CF Montreal's reserve team will play two friendlies against Sunderland's Under-23 squad on August 5 and 7 in Moncton and Charlottetown, respectively, as part of the English club's North American preparatory camp.

The August 5 game will take place at Croix-Bleue Medavie Stadium, while the next game will be played on the University of Prince Edward Island campus.

"It's a great opportunity for us to face a renowned club," CF Montreal Academy Director Patrick Leduc said in a statement Thursday. It will be a different experience and we believe it will benefit the development of our players. We look forward to visiting the Maritimes for these two unique games.”

"Everyone at Sunderland AFC is grateful for the opportunity our U23 team has been given to travel to Canada during pre-season," said SAFC Academy Director Lewis Dickman. It's a fantastic opportunity for the players to gain experience against elite opposition and test ourselves against some of the best young players in Canada."

Sunderland advanced to the English Championship (the English second division) after finishing last season in League One (the third division) in fifth place, then winning the ascent final against Wycombe a few weeks ago. The team finished fifth in the League One table in 2021. The north-east English club played in the Premier League (the first division) until 2017.

Sunderland's Under-23 side compete in the Premier League 2 (Division 2) Championship after being relegated from Division 1 in 2017-18.