The 2021 Canadian Premier League season was the third season of the Canadian Premier League, the top men's professional level of the Canadian Soccer Association's league system. Forge FC were defending champions, after defeating HFX Wanderers FC in the 2020 final.
The season was planned to commence on May 22, the Victoria Day weekend, pending the approval of government authorities and the state of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. However, on May 14, it was announced that the start was to be pushed back to mid-June or early July.
On June 5, the league committed to a full 28-match season, but that the season would begin in a single-site bubble at IG Field in Winnipeg, Manitoba, promoted as "The Kickoff", with each team playing eight matches between June 26 and July 24. All matches were played behind closed doors and in compliance with Manitoba public health orders. On July 30, the CPL began to play matches at home venues.
Pacific FC defeated two-time champions and title holders Forge FC in the final to win their first title.
Team and rule changes The same eight clubs that participated in the 2020 Canadian Premier League season competed in 2021. York United FC participated under their new name for the first time, having previously been known as York9 FC.
Teams were required to play Canadian players aged 21 years or younger for a minimum of 1,500 minutes this season, increased from 1,000 minutes. The maximum team compensation for this season was $1.2 million split between players and coaching staff. The required spend on player compensation was $650,000 to $850,000.
Teams Stadiums and locations
Club Location Stadium Capacity Atlético Ottawa Ottawa TD Place Stadium 24,000 Cavalry Foothills County ATCO Field 6,000 FC Edmonton Edmonton Clarke Stadium 5,100 Forge Hamilton Tim Hortons Field 23,218 HFX Wanderers Halifax Wanderers Grounds 6,500 Pacific Langford Starlight Stadium 6,000 Valour Winnipeg IG Field 33,000 York United Toronto York Lions Stadium 4,000
Personnel and sponsorship TeamHead coachCaptain(s)Shirt sponsorKit manufacturerAtlético Ottawa Mista Milovan KaporComeOn!Macron Cavalry Tommy Wheeldon Jr. Nik LedgerwoodWestJetFC Edmonton Alan KochSwoopForge Bobby Smyrniotis Tim HortonsHFX Wanderers Stephen Hart VolkswagenPacific Pa-Modou Kah Valour Phillip Dos Santos Daryl FordyceOneSoccerYork United Jimmy Brennan Roger ThompsonMacron
Number of teams by province or territory RankProvince or territoryNumber Teams1 3Atlético OttawaForgeYork United2 2CavalryFC Edmonton3 1 Pacific Valour HFX Wanderers
Coaching changes +TeamOutgoing coachManner of departureDate of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming coachDate of appointmentFC Edmonton Jeff PaulusResignedSeptember 21, 2020Pre-season Alan KochNovember 24, 2020Valour FC Rob GaleSackedSeptember 23, 20215th Phillip Dos SantosSeptember 23, 2021
Regular season Format Between June 26 and July 24, teams played their first eight games at IG Field in Winnipeg. Teams from Eastern Canada and Western Canada played two matches against each of the four teams in the opposite region to reduce travel when teams return to home stadiums. For the remainder of the season, teams played 16 games against opponents from their own region and 4 against opponents from the opposite region.
Table
Results The Kickoff
West
East
Combined
Playoffs The top-four teams in the regular season qualified for the league playoffs. The first-place team hosted the fourth, and the second-place team hosted the third in a single match round. The winners advanced to the CPL Final, a single match hosted by the higher-seeded team.
If a match was level at the end of normal playing time, extra time would be played (two periods of 15 minutes each) and followed, if necessary, by a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner. If a match reached extra time, each team was allowed to make an additional substitution.
Matches Semi-finals
Final
Awards
Canadian Premier League Awards On December 4, 2021, the Canadian Premier League revealed the nominees for the four individual awards that would be voted on by the media. These four awards plus the Golden Boot award are given based on performance over the whole season including Finals. The awards are Inuit soapstone sculptures designed by artists from Cape Dorset, Nunavut. The winners were announced at a ceremony on December 14.
+ 2021 Canadian Premier League Awards Award Recipient Finalists Golden Boot (Hunter) João Morelli (HFX Wanderers) N/A Golden Glove (Qimmiq or Canadian Inuit Dog) Jonathan Sirois (Valour FC) Marco Carducci (Cavalry FC) Triston Henry (Forge FC) Coach of the Year (Owl) Pa-Modou Kah (Pacific FC) Bobby Smyrniotis (Forge FC) Tommy Wheeldon Jr. (Cavalry FC) Player of the Year (Nikisuittuq) João Morelli (HFX Wanderers FC) Kyle Bekker (Forge FC) Terran Campbell (Pacific FC) Best Under 21 Canadian Player of the Year (Polar Bear) Alessandro Hojabrpour (Pacific FC) Max Ferrari (York United FC) Victor Loturi (Cavalry FC)
Team of the Week The Gatorade Team of the Week is selected by OneSoccer staff. Team of the WeekDatesGoalkeeperDefendersMidfieldersForwardsRefJune 26–28 Powley (Ottawa) Peña (Valour) Beckie (Ottawa) Jean-Baptiste (Valour) Chung (Pacific) Martínez (Ottawa) Escalante (Cavalry) Bassett (Pacific) Díaz (Pacific) Ricci (Valour) Bustos (Pacific)June 28 –July 5 Sirois (Valour) Abzi (York) Yao (Cavalry) Jean-Baptiste (Valour) Farsi (Cavalry) Simmons (Cavalry) Bekker (Forge) Ohin (Valour) Alemán (Valour) Selemani (Cavalry) Jeannot Esua (Edmonton)July 5–12 Irving (Pacific) Peña (Valour) MacNaughton (Pacific) Beckie (Ottawa) Chung (Pacific) Bekker (Forge) McKendry (Ottawa) Rampersad (HFX) Bassett (Pacific) Morelli (HFX) Bustos (Pacific)July 12–19 Sirois (Valour) Awuah (Forge) Restrepo (HFX) Achinioti-Jönsson (Forge) Baquero (Valour) Bekker (Forge) Sabak (Forge) Cissé (Forge) Rea (Valour) Ricci (Valour) Musse (Cavalry)July 20–26 Sirois (Valour) Restrepo (HFX) Yao (Cavalry) Klomp (Cavalry) Doner (HFX) Johnston (York) Rampersad (HFX) Bustos (Pacific) Díaz (Pacific) Shaw (Ottawa) Riggi (HFX)July 26 –August 2 Irving (Pacific) Awuah (Forge) Samake (Pacific) Đidić (Edmonton) Doner (HFX) Morelli (HFX) Gorskie (Edmonton) Cissé (Forge) Bent (HFX) Warschewski (Edmonton) Bustos (Pacific)August 2–9 Giantsopoulos (York) Ruby (HFX) Zator (York) Klomp (Cavalry) Farsi (Cavalry) Ferrari (York) Norman Jr. (Cavalry) Johnston (York) Camargo (Cavalry) Ongaro (Edmonton) Morelli (HFX)August 9–16 Silva (Valour) Yao (Cavalry) Đidić (Edmonton) Beckie (Ottawa) Chung (Pacific) Soto (Ottawa) McKendry (Ottawa) Farsi (Cavalry) Wright (Ottawa) Shaw (Ottawa) Hernández (Cavalry)August 16–23 Giantsopoulos (York) Gagnon-Laparé (HFX) Yao (Cavalry) Geffrard (HFX) Doner (HFX) Aparicio (Pacific) Galhardo (Valour) Polisi (Pacific) Petrasso (York) Ricci (Valour) Mason (Cavalry)August 23–30 James (Edmonton) Awuah (Forge) Krutzen (Forge) Achinioti-Jönsson (Forge) Farsi (Cavalry) Aparicio (Pacific) Ohin (Valour) Hojabrpour (Pacific) Borges (Forge) Pacius (Forge) Campbell (Pacific)August 30–September 7 Carducci (Cavalry) Abzi (York) Schaale (HFX) Klomp (Cavalry) Chung (Pacific) Ferrari (York) Simmons (Cavalry) Farsi (Cavalry) Heard (Pacific) Petrasso (York) Morelli (HFX)September 7–13 Henry (Forge) Zator (York) Đidić (Edmonton) N'sa (York) Gonzalez (Edmonton) Aparicio (Pacific) Cissé (Forge) Ferrari (York) Shaw (Ottawa) Warschewski (Edmonton) Morelli (HFX)September 13–20 Silva (Valour) Abzi (York) Reyes (Valour) MacNaughton (Pacific) Verhoven (Ottawa) Lamothe (HFX) Ledgerwood (Cavalry) Loturi (Cavalry) Ongaro (Edmonton) Soto (Ottawa) Gutiérrez (York)September 20–27 Powley (Ottawa) Abzi (York) Krutzen (Forge) Achinioti-Jönsson (Forge) Beckie (Ottawa) Bekker (Forge) Hojabrpour (Pacific) Rampersad (HFX) Karajovanovic (HFX) L. Wright (York) B. Wright (Ottawa)September 27 –October 4 Henry (Forge) Awuah (Forge) Krutzen (Forge) Klomp (Cavalry) Aird (Edmonton) Gagnon-Laparé (HFX) Achinioti-Jönsson (Forge) Dyer (Valour) Bent (HFX) Díaz (Pacific) Morelli (HFX)October 4–12 James (Edmonton) Escalante (Cavalry) Wilson (York) Schaale (HFX) Fayia (Edmonton) Fisk (Cavalry) Gagnon-Laparé (HFX) Ohin (Valour) Telfer (Ottawa) Dyer (Valour) Akio (Valour)October 12–18 Baskett (HFX) Yao (Cavalry) Schaale (HFX) Klomp (Cavalry) Browne (Forge) Bekker (Forge) Toussaint (York) Cissé (Forge) Heard (Pacific) Díaz (Pacific) Campbell (Pacific)October 19–25 Ingham (York) Santos (HFX) Acosta (Ottawa) Yao (Cavalry) Klomp (Cavalry) Verhoven (Ottawa) Fisk (Cavalry) Verhoeven (York) Soto (Ottawa) Coupland (Ottawa) Mason (Cavalry)October 25 – November 1 Sirois (Valour) Awuah (Forge) Krutzen (Forge) Baquero (Valour) Navarro (Forge) Bekker (Forge) Galán (Valour) Akio (Valour) Galhardo (Valour) Wright (York) Bustos (Pacific)November 2–8 Henry (Forge) Metusala (Forge) Yao (Cavalry) Klomp (Cavalry) Abzi (York) Najem (Edmonton) Cissé (Forge) Farsi (Cavalry) Johnston (York) Mason (Cavalry) Dyer (Valour)
Statistical leaders
Top scorers RankPlayerClubGoals 1 João Morelli HFX Wanderers 14 2 Easton Ongaro FC Edmonton 12 3 Terran Campbell Pacific FC 11 4 Alejandro Díaz Pacific FC 10 Malcolm Shaw Atlético Ottawa 6 Moses Dyer Valour FC 9 7 William Akio Valour FC 8 8 Molham Babouli Forge FC 7 Marco Bustos Pacific FC Joe Mason Cavalry FC Woobens Pacius Forge FC
Top assists RankPlayerClubAssists 1 Tobias Warschewski FC Edmonton 7 2 Tristan Borges Forge FC 6 Marco Bustos Pacific FC 4 Fraser Aird FC Edmonton 5 Terran Campbell Pacific FC Ben Fisk Cavalry FC Michael Petrasso York United Zach Verhoven Atlético Ottawa 9 4 players tied 4
Clean sheets RankPlayerClubClean sheets 1 Jonathan Sirois Valour FC 9 2 Triston Henry Forge FC 8 3 Marco Carducci Cavalry FC 7 Callum Irving Pacific FC 5 Nathan Ingham York United 5 Christian Oxner HFX Wanderers 7 Kieran Baskett HFX Wanderers 4 Connor James FC Edmonton 9 3 players tied 3
Hat-tricks Player For Against Result Date Ref Pacific FC Atlético Ottawa 4–2 (N) July 21
Player transfers
U Sports Draft
The 2021 CPL–U Sports Draft was held virtually on January 29. Draftees are invited to team preseason camps, with an opportunity to earn a developmental contract and retain their U Sports men's soccer eligibility. FC Edmonton selected Thomas Gardner with the first overall pick. Two players were selected by each CPL team, with a total of 16 players being drafted including 12 Canadians.
Foreign players Canadian Premier League teams could sign a maximum of seven international players, out of which only five could be in the starting line-up for each match. Starting this season, teams were required to carry a minimum of four international players, either signed through or approved by the league's scouting partner, 21st Club. The following players were considered foreign players for the 2021 season. This list does not include Canadian citizens who represent other countries at the international level.
+Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Player 4 Player 5 Player 6 Player 7 Former PlayersAtlético Ottawa Viti Martínez Vashon Neufville Tevin Shaw Miguel Acosta Rafael Núñez Alberto Soto Raúl UcheCavalry José Escalante Richard Luca Tom Field Daan Klomp Joe MasonFC Edmonton Jeannot Esua Ramón Soria Sharly Mabussi Tobias Warschewski Hunter Gorskie Roberto Avila Azriel Gonzalez Raúl TitoForge Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson Elimane Cissé Daniel Krutzen Paolo Sabak Joshua Navarro Omar BrowneHFX Wanderers Akeem Garcia Andre Rampersad Peter Schaale Alex Marshall João Morelli Eriks Santos Cory BentPacific Alejandro Díaz Ollie Bassett Gianni dos SantosValour José Galán Arnold Bouka Moutou Andrew Jean-Baptiste Amir Soto Moses Dyer Rafael Galhardo Rodrigo ReyesYork United Álvaro Rivero Nicholas Hamilton Julian Ulbricht Gerard Lavergne Osvaldo Ramírez Sebastián Gutiérrez Players in italic denote players new to their respective clubs for the 2021 season, sorted chronologically by their announcement.
References