2020 Canadian Championship

2020 Canadian Championship final
Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario, hosted the final match.
Forge FC Toronto FC
1 1
Toronto FC won 5–4 on penalties
DateJune 4, 2022
VenueTim Hortons Field, Hamilton, Ontario
Man of the MatchTristan Borges[1]
RefereeSilviu Petrescu
Attendance13,715
← 2019 (final)
2021 (final) →

The 2020 Canadian Championship was the thirteenth edition of Canada's national soccer cup tournament, awarding the Voyageurs Cup. It was held as a final between one representative each from Major League Soccer and the Canadian Premier League. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, a larger knockout tournament was to be held from June 16 to September 24, 2020, between twelve teams.

The twelve teams originally planned to participate were the three MLS clubs, seven Canadian Premier League clubs, and the champions of League1 Ontario and Première ligue de soccer du Québec.[2][3] The city of Ottawa had looked to be absent for the first time since 2013, with Ottawa Fury FC having suspended operations in late 2019, and Atlético Ottawa having joined the Canadian Premier League after the original draw had been finalized.[4]

The final was held on June 4, 2022, at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario between hosts Forge FC and Toronto FC.[5][6]

Format

[edit]

Original format

[edit]

The format of the competition was originally changed slightly from the 2019 edition to accommodate the departure of Ottawa Fury FC. Each round of the four-round tournament would be played in a two-legged tie format. The League1 Ontario champion Master's FA, Première ligue de soccer du Québec champion A.S. Blainville, and six CPL clubs would enter in the qualifying round in June. They would be joined by the three Major League Soccer teams and the remaining CPL club (given bye as the furthest advancing club in the 2019 Canadian Championship) in the quarter-finals in July. The semi-finals would follow in August, and the finals would be in September.[7] Atlético Ottawa were not included in the original format because they joined the CPL after the schedule was announced.

The format was adjusted in June to exclude the League1 Ontario and Première ligue de soccer du Québec 2019 champions, who will instead qualify for the 2021 tournament. Atlético Ottawa's inclusion was also confirmed at this time.[8]

Revised format

[edit]

On August 13, 2020, the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) announced that the tournament would consist solely of a single match final to be held between the winner of the head-to-head series between Canadian teams from Major League Soccer and the champion of the Canadian Premier League.[9] On November 25, 2020, the CSA announced that due to pandemic-related travel restriction and scheduling conflicts, the final would be scheduled for the first quarter of 2021.[10] During the fourth quarter of 2020, Toronto FC had been playing in the 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs in the United States, while Forge FC had been competing in the 2020 CONCACAF League across several locations in Central America and the Caribbean.

In early March 2021, several outlets reported that the final would be played on March 20, 2021.[11][12] The winner of the Canadian Championship final would qualify for the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League which begins in early April 2021. Forge FC owner Bob Young raised concerns over the date of the final noting that as of March 6, 2021, his club had not yet been granted permission to train by local health authorities.[12] On March 8, Toronto FC – who had been training as a team since February 17 – announced that several members of their team had tested positive for COVID-19 and that they had halted training.[13]

On March 11, 2021, it was announced that the final would be postponed beyond March and that Toronto FC would automatically qualify for the Champions League.[14] On March 2, 2022, the match was set for June 4 at Tim Hortons Field.[6]

Qualification

[edit]

Major League Soccer

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Main article: 2020 Major League Soccer season

As part of the MLS regular season, Canada's three Major League Soccer clubs played each other three times from August 18 to September 16. The team with the most points from this series, Toronto FC, qualified for the Canadian Championship.[15]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Toronto FC 6 4 0 2 9 5 +4 12 2020 Canadian Championship and 2021 CONCACAF Champions League
2 Montreal Impact 6 3 0 3 9 8 +1 9
3 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 6 2 0 4 8 13 −5 6
Source: MLS[dead link‍]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) goal differential; 4) goals for; 5) away goal differential; 6) away goals for; 7) home goal differential; 8) home goals for 9) coin toss or drawing of lots.
Fixtures
Date Home team Result Away team
Aug 18, 2020 Toronto FC
3–0
 Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Aug 21, 2020 Toronto FC
1–0
 Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Aug 25, 2020 Montreal Impact
2–0
 Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Aug 28, 2020 Montreal Impact
0–1
 Toronto FC
Sep 1, 2020 Toronto FC
0–1
 Montreal Impact
Sep 5, 2020 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 3–2 Toronto FC
Sep 9, 2020 Montreal Impact
1–2
 Toronto FC
Sep 13, 2020 Vancouver Whitecaps FC
2–4
 Montreal Impact
Sep 16, 2020 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 3–1 Montreal Impact

Canadian Premier League

[edit]
Main article: 2020 Canadian Premier League season

The winner of the 2020 Canadian Premier League season, Forge FC, qualified for the Canadian Championship. The season was held from August to September in three stages – a first stage, group stage, and final.

First stage Group stage

Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1 Cavalry 7 13
2 HFX Wanderers 7 12
3 Forge 7 12
4 Pacific 7 11
5 York9 7 10
6 Valour 7 8
7 Atlético Ottawa 7 8
8 FC Edmonton 7 1
Source: CanPL.ca

Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1 Forge 3 7
2 HFX Wanderers 3 4
3 Cavalry 3 3
4 Pacific 3 3
Source: CanPL.ca
2020 Canadian Premier League Final
Forge FC2–0HFX Wanderers FC

Qualified teams

[edit]
Team League City Previous finals appearances (bold indicates winners)
Toronto FC Major League Soccer Toronto, Ontario 7 (2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021)
Forge FC Canadian Premier League Hamilton, Ontario None

Final

[edit]

On March 11, 2021, it was announced that the match could not be completed in time for the start of CCL competition; a compromise was reached where Toronto FC would be named to the CCL slot, while Forge FC would be permitted to host the match once it was finally played.[18] On March 25, 2021, Canada Soccer president Nick Bontis said that the final may end up taking place as late as July 2022.[19] On March 2, 2022, it was announced that the final would take place on June 4, 2022, at Tim Hortons Field.[6]

Forge FC1–1Toronto FC
  • Borges 60'
 Report
Penalties
 4–5
Attendance: 13,715
Forge FC
Toronto FC
Forge FC:
GK 1 Canada Triston Henry
RB 24 Albania Rezart Rama
CB 13 Sweden Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson Yellow card 25'
CB 81 England Malik Owolabi-Belewu Yellow card 55'
LB 3 Canada Ashtone Morgan Yellow card 77' downward-facing red arrow 84'
CM 33 Mali Aboubacar Sissoko downward-facing red arrow 75'
CM 21 Canada Alessandro Hojabrpour Yellow card 81'
CM 10 Canada Kyle Bekker (c)
RW 7 Canada David Choinière
CF 9 Canada Terran Campbell
LW 19 Canada Tristan Borges Yellow card 67' downward-facing red arrow 67'
Substitutes:
GK 29 Canada Christopher Kalongo
MF 12 Canada Sebastian Castello
FW 14 Guyana Emery Welshman upward-facing green arrow 75'
FW 17 Canada Woobens Pacius upward-facing green arrow 67'
MF 20 Canada Kwasi Poku upward-facing green arrow 84'
MF 22 Canada Noah Jensen
DF 28 Canada Daniel Stampatori
Manager:
Canada Bobby Smyrniotis
Toronto FC:
GK 16 United States Quentin Westberg
RB 47 Canada Kosi Thompson
CB 5 Canada Lukas MacNaughton Yellow card 24' downward-facing red arrow 90+2'
CB 3 Mexico Carlos Salcedo
LB 38 Canada Luca Petrasso Yellow card 19' downward-facing red arrow 65'
CM 29 Canada Deandre Kerr
CM 4 United States Michael Bradley (c)
CM 11 Canada Jayden Nelson downward-facing red arrow 46'
RW 20 Canada Ayo Akinola Yellow card 69' downward-facing red arrow 79'
CF 9 Spain Jesús Jiménez
LW 10 Spain Alejandro Pozuelo Yellow card 62'
Substitutes:
GK 25 United States Alex Bono
MF 8 Canada Ralph Priso upward-facing green arrow 90+2'
DF 12 Canada Kadin Chung upward-facing green arrow 65'
FW 22 Canada Jacob Shaffelburg upward-facing green arrow 46'
FW 77 Canada Jordan Perruzza upward-facing green arrow 79'
MF 81 Canada Themi Antonoglou
FW 99 Nigeria Ifunanyachi Achara
Manager:
United States Bob Bradley

Assistant referees:
Peter Pendli
Jason Vaillancourt
Fourth official:
David Barrie

See also

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References

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  1. ^ @CanadaSoccerEN (June 4, 2022). "Tristan Borges with the Performance of the Match Powered by @GatoradeCanada" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ "Voyageurs Cup creator delighted with addition of CPL clubs to future Canadian Championships". Retrieved October 15, 2018.
  3. ^ Jacques, John (September 28, 2019). "Master's Futbol Academy Wins League1 Ontario For The First Time". Northern Tribune. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  4. ^ "Ottawa Fury". www.ottawafuryfc.com. Archived from the original on December 10, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  5. ^ "Tim Hortons Field to host 2020 Canadian Championship Final". Forge FC. March 11, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c "2020 Canadian Championship Final set for June 4". Toronto FC. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  7. ^ "Canada Soccer announces 2020 Canadian Championship schedule". Canada Soccer. Archived from the original on May 11, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  8. ^ "Canada Soccer gives 2020 CanChamp update: CPL & MLS clubs only, Atlético Ottawa added to tournament". Canadian Premier League. June 16, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  9. ^ "Canada Soccer announces format for 2020 Canadian Championship Final". Canada Soccer. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  10. ^ "Canadian Championship Final: Forge FC to face Toronto FC in new year". Canada Soccer. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  11. ^ "Forge FC Still Without Permission To Train: 'We've Done Everything Possible'". March 8, 2021. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  12. ^ a b "Forge FC owner cries foul at timing of Canadian Championship final". CBC Sports. March 6, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  13. ^ "Official Club Statement - March 8, 2021". Toronto FC. March 8, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  14. ^ "2020 Canadian Championship final between Forge FC & Toronto FC postponed". Canadian Premier League. March 11, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  15. ^ Davidson, Neil (August 13, 2020). "Canada's MLS teams to play each other for next stretch of schedule". Lethbridge News Now. The Canadian Press. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  16. ^ Thompson, Marty [@martythompson_] (August 12, 2020). "Confirmed: #CanPL tiebreakers for The Island Games... 1. Head-to-head 2. Goal diff. 3. Goals for 4. Total # of wins 5. *Most U-21 minutes* in round 6. Coin toss or drawing of lots" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. ^ Thompson, Marty [@martythompson_] (August 12, 2020). "Confirmed: #CanPL tiebreakers for The Island Games... 1. Head-to-head 2. Goal diff. 3. Goals for 4. Total # of wins 5. *Most U-21 minutes* in round 6. Coin toss or drawing of lots" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  18. ^ "2020 Canadian Championship final between Forge FC & Toronto FC postponed". Canadian Premier League. March 11, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  19. ^ "2020 Canadian Championship Final May Be As Late As July 2022". March 25, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
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