It was the slowest jog around a soccer pitch in his life but every second mattered over 10 minutes for Kyle Bekker. He had rejoined Forge FC in Hamilton and couldn’t have been happier.
Shortly before the workout, the 35-year-old midfielder gathered with teammates in the dressing room to inform them about his recent absence from the Canadian Premier League club.
“I had surgery four weeks ago [this past] Monday to remove a tumour after being diagnosed with testicular cancer,” Bekker revealed to Anastasia Bucsis of CBC Sports on Thursday after receiving biopsy results a day earlier.
“As of now, it seems like no chemotherapy, so now I’ve gotta start ramping things up and hopefully [return to game action] sooner than later. The start of a new journey, for sure.”
The reaction on the faces of Bekker’s teammates when told of his diagnosis spoke volumes. They are inside the 15 to 35 age range of being most susceptible to testicular cancer.
“[You think] ‘it could never be me — we’re healthy, we’re competing at a high level every day, we’re taking care of our bodies.’
“But the reality is, it’s not necessarily something you’re doing or not doing,” Bekker said. “It’s just the cards we’re dealt.”
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He was with Forge FC in Nuevo Leon, Mexico preparing to face Tigres UANL on Feb. 10 to complete a two-leg series in Round 1 of the CONCACAF Champions Cup when something felt wrong.
“One night I was getting ready for bed and I found a lump,” said Bekker, an Oakville, Ont., native. “In that moment I [knew] I had to listen to my body, reach out [to a medical professional] and get this taken care of.”
But understanding how hard he and his teammates had worked, he put his concern out of mind, “right or wrong,” he remembered. Tigres UANL won 4-1 to advance and Bekker realized he could no longer ignore the symptoms and sought medical attention.
“I’m a father now and have a soon-to-be three-year-old [son, Benjamin],” said the five-foot-nine Bekker. “I have a wife. I understand it’s not just me.
“If I was 25, the unfortunate reality is I probably [would have] pushed it [aside] for much longer. That’s the driving force of why I’m having this conversation. If I can speak out and give guys the motivation to listen to their body … and talk to [their] doctor, everything will be OK.”
The importance of family, first and foremost, is what Bekker learned after being diagnosed. Staring at a period of recovery, he returned home post-surgery and told Benjamin they couldn’t play soccer for a little while.
“It’s a humbling experience,” Bekker said, “but at the same time it’s motivation to take care of myself in this new body.”
The support from teammates, he added, has been “fantastic and motivation to keep pushing, get back and help them.
“I’m so lucky to be there [in Hamilton] and the things we’ve achieved together in a short time.”
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Forge FC is the seven-year-old CPL’s most successful outfit, having won the league final in 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023. Last year, Hamilton lifted the CPL Shield as top regular-season team for a third time, finishing two points ahead of Ottawa, which captured its first league title in November.
Bekker, a former Canadian men’s national team member who appeared in 58 Major League Soccer games with Toronto FC from 2013 to 2016, is one of the CPL’s most recognizable players.
In November, Forge’s captain was nominated for league player of the year honours for a sixth time. He won in 2020.
Bekker finished the 2025 campaign fourth in the league in chances created (49) and topped Forge midfielders in forward passes (323) and total successful passes (1,058).
Soon, he will get a chance to build on that success after signing a multi-year contract in January 2025. At the time, head coach Bobby Smyrniotis referred to Bekker as the “heart and soul” of Forge FC.
“His leadership on and off the pitch has been a cornerstone of our club’s identity and success,” Smyrniotis said in a statement. “Kyle’s unwavering commitment to the growth of Forge and the sport in our community continues to inspire us.”
