The 2025 Forge FC season was the seventh season in the history of Forge FC and the club's seventh season in the Canadian Premier League (CPL), the top flight in Canadian soccer. Forge were the defending CPL Shield winners, having finished first in the 2024 Canadian Premier League season.
In the CPL, Forge repeated as regular season winners to secure the club's third CPL Shield. The Hammers started the season 20 matches undefeated as part of a 24 match unbeaten run in all domestic competitions, both records for a CPL club. In the CPL playoffs, Forge failed to advance to the finals for the first time in its history, after losing against Atlético Ottawa and Cavalry FC in the Page playoff first and second semifinal matches, respectively.
In addition to the CPL, Forge competed in the Canadian Championship, where it advanced to the semifinal for the third consecutive year. Forge also played in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, where it faced Liga MX side Monterrey in the first round.
Review Background Forge FC entered the 2025 Canadian Premier League season as the reigning regular season winners after having finished first and claiming the CPL Shield in the 2024 season. This was the club's second regular season title and sixth trophy in six years, continuing their dynasty. In the CPL playoffs, Forge advanced to the 2024 CPL final where they were defeated by rival side Cavalry FC, finishing as runner-up.
The Hammers also competed in the 2025 Canadian Championship, a domestic cup organized by the Canadian Soccer Association. In the 2024 edition, Forge defeated MLS side CF Montréal in the quarterfinal. They were knocked out in the semifinal by Toronto FC, losing on away goals after tying 2–2 on aggregate.
Forge qualified for the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup as 2024 CPL regular season winners. This was Forge's third appearance in the competition and second appearance in a row. In the 2024 edition, Forge faced Mexican side C.D. Guadalajara in round one, losing 5–2 on aggregate.
Head coach and sporting director Bobby Smyrniotis returned for his seventh season with the club after signing a four-year contract extension in 2023.
Preseason On November21, 2024, CF Montréal declined its 2025 contract option on Forge loanee Matteo Schiavoni, ending his time with the Hammers; Forge later confirmed this in a December roster update. On December 16, Dominic Samuel and Forge together announced that the defender was leaving the club following the expiry of his contract at the end of the year.
On December12, 2024, Forge announced that Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson, Nana Ampomah, David Choinière, Elimane Cissé, Noah Jensen, and Khadim Kane all had guaranteed contracts through the 2025 season. The club later announced that it had triggered contract options for the 2025 season for Béni Badibanga, Christopher Kalongo, Jassem Koleilat, Malik Owolabi-Belewu, and Orlendis Benítez. Forge also triggered its 2025 loan option for Daniel Parra from C.F. Monterrey. Malcolm Duncan, Jordan Hamilton, Victor Klonaridis, Terran Campbell, Garven Metusala, and Sebastian Castello all departed the club.
Forge opened its preseason in Hamilton in early January before traveling to Cancun for two weeks of training. While there, the Hammers played friendlies against Liga Premier club Inter Playa del Carmen and MLS club Orlando City SC. Béni Badibanga was absent from the team during this period as he navigated a contract dispute.
CONCACAF Champions Cup Forge drew Liga MX side C.F. Monterrey in round one of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. The match was noteworthy due to Monterrey's connection with York United FC, Forge's rival in the 905 Derby. It was set to pit Forge loanee Daniel Parra against his parent club, Monterrey; however, Parra transferred to Atlético Morelia just days before the tie's first leg.
Forge hosted Monterrey in the tie's first leg on February5, looking to secure the club's first ever win in Champions Cup play. In freezing conditions producing slippery turf, Monterrey scored two second half goals while Forge failed to capitalize on their chances, resulting in a 2–0 win for Rayados. The Hammers were without Malik Owolabi-Belewu (personal reasons), Béni Badibanga (contract dispute), and Elimane Cissé (injury).
In the return leg a week later in Guadalupe, Nuevo León, Monterrey scored three unanswered goals to take a 3–0 win, eliminating Forge 5–0 on aggregate. Forge's best chance in the match came in the first half when Tristan Borges hit the crossbar, but the Hammers were ultimately unable to score. This was the third time Forge were eliminated in their opening Champions Cup tie.
Canadian Premier League
Forge opened its CPL Shield defence at home against reigning champions Cavalry FC on April5 in a repeat of the 2024 CPL final. Babouli opened the scoring for Forge in the 58th minute and the Hammers survived a late onslaught from Cavalry following a sending off to Zayne Bruno to win 1–0.
For the second year in a row, Forge hosted a mid-week school day game. In the May13 contest against Atlético Ottawa, Forge broke the CPL attendance record that had held since hosting the CPL inaugural match by welcoming a crowd of 17,971 in the stands. The match ended in a 2–2 draw.
Forge set a new record for the longest unbeaten run to start a CPL season at 10 matches on June15 when they defeated Vancouver FC 2–0 at Willoughby Community Park. On July18, Forge defeated Pacific FC 2–0 at home to go 15 matches undefeated to begin the CPL season, breaking the CPL record for the longest unbeaten run set by Forge in 2019. This also made Forge 18 matches undefeated in all competitions. By the time the streak ended on August30, Forge had amassed an unbeaten run of 20 CPL matches and 24 matches across all competitions.
On the final day of the season, Forge defeated York United 3–0 to clinch first place in the regular season standings and repeat as CPL Shield winners. The team set a club record with 58points, losing only two matches and going undefeated at home during the season.
CPL playoffs On August24, Forge became the first club to clinch a spot in the CPL Playoffs. They later secured the top playoff seed on October18, the last day of the regular season.
Looking to win the first double in CPL history, Forge began the playoffs at home on October26 against Atlético Ottawa in the Page playoff first semifinal with a chance to advance directly to the CPL final. After taking the lead in the 23rd minute with a goal by David Choinière, Forge gave up two unanswered goals to lose the match 2–1. Forge next hosted Cavalry in the Page playoff second semifinal on November2 with another chance to qualify for the final. Cavalry won the match 1–0, eliminating Forge from the playoffs. The result made the 2025 CPL final the first in league history not to feature Forge.
Canadian Championship Forge began its Canadian Championship campaign on May7 with an all-CPL match at home in the preliminary round against HFX Wanderers FC. The match came only four days after the two teams played to a scoreless draw in Halifax in league play. Molham Babouli scored a brace and Forge benefitted from a Halifax own goal to defeat the Wanderers 3–1. The win advanced Forge to the quarterfinals and a matchup against CF Montréal.
On May20, Forge hosted MLS side CF Montréal in Hamilton for the first leg of the quarterfinal tie. This was the fifth consecutive year these two teams faced each other in the Canadian Championship, with Forge having eliminated Montreal in the previous year's tournament. After Forge dominated the game's first half but were unable to take a lead, Brian Wright scored in the 78th-minute off of a long pass from Nana Ampomah to lift Forge to a 1–0 win. In the second leg on July 9, Borges and Forge captain Kyle Bekker scored three minutes apart in the second half to help Forge secure a 2–2 draw, advancing the Hammers to the tournament semifinals 3–2 on aggregate and eliminating The Impact in the Canadian Championship quarterfinals for the second consecutive year.
Forge faced Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the first leg of the semifinals in Hamilton on August13. Nana Ampomah opened the scoring in the ninth minute and later assisted on a Brian Wright goal in the 34th minute as Forge took advantage of a pair of defensive mistakes by the Whitecaps in a 2–2 draw. The tie unraveled for Forge in the return leg in Vancouver on September16 as the Whitecaps blanked the Hammers 4–0 to secure a 6–2 aggregate win, eliminating Forge from the Canadian Championship.
Final squad
No. Name Nationality Position(s) Date of birth (age) Previous club Notes Goalkeepers 1 Jassem Koleilat GK Los Angeles FC 2 29 Christopher Kalongo GK Sigma FC 36 Dino Bontis GK Western Mustangs 42 Emmanuel Marmolejo GK Sigma FC , Defenders 3 Marko Jevremović DF Athens Kallithea F.C. 5 Daniel Nimick DF HFX Wanderers FC 24 Rezart Rama DF KF Egnatia 33 Oliver Clow DF Sigma FC , 81 Malik Owolabi-Belewu DF S.P.A.L. Midfielders 6 Ben Paton MF Ross County 8 Elimane Cissé MF Diambars FC 10 Kyle Bekker MF North Carolina FC 13 Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson MF IFK Värnamo 21 Alessandro Hojabrpour MF Pacific FC 22 Noah Jensen MF Oakland University 23 Harry Paton MF Motherwell F.C. 28 Keito Lipovschek MF Fleetwood United 32 Zayne Bruno MF Sigma FC , 99 Christos Liatifis MF Panathinaikos F.C. Forwards 7 David Choinière FW Montreal Impact 9 Brian Wright FW York United FC 11 Nana Opoku Ampomah FW Fortuna Düsseldorf 17 Hoce Massunda FW Sigma FC 18 Molham Babouli FW York United FC 19 Tristan Borges FW OH Leuven 27 Victor Klonaridis FW PAS Lamia 1964 39 Béni Badibanga FW RAAL La Louvière 41 Amadou Koné FW Carleton Ravens ,
Inactive list On September11, Forge announced it had placed Khadim Kane on the season-ending injury list, removed him from the club's primary roster, and added him to the inactive list for the remainder of the season.
No. Name Nationality Position(s) Date of birth (age) Previous club Notes 16 Khadim Kane MF CF Montréal U23
Contracts and transfers New contracts No.Pos.PlayerContract detailsDateSource10Multi-year contract (length undisclosed)19Multi-year contract (length undisclosed)21Multi-year contract (length undisclosed)32Development contract (length undisclosed)41Short-term contract (length undisclosed)12U Sports contract41U Sports contract32Exceptional Young Talent contract (length undisclosed)17Standard player contract (length undisclosed)36Multi-year contract (length undisclosed)
In Transferred in No.Pos.PlayerFrom clubFee/notesDateSource9 York United FCFree5 HFX Wanderers FCFree18 York United FCFree24 KF EgnatiaFree3 Athens Kallithea F.C.Free23 Fleetwood UnitedFree6 Ross CountyFree42 Sigma FCDevelopment contract17 Sigma FCShort-term contract (length undisclosed)12 Montreal CarabinsShort-term contract (length undisclosed)36 Western MustangsU Sports contract33 Sigma FCDevelopment contract99 Panathinaikos F.C.Free27 PAS Lamia 1964Free23 Motherwell F.C.Free
Loaned in No.Pos.PlayerFrom clubFee/notesDateSource17 MonterreySeason-long loan
Draft picks Forge FC made two selections in the 2025 CPL–U Sports Draft on December5, 2024. Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster; only those who are signed to a contract will be listed as transfers in. RoundSelectionPos.PlayerNationalityUniversity17MFPaul EkwuemeMcMaster215FWMaxime FilionMontréal
Out No.Pos.PlayerTo clubFee/notesDateSource14 Vancouver FCContract expired12 Sigma FCContract expired2Contract expired9 Shan United F.C.Contract expired27 PAS Lamia 1964Contract expired23 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FCContract expired4Contract expired88 Pacific FCLoan ended17 Atlético MoreliaLoan ended26 Scrosoppi FCUndisclosedUndisclosed36 Western MustangsContract expired12 Montreal CarabinsContract expired
Club Kits On January 30, Forge announced WeatherTech Canada as the club's new "front-of-jersey" sponsor.