'Maritime Messi' turning heads for Team Canada at Copa America

A Nova Scotian playing a key role for Team Canada at Copa América says he's proud to represent his home province on the world stage, but he wouldn't have made it this far without moving away. 

"There wasn't any opportunity," said Jacob Shaffelburg, 24, earlier this week. "Just to get noticed … I had to leave." 

Shaffelburg played a key role as a second-half substitute during Canada's 1-0 win against Peru on Tuesday, assisting on the game-winning goal by teammate Jonathan David in the 74th minute. 

He grew up playing soccer near his hometown of Port Williams, N.S., a small, close-knit community in the Annapolis Valley. 

But these days, he competes against some of the best soccer players in the world for Nashville SC in the MLS and for Team Canada internationally. 

His success for Nashville SC has earned him the nickname Maritime Messi — coined after he scored two goals against Messi's MLS squad Inter Miami in a 2-2 draw in March.

It's a nickname he plays down, arguing his game is much different from the legendary player. 

Moved away at 15

From the time he started playing, Shaffelburg stood out on the soccer pitch.

He was quick, clever, and regularly competed with players much older than him, having easily outpaced those in his own age group. 

But living in Nova Scotia meant he was off the radar of most national scouts.

On one rare occasion, when a scout did come to visit, he played poorly and worried afterward that he'd missed his only opportunity to advance his game.

It was then he realized that he'd need to leave home permanently to go further. 

"I [felt] like I blew it, but then also, I was like, if that was my only chance then I got to get out of here." 

Shaffelburg has been living outside of the province since he was 15, first playing for Berkshire Prep School in Massachusetts and eventually going professional. 

By now, he's used to proving people wrong. 

"I've always been kind of overlooked," he said. "I've tried to stay level-minded and play my own game, and just know where I come from, and try to make everyone proud back home." 

Played in front of 70,000 fans

Walking out on the soccer pitch for the team's first game at Copa against Argentina, Shaffelburg realized how far he'd come. 

"I kind of had to take a moment and take it all in," he said. "Just being from Port Williams, such a small town, and walking out in front of 70,000 fans with my mom and dad in the crowd … it was one of those moments that's just like, 'how crazy is it that I'm here right now, and that my parents can be there too, who helped me get to that point?'" 

Matt Fulton, the director of soccer development for Soccer Nova Scotia, says the organization is "massively proud" of Shaffelburg's success and is well aware of some of the challenges youth soccer prospects face outside of Canada's major cities. 

"It's a systematic issue and one that obviously we're trying to address, because there's talent in the smaller provinces," Fulton said Friday. 

In Canada, MLS clubs in Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto all have youth academies. But while Soccer Nova Scotia now has a partnership with the Vancouver Whitecaps, players in the Maritime province still don't have the same opportunities as they do in bigger cities, Fulton acknowledged.

But Shaffelburg hopes his success can be an inspiration for young soccer players in Nova Scotia, where there's been few others who've achieved the kind of success he has. 

Ante Jazic, who played for the national team before retiring in 2012, is the only other Nova Scotia player to do so. 

Shaffelburg says he's also encouraged by the success of the Halifax Wanderers and the promise of the Halifax Tides, a professional women's team set to begin play in 2025.

He said he's looking forward to getting back to Nova Scotia as soon as he's able to and that he hopes to meet with Soccer Nova Scotia and young players to share his experiences.

Canada's next match at Copa America is on Saturday at 8 p.m. AT against Chile. At stake is a berth in the Copa America quarterfinals.