As the club’s first signing of 2026, Ali Ahmed sat down with Canaries TV for his first interview as a Norwich City player, reflecting on his move to England, the prospect of playing here for the first time and how his international experience can benefit the group.
Welcome to Norwich City, Ali. How much are you looking forward to joining the club?
Very, very excited. When I heard about this opportunity, I was very excited to push and try and make the move happen.
It’s been a long 24 hours; how was the journey over and all of the medical, fitness examinations?
Yeah, I am a little exhausted, it was a long flight from Toronto and also a three-hour drive from Heathrow, so it's been a long journey but when you are excited, you are kind of numb to it. I'll get a good night's sleep tonight, for sure.
What is it that convinced you that this is the right place for the next step in your career?
Speaking with Lee (Dunn), Ben (Knapper) and Philippe (Clement) was very influential in my decision. That was big for me, especially with a coach like Philippe; he has a track record that speaks for itself. He's got the best out of players and I think it'll be major for me and Norwich is a massive, massive club, so I am just excited to be a part of this group.
During those conversations what was said to you in terms of fitting into the squad and style of play?
They all touched on it, they see me in the wide areas, they have followed me and did a deep dive on how I've played this year. I had a lot of success on the wing this year at Vancouver and Philippe wants me to bring that over here. He sees that maybe I am not a finished product but he feels like he can get the best out of me and help me grow my game and vice versa, help the team in the wide areas. I like to attack and go one-v-one, take my players on and run in behind, so I think it's a perfect fit.
You've just touched on what you're like on the pitch, for supporters who might not know too much about you, can you tell us what you’ll bring to the group off the pitch?
I think that's another thing that got me here, speaking to Lee and Ben, the culture that is set over here fits me. It seems like a great group of guys, no egos, just easy-going guys. I think it will be a perfect fit for myself. I like to have a good time with my team-mates, joke off the field but when you're back on the field it's serious.
Have you followed English football a lot? Was it always a goal to play in these leagues?
For sure, I think for most of us Canadians, English football, whether it's Premier League or Championship, they're probably the first leagues you're watching growing up as a young kid. That's the reason why I'm excited to get over here and get a taste of that.
The MLS season finished a few weeks ago. Do you still feel ready to make an instant impact despite having had that break?
For sure, we finished about three weeks ago but I personally only took about a week-and-a-half off because I knew there could be a possibility that something like this could happen. I'm doing my best to try and stay fit and sharp with training to hopefully try and get going as soon as possible in a move like this.
You’ve spent all of your professional career to date in the Whitecaps system, so how big is the move to Norwich, settling into a completely different environment going to be for you?
I think this will be a perfect step, I don't think it will be a massive jump. I think this is the perfect step for me, I think the English culture is too big of a difference to MLS, it's very similar, so I think with the great group of guys here, to adapt will be easy.
Was that something as a person you were trying to do; try different cultures, experience life away from Canada?
Yeah, you only get this career once and you want to be able to look back and say you got a taste of some different type of football and why not in the biggest country for football? Just ready to go!
We still have quite a young squad and you're someone that has played over 20 times for Canada, including in some major tournaments. What additional experience has that given you that you will be able to bring to the dressing room?
I think international football is a whole different beast, with the World Cup coming up, the press is high, every game feels like life or death. For me, I am fairly young in my soccer career, just three years in. I'm looking to come in here and try and learn form some of the older guys and the coaches here, similar to Josh (Sargent) who plays for the US. I think we can both bring whatever experience we have over there to the club.
So far for Norwich this season it's been a difficult one, we find ourselves a lot lower in the Championship than I think most people would have expected. Are you someone who is ready to come in now and roll the sleeves up to get back up that table?
Absolutely, I am definitely looking forward to getting on the pitch as soon as possible. This team is not a bottom table team, we have a lot of quality and I think Philippe has been getting the best out of everybody since he has come in. I'm looking forward to getting on the pitch and just trying to help the guys and get this club back where it really belongs and that is the top six, not the bottom six.
Lastly, if you had one message to give to Norwich City supporters, what would that be?
Just keep bringing the energy and the positivity to the team, the team has now found it's footing and I think we'll continue to try and fight our way up and give you guys what you deserve.