CPL Set To Make Major Announcement in Quebec

Having a team in Quebec has been something of a white whale of the Canadian Premier League, but a mid-week announcement slated for Laval is expected to change that around.

The Canadian Premier League has set an announcement date of Wednesday, September 24 for a ‘major development in Canadian soccer’ that is widely expected to the league’s expansion into La Belle Province, with kickoff set for 2026.

This week’s announcement comes just over one month after news first broke that the CPL had reached an expansion agreement with an ownership group that included several local faces. We have learned that that CSB CEO James Johnson was an integral figure in advancing the timeline for the as-yet-unveiled Quebecois CPL side.

The CPL has worked towards planting their flag in Quebec since well before the league kicked its first ball, which former league commissioners David Clanachan and Mark Noonan both touting it as a top priority for the young league. This season also saw the league test waters in the province with a CPL On Tour match in Quebec City, with league officials also taking the reins to sort out a stadium solution in Quebec themselves and hand off those plans to whoever invests in an expansion team there.

The CPL has recognized that a permanent stadium solution in Quebec might be years away, with Noonan – who stepped down as commissioner in May – previously stating that the league could use Laval University’s stadium on a temporary basis, though where a potential expansion team might permanently call home remains unknown.

Recent whispers have indicated that Claude-Robillard, where CS St-Laurent played against Toronto FC in last year’s Canadian Championship, has been a lead candidate in the month building up to this week’s announcement. However, this week’s announcement is at a different sportsplex.

It was just one month ago that former CF Montreal midfielder Rocco Placentino, who is currently the sporting director of the aforementioned CS Saint-Laurent, has revealed himself to be ‘greatly involved’ with the project. He is suspected to be the future Club President, with the ownership group repo reportedly including American American businessman Matt Rizzetta, who has invested in football clubs in North America and Europe, and Montreal businessman Angelo Pasto along with other to-be-unveiled Quebecois entrepreneurs.

Placentino said it was important that Quebecers be heavily involved in the project from the ground up. The emphasis on local support has been strong from top-to-bottom, even before Johnson was involved in pushing the project forward with an ambitious 2026 launch date.

“You need a market like Quebec, and we really like the people there,” Noonan had told us earlier this year. “Then you add the fact that you know Quebec Soccer and the grassroots levels have 25,000 registered players and 2,000 referees who really want us there. They all really want us there – and I can’t say that about every expansion community we’re talking to.”

Laval, Montreal, and Quebec City have all been the sources of much discussion, starting all the way back with Alex Bunbury when the league was brand new and persisting in various forms over the years.

The announcement will be streamed live via OneSoccer and its YouTube channel at 7:00PM EST on Wednesday, September 24, with CSB CEO James Johnson expected to be present along with other league executives and members of the Canadian soccer community.

The 2026 Canadian Premier League would bump up to nine teams with a Quebecois expansion side, while York United will be rebranding to Inter Toronto. If all goes to plan for Pacific, they’ll have new owners by the time the league’s eighth season kicks off.

Header Image Photo Credit: Canadian Premier League