Canadian Premier League Postpones Season

The Canadian Premier League has officially postponed its second-ever season in the midst of the gobal COVID-19 pandemic.

The announcement comes days after Major League Soccer delayed the league’s resumption for at least eight weeks. The CSA also previously suspended all sanctioned soccer activities, making today’s announcement an expected formality during harrowing times across the globe.

The official statement for CPL Comissioner David Clanachan reads as follows:

The CPL has made the difficult decision to postpone the start of the 2020 season, scheduled to commence on April 11, 2020.

We have made this decision in support of the announcement by Canada Soccer on March 13^t banning all sanctioned soccer activities in Canada, and the directive by our respective governments and health officials to ban all public gatherings.

We will continue to work with all of those authorities in order to make a decision on when to begin our 2020 season when it is declared safe by the relevant health and government agencies, including our governing body Canada Soccer.

Sport in our country has long been a rallying point for our nation both from a leadership and entertainment perspective and will continue to do so.

Collectively with our Clubs and Owners we unanimously agree that our number one priority is to protect the well-being of our fans, players, officials, employees and the general public.

We will continue to monitor closely all input from our government agencies and medical experts and maintain our consistent dialogue both internally and externally.  As more information becomes available, we will provide public updates.

As Clanachan stated, the Canadian Premier League had postponed its preseason on March 13 after the Canada Soccer Association suspended all sanctioned soccer activities. The COVID-19 pandemic has also seen the postponement of the eCPL, which as slated to have both in-person and digital-only events.

With no return date set – which would have been tentative as Canada’s healthcare systems braces for even rougher days ahead – there’s no telling when athletes and fans will once again be reunited by the joys of live sport. Of course, safety comes first.

Northern Tribune wishes the best to all in what has become a harrowing time. Be safe.