FC Edmonton midfielder heading named to Copa America squad

Between the resignation of FIFA President Sepp Blatter, the New York Cosmos historic trip to Havana, and the plea deal negotiations of Traffic President and NASL Chairman Aaron Davidson, the Copa America has been lost in the shuffle a bit over the past two days. For FC Edmonton fans, however, there was reason to take note of the tournament despite the events going on throughout the rest of the soccer world.

Midfielder Lance Laing has been excellent for the Eddies over the past season and a half, and was rewarded for that good work with a callup to the Jamaican national team ahead of their participation in the Copa America. Jamaica is one of the two CONCACAF squads invited to round out the 12-team field, for the tournament to begin in Chile on June 11.

Laing's participation in the tournament means that he'll be unavailable for the Eddies final two spring season matches, road trips against the Tampa Bay Rowdies and Indy Eleven. The Rowdies match, in particular, should be of interest to Cosmos fans, as any dropped points from the Florida side would eliminate them from the spring season title chase.

The Copa is still in danger of not being played, as it was central to last week's FIFA scandal. If it does kick off, however, here's hoping Laing does the NASL proud in Chile.