Our Team

THE ELITE TEAM.

ALI EL GANDOUR

Director of Football, & Co-Founder

As a youth player, Ali was part of the Alberta Soccer Player Pathway and gained most of his playing experience in Canada and Lebanon. In 2011, Ali travelled to El Salvador to train with the U16 Select Team and the U17 National Team. After suffering a meniscus injury and taking time to recover, Ali continued his playing career by signing with the SAIT Trojans on scholarship, where he played in the ACAC for two years while earning his Civil Engineering Diploma.

Ali began his coaching career in the Calgary soccer community at the age of 14 and has continued coaching competitively ever since. He has led many club Tier 1 teams to gold medals and top rankings within Calgary leagues. He has also coached with the Vancouver Whitecaps FC Alberta Academy and the Alberta Soccer Provincial Program. In 2019, Ali founded Elite Football Academy, where he currently serves as the Director of Football.

Ali is registered as an intermediary with Canada Soccer and works as a scout and agent with Elite International Football Management, a world-leading soccer agency. His collegiate experience and professional relationships across Canada and internationally provide a unique pathway for players looking to take their game to the next level.

Concacaf National B License
CSA Children’s License Certified

MOE EL GANDOUR

Technical Director, & Co-Founder

As a youth player, Moe grew up with a strong passion for football. He played competitively within Alberta and was raised in a family deeply involved in the football community. Moe began his playing career with Eastside Memorial at the U12 level before moving to Calgary South West United later that same year. He remained with the club until U17, while also representing and captaining Team Alberta from U13 to U16. Moe was also part of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC Academy for nearly two years.

In 2018, Moe committed to playing university football at Mount Royal University while completing his Bachelor of Business degree, majoring in International Business. In 2019, he was drafted by Cavalry FC in the Canadian Premier League. In 2021, Moe was named Canada West Player of the Year in U SPORTS, represented the Lebanon U23 National Team, and completed his university playing career.

Through his playing experiences, Moe developed a strong passion for coaching and helping athletes in his community grow into better players and better people. He uses his own academic and athletic achievements to help pave the pathway for younger athletes. While he continues to grow as a player himself, Moe is committed to helping athletes develop to their full potential. He believes coaches play an important role in guiding athletes not only in football, but in life and their future success. Moe uses both his own experience and the knowledge he continues to gain as a player as the foundation of his coaching philosophy.

Concacaf National B License (In Progress)
Concacaf National C License Certified
Cavalry FC
Lebanon National Team
MRU University - CANWEST Player of the Year
U15 & U16 Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Alberta Premier League Champion

AHMAD EL GANDOUR

Grassroots Director

As a youth player, Ahmad grew up with a strong passion for football. Ahmad played competitively within Alberta and grew up within a family that was highly involved in the sport. After his youth years, he pursued his education in electrical engineering while still managing to assist his high school senior soccer team develop its program for 2 years. Ahmad has had the privilege of working along side his brothers who have coached and developed a number of professional and national level players.

Ahmad believes that coaching is about developing relationships with the athlete and bringing out their peak potential by understanding and nurturing their individual personalities. Hence, Ahmad has been appointed Grassroots Director of Elite Football Academy in 2021. He is also an active member of the technical staff. Ahmad is involved in developing our spring and summer camps, player evaluations for academy selection as well as the head academy coach for our grassroots program.

PATSON CHOEBEFU

Director of Player Development

As a youth player, Patson grew up with a strong passion for football. Patson began his career at Eastside Memorial at the U14 level. A year later he made a move to Calgary South West United. Patson went on to win the U16 Tier 1 Alberta Provincial Championships with South West United Spartans 98 which then led to him representing Alberta in the U16 Canadian National Championships in which they were ranked the 5th best team in all of Canada. In 2017, Patson committed to playing university football at Mount Royal University while pursuing a degree in Bachelor of Computer Information Systems. Patson went on to represent the Mount Royal Cougars for 3 years before suffering an Anterior Cruciate Ligament tear.

Through all of Patson’s playing experience and working with high level coaches, he grew a strong passion for coaching. Patson is a strong believer in, “hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard”. Patson’s aim will be to help our players develop their tactical side to the game based on their respective positions and ensure the players are maintaining high intensity at every session. Coach Patson is the Director of Player Development at EFA, and leads the U19 High Performance Program.

Concacaf National B License (In Progress)
Concacaf National C License Certified
MRU University

MARCO PLENZIK

Academy Coach

Marco’s journey in soccer began by kicking the ball around with his dad and brother in their backyard and playing for his local community team. Marco later joined Blizzards Soccer Club, where he had the privilege of representing Team Canada at the 2014 Danone Nations Cup in Brazil. At 16, marco took the opportunity to join the Cavalry FC U21 program. During his time there, he completed preseason with the first team and gained valuable experience training in a professional environment.

After graduating high school, marco was thrilled to sign with the University of Calgary Dinos. Over the past four years, he has been pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering while appearing in 50 games for the team and representing the university in a Canada West Final.

Marco now aspires to give back by coaching young professionals, and work with players in an elite Environment.

Alberta Premier League Champion
University of Calgary Dinos Captain
Cavalry FC U21

HANY SHAFIE

Goalkeeper Coach/Academy Coach

Hany’s soccer journey has taken him through high-level environments across both Canada and Egypt, including experience in the Alberta Premier League, Egyptian Premier League youth systems, and Egypt National Team camp settings. He also captained the University of Calgary Dinos soccer team, demonstrating strong leadership and a deep understanding of the game.

As Elite Football Academy’s Goalkeeping Coach, Hany brings valuable goalkeeper-specific experience and is passionate about helping players develop their technical ability, confidence, and mentality. He chose coaching to give back to the game that shaped him and joined Elite because of its high-level environment and commitment to helping players grow, develop, and reach their full potential.

Alberta Premier League Champion
University of Calgary Dinos Captain
Egypt Youth National Team

Meet Our Junior Coaches