Canadian Premier League in Football Manager
I’ve seen a few people wax lyrical about having great saves in the Canadian Premier League in FM21 (or CanPL as it’s known to the locals). Have you taken FC Edmonton to the promise land and won the League title? How did the Island Games go? Have you conquered the mighty MLS teams in the Canadian Championship yet? All this awaits you in the fledgling competition fully licensed since Football Manager 2021.
Past Struggles, Roots of Canadian Soccer
Canadian soccer has endured a lot of financial instability. Unfortunately, a relatively low population compared to our neighbours and a gigantic land mass with vast distances between major cities further complicates the matter as far as financial sustainability of such a league. Clubs must endure large travel costs to compete against the biggest teams in the country. And if the supporters aren’t there then how can the clubs continue to exist?
Canada has struggled for many decades to establish a sustainable, professional, nationwide, top-tier football league. But it hasn’t missed out on the sport, far from it. There were matches being held against university rivals in the mid to late 1800’s and the provinces established their own football associations at the turn of the 20th century. Now came the mighty task of uniting a nation that spanned over 5500 km into one top-level domestic competition.
The league had a few incarnations over the years, which are not directly related to the new CanPL; The Western Canada League (1963-1971) was the first league to feature 3 then 4 teams from different provinces. The Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League was also formed in 1961 but folded fairly quickly. They featured teams from Toronto, Montreal, Hamilton and Buffalo, New York. Toronto City even featured British football stars Danny Blanchflower, Stanley Matthews, Johnny Haynes, Jackie Mudie and Tommy Younger, and was notably the last time the England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland captains all played in the same side together.
The North American Soccer League
The North American Soccer League was formed in 1968 following the popularity of the 1966 World Cup. An MLS precursor, it featured American and Canadian teams such as Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. The Toronto Metros-Croatia won the NASL Soccer bowl in 1976 with a side featuring Eusebio and Ivan Lukacevic. Vancouver Whitecaps won the 1979 Soccer Bowl and were the final Canadian Champions. In 1983, another short-lived league emerged in the Canadian Professional Soccer League, playing only one shortened season. Folding due to financial instability. The NASL finally folded in 1985 and thus leaving USA and Canada without a top-level league.
In 1987 the Canadian Soccer League was founded, following Canada‘s World Cup debut in Mexico 1986, and it spanned teams across the nation. Alongside the very short-lived CPSL it was the first league to be a true nationwide league to survive its first season. Another league with the same name still exists today but is significantly smaller and is unsanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association. It largely features teams now around Toronto and Southern Ontario and is Semi-Professional. The original league’s own Vancouver 86ers actually won the 1990 North American Club Championship. Sadly the league folded at the end of the 1992 season after several teams defected to US Leagues for financial stability concerns. Thus leaving Canada again without a true league of its own.
Enter the MLS
The success of the MLS in North America can’t be overstated. Founded in 1996, following World Cup 1994, the US finally gets back a significant professional league 11 years after the folding of the NASL. The MLS has played a large part of growing the sport in the new millennium in North America, eventually introducing Canadian teams in 2008 with Toronto FC, Vancouver Whitecaps and Montreal Impact (now known as CF Montreal) following soon after.
The Canadian Championship
Also in 2008 marked the creation of a new Canadian national competition, The Canadian Championship or Voyageurs Cup. A knockout competition to crown a Canadian Champion featuring all Canadian professional teams across the various North American leagues. The competition has been won the most by Toronto FC with 7 victories at the time of this writing. Since the formation of the CPL, the Cup has included Semi Professional Provincial Champions as well, further expanding the competition. With the winner being granted Canada’s place in the CONCACAF Champions League.
The Canadian Premier League is born
In 2017 Toronto FC became the first Canadian Champions of MLS, defeating the Seattle Sounders at BMO Field in Toronto in front of their home fans. Behind the scenes, plans were being put into place to once again bring a nationwide top-level league to Canada for the first time in 26 years. In 2019 the Canadian Premier League was born featuring 7 franchise clubs. Forge FC of Hamilton, Ontario, Cavalry FC of Calgary, Alberta, HFX Wanderers of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Pacific FC of Langford, British Columbia (representing Vancouver Island), Valour FC of Winnipeg, Manitoba, York9 FC (Now known as York United) of Vaughan, Ontario (representing York region, just north of Toronto) and FC Edmonton of Edmonton, Alberta.
The first season was played in a split spring/summer format featuring a Champion from each half and then a Final at the end of both seasons to crown an overall Champion. Cavalry FC won both the spring and summer edition of the competition, and drew Forge FC in the CPL Final. However, Forge spoiled the party and became the first Canadian Premier League Champions. Unfortunately for the new league, it’s second season wouldn’t be quite so easy.
The Impact of the Pandemic
The 2020 season was significantly delayed and had to be reorganized and shortened because of the COVID-19 pandemic. All games were moved to an isolated location in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and there would be no fans attending. This competition was dubbed ‘The Island Games’. Fans who bought season tickets would be treated to a free subscription to the Island Games from OneSoccer which was the CanPL’s primary broadcaster and a signed kit from one of the club’s players. (At least I was 😉
Despite all this, the league welcomed another franchise in Atletico Ottawa, rising from the ashes of the disbanded Ottawa Fury, and headed by the ownership of Atletico Madrid, the club has a decidedly Spanish flavour. Donning the red and white stripes, featuring Spanish coach Mista and some Spanish prospects from its parent affiliate club. Trying to do the nation’s capital proud playing at the fantastic TD Place Stadium in Ottawa. Back at the Island Games, Forge FC once again came out on top defeating HFX Wanderers 2-0 in the final to become 2-time Champions at the Island Games. The winner gaining entry into the newly-formed CONCACAF League which results in 6 qualifying spots for the CONCACAF Champions League.
CanPL in FM
In 2021, Football Manager has gained the license for the Canadian Premier League. The league format has changed once more in real life. It’s now an 8 team traditional season with playoffs to determine a Champion at the end of the regular season much like the rest of the North American sports leagues. After a return to play period where the clubs played in a bubble in Winnipeg at Valour’s IG Field with no fans in attendance, we are now back to regularly scheduled programming with only minor restrictions in place. It took Atletico Ottawa an entire year to play its first home game in Ottawa in front of their fans.
Rivalries are starting to grow across the league now. Further expansion is on the horizon with Saskatoon joining the league in 2023 as an as-yet unbranded club. Other expansion possibilities are St. John’s, Moncton, Laval, Quebec City, Kitchener-Waterloo, Niagara Region, Durham Region, Mississauga, Regina, Kelowna, Fraser Valley, Barrie, Montreal and Saint John. So in a few years there could feasibly be a reason to create a promotion/relegation format pyramid if all this comes to fruition, and who knows how provincial competitions could come into play for all this.
What’s next?
There is so much potential for the CPL at the moment, and who doesn’t love potential as an avid Football Manager enthusiast? Amirite? Are you ready to experience ‘Al Classico’ between Cavalry and FC Edmonton? The 905 Derby between Forge FC and York United? The 3rd longest away day in the world with 4400km between Pacific FC and HFX Wanderers? Can you take out Toronto FC, CF Montreal and the Vancouver Whitecaps to win the Canadian Championship, and who knows, go on to defeat the top teams in MLS and Liga MX to become the Champions of North America? Time will tell. So you better get playing then, go on. Tell me all about it when it’s over.
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