Elijah Roche is headed to Europe.
The Toronto FC academy and Canada U-17 defender is set to sign with Austrian side Sturm Graz, The Athletic’s Tom Bogert reports.
Sources: Strum Graz has agreed to a deal to sign academy defender Elijah Roche from Toronto FC.
— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) April 9, 2026
Strum Graz paying a transfer fee.
Roche, 18, is a Canadian youth int'l and has made one appearance for TFC's MLS Next Pro side. pic.twitter.com/1vvGa8dy3W
An 18-year-old native of Ottawa, Roche joined TFC’s Ottawa academy at the age of 4 and moved to Toronto in 2023. He made his senior debut with TFC II, an MLS Next Pro side, last fall.
Roche represented Canada at the FIFA U-17 World Cup last fall in Qatar. He appeared in all four of Canada’s matches and scored in a group-stage win over Uganda.
Sturm Graz currently sits atop the Austrian Bundesliga. Currently back-to-back league champions, the team has won five Bundesliga titles. Among the well-known names to have recently played for the club are Manchester United’s Denmark forward Rasmus Hojlund, currently on loan at Napoli, and Minnesota United striker Kelvin Yeboah.
