EDMONTON – Royce Metchie is looking to make an impact in Edmonton.
The safety was one of the many additions this offseason intended to jump start the Elks on-field resurgence but also deepen their ties to the Edmonton community. At the outset of free agency there was an emphasis on finding players who fit the Double E way of doing things, and just a short conversation with Metchie is enough to see he certainly fits the bill.
The 28-year-old was a safety blanket as the last line of defence for the Grey Cup Champion Argonauts, leading all defensive backs with 87 tackles in 2024. However, where Edmonton fans may get a chance to know Metchie best this season is off the field. The Nigerian born Metchie is all about community and it was a large selling factor in bringing the defender to Edmonton.
“In the community, I think I bring a lot because personally I love giving back,” Metchie said. “I think that it was like part of who I am and how I was raised, I was very community driven.”
“I was raised a lot by my grandparents back in Nigeria, and back in Nigeria it’s like we grew up in a village. My brothers and I, our mindset is we do things not just for betterment of ourselves, but a betterment of the village. What we do individually, we must also do to help our community.”
Can @royce_metchie make it to the end? 👀 pic.twitter.com/XZDklTpivm
— Toronto Argonauts (@TorontoArgos) May 1, 2024
Metchie is not just providing lip service. Although he is already in the process of finding a home in Edmonton to make the city his full-time residence, he has already committed to the CFL’s World Vision Ambassador program which will see the defender travel to Taketa, Kenya this weekend to help create meaningful changes in the lives of children living in high risk around the globe.
The endeavor is one that hits close to home for Metchie, with his tight roots to the region he has unique perspective among the contingent of players making the trip.
“I think we all as humans, we always want to help and we always want to be able to do something that makes an impact,” Metchie said. “For a long time I’ve known about World Vision and I always thought to myself it would be great to get the opportunity to get to work with them, because they actually go to the places and you can see what it’s like first hand.”
“You get to hear the stories. You get to connect with people on the other side of the earth. It’s almost like a homecoming kind of feeling for me. I grew up in Africa. I grew up in a less opportunistic situation. I think the reason I’m most excited honestly, is because I know firsthand what an opportunity can be for someone. If you look at my brothers and I, we were given the opportunity to come to Canada, right? Just that opportunity alone has changed our lives dramatically.”
Following the trip, Metchie plans to come to Edmonton and start establishing himself in the community as quickly as possible.
“If we succeed individually, we must also succeed in the community, in whatever form that is,” Metchie said. “In helping develop schools and helping develop programs for kids, I think those are areas in which I know I would like to help out — the development of youth in terms education and their aspirations to play pro sports. I’d just like to help out anywhere in the community.”