On the 27 April 2019, the Canadian Premier League (or CanPL) will be the latest professional league to emerge, on a seemingly unstoppable wave of global enthusiasm for the sport. Canada, the country with the second biggest land mass, behind Russia is no stranger to professional soccer. But the nation has never had its own domestic professional league. The Montreal Impact, Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC are all franchises of the MLS, while Ottawa Fury compete in Tier 2 of the US Soccer pyramid, in the freshly rebranded USL Championship.
The launch of the CanPL delivered the tagline ‘For Canadians by Canadians’, which may provide an indication that the league’s focus will be about connecting local communities and developing young Canadian football players. With Canada co-hosting the World Cup in 7 years time (2026), alongside, the USA and Mexico, the nation will want a men’s national team of which they can be proud. The Qatari Men’s National teams victory unexpected victory in this years Asia Cup is proof that with investment, desire and a growing professional league, anything is possible.
But many questions remain. Will a seven team league be enough to capture the imagination of Canadian football fans and will it draw their attention away for the MLS and other international leagues? Will the fixture list offer enough high quality competition and entertainment to attract the right quality of domestic and overseas talent? How quickly can the league expand and is there a genuine hunger for the game across the country? At the moment, those questions are unanswered, but the arrival of the CanPL has created a buzz with fans, sponsors and professional players, all of whom are all excited about a new dawn in Canadian football.
The seven teams in the CanPL stretch across Canada from Coast to Coast. The longest road trip is the match up between Pacific FC of Vancouver Island and HFX Wanderers of Halifax. Loyal fans no doubt will take on the challenge of the road trip, which is an incredible 5793km in distance lasting 58 hours of driving time and spanning 5 time zones. Lets hope its not a 0-0 draw.
When the inaugural game of the CanPL between York 9, a new team born out of North Carolina, and Forge FC of Hamilton kicks off, for many it will be a dream that has been realised. But this is only the beginning for the ambitious CanPL. The World Cup in 2026 has been set as a milestone for the league. Their ambition is to have a second division, with promotion and relegation set-up before the tournament starts. If they can achieve this, many a fan of the MLS could look over to the CanPL with a little envy, adding fuel to the fire of the ProRel argument.
Perhaps the biggest indication of the success of the CanPL will judged on the leagues development of professional Canadian players. It is hoped that the league will provide a steady stream of players good enough for the Canadian Men’s National Team at be represented at the 2026 World Cup. If the CanPL can achieve these lofty ambitions in seven years, then there could be no reason why a player developed in the CanPL could join teams in the Premier League, La Liga or Bundesliga. At the moment, this may be in the distant future, but just like all football fans, its good to dream…
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Canadian Premier League
