The 2020 Canadian Premier League season was the second season of the Canadian Premier League (CPL), the top level of Canadian soccer.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the CPL announced a 14-day hold on all pre-season training on March 13, 2020. On March 20, the league announced that it would be postponing the start of the season from the previously scheduled date of April 11.
A shortened 2020 season tournament, branded as The Island Games, was played at the University of Prince Edward Island from August 13 to September 19. All players were required to self-isolate for 14 days before travelling, self-isolate for five more days upon arrival, and receive two negative COVID-19 tests before being allowed to play. As of July 29, PEI had the lowest number of COVID-19 cases among provinces, at 36.
Initially, all matches were held behind closed doors. On August 8, the league announced a partnership with the province and PEI Soccer to allow 50 minor soccer players per game to attend matches.
Atlético Ottawa joined the league as its first expansion team, bringing the total number of teams to eight. Hamilton's Forge FC defended their inaugural CPL title, blanking HFX Wanderers FC 2–0 in the final.
Overview Teams
The seven teams that participated in the inaugural 2019 Canadian Premier League season were set to compete in this season. They were joined by Atlético Ottawa, an expansion team who were created after USL Championship side Ottawa Fury FC suspended operations after being unable to secure approval from USSF and CONCACAF.
Personnel and sponsorship +TeamHead coachCaptain(s)Shirt sponsorKit manufacturerAtlético Ottawa OneSoccerMacronCavalry WestJetFC Edmonton SwoopForge Tim HortonsHFX Wanderers VolkswagenPacific VolkswagenValour OneSoccerYork9 Macron
Coaching changes TeamOutgoing coachManner of departureDate of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming coachDate of appointment Pacific James Merriman end of interim period pre-season Pa-Modou Kah January 14, 2020Atlético OttawaN/A (inaugural season) Mista February 11, 2020
Original format Before being postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the regular season was intended to be played from April 11 to October 4. The split-season format of the inaugural season was to be replaced by a single table and full double round-robin. The eight teams would have met their rivals twice at home and twice away for a total of 28 games, the same number as in 2019. The top ranked team in the regular season would have qualified for a spot in the championship final and would have been joined by the winner of a playoff between the second and third ranked teams.
First stage The eight teams played against each other once each for a total of seven matches. The top four teams advanced to the group stage.
Table
Results
Results by round
Group stage The four group stage teams met their opponents once each. The top two teams advanced to the final.
Table
Results
Results by round
Final
Statistical leaders
Top scorers
RankPlayerClubGoals 1 Akeem Garcia HFX Wanderers 6 2 Marco Bustos Pacific FC 5 3 João Morelli HFX Wanderers 4 4 Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson Forge FC 3 Kyle Bekker Forge FC Jordan Brown Cavalry FC Alejandro Díaz Pacific FC Joseph Di Chiara York9 Nathan Mavila Cavalry FC Easton Ongaro FC Edmonton
Top assists
RankPlayerClubAssists 1 Marco Bustos Pacific FC 3 2 Francisco Acuña Atlético Ottawa 2 Molham Babouli Forge FC Víctor Blasco Pacific FC Alejandro Díaz Pacific FC Shaan Hundal Valour FC Brett Levis Valour FC Alex Marshall HFX Wanderers Andre Rampersad HFX Wanderers Paolo Sabak Forge FC Maxim Tissot Forge FC
Shutouts
RankPlayerClubShutouts 1 Triston Henry Forge FC 5 2 Marco Carducci Cavalry FC 3 3 Nathan Ingham York9 2 Christian Oxner HFX Wanderers James Pantemis Valour FC Nacho Zabal Atlético Ottawa 7 Callum Irving Pacific FC 1 Nolan Wirth Pacific FC
Player transfers
U Sports Draft
The 2019 CPL–U Sports Draft was held on November 11 in Montreal, Quebec. Draftees were invited to team preseason camps, with an opportunity to earn a developmental contract and retain their U Sports men's soccer eligibility. HFX Wanderers selected Cory Bent with the first overall pick. Two players were selected by each returning CPL team, with a total of 14 players being drafted including 10 Canadians. Ottawa had not yet joined the league and did not participate in the draft.
Foreign players Canadian Premier League teams may sign a maximum of seven international players, out of which only five can be in the starting line-up for each match. The following players are considered foreign players for the 2020 season. This list does not include Canadian citizens who represent other countries at the international level.
+ClubPlayer 1Player 2Player 3Player 4Player 5Player 6Player 7Atlético Ottawa Vashon Neufville Tevin Shaw Francisco Acuña Bernardinho Nacho Zabal Viti MartínezCavalry Jordan Brown José Escalante Nathan Mavila Oliver Jair Córdova Richard LucaFC Edmonton Jeannot Esua Kareem Moses Ramón Soria Son Yong-chan Erik ZetterbergForge Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson Elimane Cissé Daniel Krutzen Paolo SabakHFX Wanderers Akeem Garcia Andre Rampersad Peter Schaale Alex Marshall João Morelli Eriks Santos Cory BentPacific Alejandro DíazValour José Galán Solomon Kojo Antwi Andrew Jean-Baptiste Moses Dyer Arnold Bouka MoutouYork9 Wataru Murofushi Gabriel Vasconcelos Fugo Segawa Álvaro Rivero Players in italic denote players new to their respective clubs for the 2020 season, sorted chronologically by their announcement.
Awards Canadian Premier League Awards The nominees for the four CPL awards were announced on September 18, one day before the league final. The awards take into account all matches from The Island Games and are voted on by reporters across Canada. The winners were announced at a ceremony on November 26, 2020. + 2020 Canadian Premier League Awards Award Recipient Finalists Golden Boot Akeem Garcia (HFX Wanderers) N/A Golden Glove Triston Henry (Forge) Christian Oxner (HFX Wanderers) Callum Irving (Pacific) Coach of the Year Stephen Hart (HFX Wanderers) Bobby Smyrniotis (Forge) Mista (Atlético Ottawa) Player of the Year Kyle Bekker (Forge) Marco Bustos (Pacific) Akeem Garcia (HFX Wanderers) Best Under 21 Canadian Player of the Year Mohamed Farsi (Cavalry) Chrisnovic N'sa (HFX Wanderers) Julian Dunn (Valour)
Team of the Week The Gatorade Team of the Week is selected by OneSoccer staff. Dates Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards Ref August13–16 Henry (Forge) Awuah (Forge) Krutzen (Forge) Zator (Cavalry) Northover (Cavalry) Acuña (Ottawa) Achinioti-Jönsson (Forge) Bekker (Forge) Bustos (Pacific) Haber (Cavalry) Farsi (Cavalry) August18–23 Pantemis (Valour) Mavila (Cavalry) Boskovic (Cavalry) Dunn (Valour) Chung (Pacific) Sissoko (HFX) Acuña (Ottawa) Bekker (Forge) Boakai (Edmonton) Brown (Cavalry) Garcia (HFX) August25–30 Oxner (HFX) Haynes (Pacific) Krutzen (Forge) Schaale (HFX) Chung (Pacific) Di Chiara (York) Rampersad (HFX) Dixon (Pacific) Blasco (Pacific) Díaz (Pacific) Bustos (Pacific) September1–6 Oxner (HFX) Levis (Valour) Geffrard (HFX) Zator (Cavalry) Chung (Pacific) Aparicio (York) Dyer (Valour) Martinez (Ottawa) Riggi (HFX) Garcia (HFX) Bustos (Pacific) September7–13 Henry (Forge) N'sa (HFX) Krutzen (Forge) Zator (Cavalry) Restrepo (HFX) Achinioti-Jönsson (Forge) Sabak (Forge) Simmons (Cavalry) Morelli (HFX) Garcia (HFX) Farsi (Cavalry) September14–20 Henry (Forge) Awuah (Forge) Krutzen (Forge) Meilleur-Giguère (Pacific) Samuel (Forge) Baldisimo (Pacific) Bekker (Forge) Achinioti-Jönsson (Forge) Riggi (HFX) Babouli (Forge) Bustos (Pacific)
Media OneSoccer broadcast all matches of the tournament. CBC Television televised nine matches on Saturdays, and CHCH-TV in Hamilton broadcast Sunday matches. To visually enhance the venue for broadcast as it is only a pitch, an augmented reality "virtual stadium" was employed by host broadcaster Mediapro, rendering CGI grandstands with virtual sponsor placements. An AI-based automated camera system was used for 19 matches, using similar technology to what was used for the CEBL Summer Series.
See also 2020 Canadian Championship
References