TSN To Air Forge’s CONCACAF League Round of 16 Match

This Thursday will see Forge FC host Honduran champions CD Olimpia in the CONCACAF League Round of 16, and the club’s progression in the tournament has evidently turned a few heads. For the first time ever, TSN will be broadcasting the match live on television, marking the first time the sports service will provide live cable footage of a match involving a Canadian Premier League club.

The high-profile match will see how the Hamilton-based club stacks up against what may be its toughest competition yet: CD Olimpia has won the CONCACAF League in its entirety before, and the reigning Honduran champion has accumulated over thirty domestic titles in its 107 year history.

To be fair, TSN covered the qualifying legs between Forge FC and Antigua GFC, but the only way to watch it live was through the TSN Direct streaming service. A delayed tape of the match was later shown on television, but there was no option for cable viewers who hoped to tune in to the matches as they happened. This time around, those with access to TSN2 can watch the match live as it plays out at Tim Hortons Field.

Forge FC’s attacking line is now without both Emery Welshman and Jace Kotsopoulos, which leaves head coach Bobby Smyrniotis with only twenty players on the club’s roster. Thankfully, 25-year-old striker Anthony Novak is back to full fitness, and he’ll be expected to help fill the void left by the outbound players.

At the other end of the pitch, the club brought in Canadian international David Edgar to help lend a veteran presence to Forge’s backline. With Honduran international Jerry Bengtson winning the Liga Salva Vida golden boot last year and retaining his fine form for CD Olimpia this season, keeping him from finding the back of the net will be no easy task.

Fans who want to follow the Canadian Premier League club currently need to subscribe to OneSoccer if they’d like to watch every match. CBC Sports airs one live match per week on television, while this Thursday’s upcoming CONCACAF League fixture marks the first time TSN will have provided live cable coverage for a match involving a CPL team.

Fans interesting in tuning in to watch Forge FC play the first leg of the CONCACAF League Round of 16 can tune in to TSN2 on Thursday, August 22, at 8:00PM.

Since the broadcaster is airing the first game live, it’s likely that the away leg will be aired lived as well – though fans will have to wait until tomorrow for the TSN broadcast schedule to stretch that far ahead.