeing the possibility of becoming a professional, and due to that he lacked goals or plans for this dream of his, yet he's made it this far. What if he does believe in himself, is there any limit? “I want to play for Canada, and I want to play in the World Cup. There is so much I must improve, but now I believe I can get there. Canada has given me so much as a country, Canada has given me my entire life, from all my friends and football. When I was younger, I didn’t know which country I truly was from, but now I completely feel Canadian, I owe everything to this country.”
From the start of his career, MacNaughton had trouble seeing the possibility of becoming a professional, and due to that he lacked goals or plans for this dream of his, yet he's made it this far. What if he does believe in himself, is there any limit? “I want to play for Canada, and I want to play in the World Cup. There is so much I must improve, but now I believe I can get there. Canada has given me so much as a country, Canada has given me my entire life, from all my friends and football. When I was younger, I didn’t know which country I truly was from, but now I completely feel Canadian, I owe everything to this country.”