Elvir Gigolaj


Elvir Gigolaj is a Bosnian footballer who plays with Waterloo United in League1 Ontario.

Early life

Gigolaj was born in Croatia to a Kosovar Albanian father and Bosniak mother from Brčko, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was raised in London, Ontario, where his father owns a bakery that carries the family name.

Club career

Early career

He, at one point, played for London City's soccer side who participated in the Canadian Soccer League and with whom he had a good relationship with his coach, Luka Shaqiri.
Gigolaj attended St. Mary's University for two years from 2010 to 2012, playing for the Huskies in the 2010 and 2011 varsity seasons, scoring 11 goals in 26 appearances.

FC Edmonton

In January 2012, after training with the team, Gigolaj officially joined FC Edmonton of the North American Soccer League. Gigolaj then made his debut for FC Edmonton in the NASL on 3 June 2012 in which he came on as an 85th-minute substitute for Yashir Pinto as FC Edmonton went on to lose the match 2–1.
He then scored his first professional goal of his career on 23 September 2012 against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in which he found the net in the 90th minute to start a late comeback for Edmonton as they went from 2–0 down to finishing the match drawing 2–2.
On 30 June 2013, it was announced that Gigolaj was released by FC Edmonton.

Germany

After being released by FC Edmonton, Gigolaj attempted to join the reserve team of German Bundesliga side, Hertha BSC but he had hit paperwork problems.

FC London

Gigolaj spent the 2016 and 2017 seasons with League1 Ontario club FC London.

CSL

In 2021, he returned to the Canadian Soccer League to play with St. Catharines Hrvat. Gigolaj signed with league rivals Hamilton City in 2024.

Waterloo United

In 2025, he returned to League1 Ontario with Waterloo United, reuniting him with his old coach, Michael Marcoccia.

Honours

FC London