Jacob Shaffelburg

Toronto FC II

He played a game with Toronto FC III in League1 Ontario in 2017.

Black Rock

In 2018, he played with Black Rock FC in the Premier Development League. He finished as the team's leading scorer with eight goals, tied with Ifunanyachi Achara.

Toronto FC

In November 2018, he signed his first professional contract with Toronto FC II and began the 2019 season with them in USL League One. Shaffelburg made his first appearance for Toronto FC in the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League on February 19, 2019, and then signed with Toronto FC as a Homegrown Player on June 21, 2019. He made his first MLS appearance the following day, playing 31 minutes against FC Dallas in Frisco, Texas. Four days later, on June 26, he had his first start for Toronto FC at BMO Field scoring an assist in a 3–2 win against Atlanta United FC, setting up the fastest goal in TFC history only 29 seconds into the game. Shaffelburg would quickly find himself in the starting lineup shortly after signing, earning rave reviews for his pace from the coaching staff. Teammate Richie Laryea, who joined Toronto FC from Orlando City in 2019, has said that Shaffelburg's rise coincided with several senior players departing for Gold Cup duty that summer, opening a window for younger players to make an impression, and that Shaffelburg's pace and left foot stood out immediately. He scored his first goal in the 74th minute on May 15, 2021, in a 1–1 draw against New York City. On September 3, he…

Youth

Shaffelburg was named to the Canadian U-23 provisional roster for the 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship on February 26, 2020.

Senior

Shaffelburg received his first senior international call-up to Canada on January 3, 2020, for matches against Barbados and Iceland. On January 10, 2020, he made his debut as a substitute against Barbados. In June 2023, Shaffelburg was called up to Canada's squad for the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup. On July 9 he scored his first goal for Canada during the quarter-finals of the tournament against the United States. The match ended in a 2–2 draw, though Canada lost 3–2 in the ensuing penalty shoot-out. In June 2024, Shaffelburg was named in Canada's 26-man roster for the 2024 Copa América. In the tournament opener, Shaffelburg troubled Argentina's back line for extended stretches of the match without scoring. In Canada's second group match of the tournament, he assisted Jonathan David, who scored Canada's first ever goal at the tournament in a 1–0 victory over Peru; this was Canada's first ever win in the competition. In their quarter-final victory against Venezuela, he scored for Canada in a 1–1 draw, converting on his weaker right foot after David drew defenders and squared the ball to him; the goal, and his tournament performance broadly, earned Shaffelburg the nickname "Maritime Messi". Canada was defeated in the semi-final against Argentina. Following the appointment of Jesse Marsch as Canada's head coach…

Shaffelburg played youth soccer for Valley United SC and Team Nova Scotia. In 2012, he joined FC Nashville Heroes, where he played in the 2012 U.S. Club Soccer National Cup. In January 2014, he joined the Sporting Kansas City Academy, where he played for a month. Shaffelburg demonstrated dominance in cross country running and track and field in his middle school years. He won the NSSAF junior boys 3000m in June 2014 with a spectacular sub 10 minute performance. College scouts still speculate what levels he could have reached if he stuck with running. At age 15, he began attending high school in Massachusetts at the Berkshire School, where he played for their highly regarded soccer program. He played an instrumental part in the team, scoring four goals in two games in the NEPSAC playoffs his senior year (2018), helping Berkshire win their fifth title in seven years and he was named 2017–18 Gatorade Massachusetts Boys Soccer Player of the Year. While in the US, he also played youth soccer with Manhattan SC where he won U.S. Club Soccer U-16 National Championship in 2016. He joined the Toronto FC Academy in 2016. He appeared in a friendly for the HFX Wanderers FC Atlantic Selects team in 2018 against Fortuna Düsseldorf's U-21 team, where he scored a goal. He had originally committed to the University of Virginia on a soccer scholarship, but ultimately decided to sign a professional contract instead.

Shaffelburg was born in Kentville, Nova Scotia, but grew up in the nearby village of Port Williams, home to about 1,100 people, and is the youngest of three siblings; his sister, Jessica, played college soccer for Jacksonville University, and his brother, Zach, played for Acadia University before becoming a rheumatologist in Lunenburg. He has been nicknamed Maritime Messi. He and his wife, Robyne, have two children, daughter Daisy and son Baker; Shaffelburg has described becoming a father as a "surreal" change for the better.