Canadian Premier League 2020 Schedule Released

The Canadian Premier League has now released its schedule for the 2020 season, which features eight teams and a big change to the season format: gone are the spring and fall split seasons in favour of a single league table that spans 28 games in all, with each club playing 14 home and 14 away games.

The season will kick off on April 11 and will run through to October 4.

The balanced schedule that the addition of expansion side Atletico Ottawa allows for now means that the over 90% of the 2020 CPL season matches will be played on weekends or holidays, which is a significant shift from the regular midweek matches from the inaugural campaign. This means that travel schedules will be easier on clubs, while fatigue and injuries should be less impactful for players. In turn, an already high level of play should see its standards raise with the new schedule.

The play-off system has also changed: whoever finishes at the top of the table will secure a spot in the CPL Finals, with the second and third-placed teams undergoing a one-leg playoff to determine who will head to the CPL Finals.

It wasn’t mentioned who gets to host that single-leg playoff match, but one would imagine it would be the second-placed team.

The idea of more clubs staying in it ’til the death is an awesome opportunity to keep everyone hyped. Three teams out of eight for a playoff means we’re not at 50 per cent, which some might say is too much for our league, but the reality is there’s twice as many teams in the playoff this year. It ups the ante, and you’re never really out of it.

David Clanachan

Yesterday, the league teased the release of the full schedule by releasing the home openers for each club, which are as follows:

One bold new initiative taken by the league is Friday night matches, which is a market time not frequented in the soccer world. With several Friday night matches planned for 2020, the league is hoping that the unique time slot will get more eyes on the league and, hopefully, bring out more curious fans as well.

Our second season has a lot to look forward to. Not only are we going to have a more balanced schedule, we are starting to establish a weekend culture for our fans with twenty-one Friday night matches and we have an eighth team for fans and supporters to come out and see both home and away. We are focused on establishing match-day traditions through our schedule that our supporters will want to adopt for this season and the seasons to come.

David Clanachan

While Canada Day will no longer mean the start of a new season, it’ll still be filled with plenty of Canadian Premier League action: all eight teams will play games on the same day, with the country’s only professional domestic football league keen to tie itself in the Canada Day celebrations.

The 2020 Canadian Premier League season will kick off on April 11 at Tim Hortons Field, where North Star Shield holders Forge FC will face off against their fiercest rivals in Cavalry FC.

The season will close on October 4, a day in which all eight clubs will participate simultaneously in league action – so if there’s a tight race at top of the table, there could be plenty of drama as the action unfolds on the pitch.

With each team poised to play each other team four times in all (two home, two away), the 2020 Canadian Premier League schedule brings plenty of balance and a chance for new sporting traditions like Friday night games. With significantly less midweek matches for each team (barring the Canadian Championship), a much more balanced schedule, and a single league table, the league’s changes are expected to be well-received by fans.

Interested fans can check out the full 2020 Canadian Premier League schedule here.

Source: Canadian Premier League