Bekker: Forge Hoping For Return To Training Next Week

With both Atletico Ottawa and York9 FC now having resumed training, the third and final Canadian Premier League side from Ontario – who are the league’s reigning champions – are hoping to follow suit in the near future.

During a recent OneSoccer interview, Forge FC Captain Kyle Bekker revealed that the Hamilton-based club was hopeful that it could resume training next week, though he made it clear that the timeline wasn’t completely locked in just yet:

It’s great that teams are getting back. Obviously, seeing that, we’re all itching for it and we’re just waiting for that final go-ahead. We’re hopeful for something next week, but again, it’s not a hundred percent.

Kyle Bekker

Four of the eight Canadian Premier League clubs have begun voluntary individual and small group workouts, with the Halifax Wanderers having been the first team to resume club-based training. Pacific FC followed shortly after, with Atletico Ottawa and York9 FC also resuming training last week.

With Valour FC also expected to begin training in the next few days, that would just leave the two Alberta-based clubs left waiting. The city of Edmonton did not renew its state of emergency on Friday, potentially opening the proverbial doors for the Eddies to return to training. Of course, all decisions regarding such a return depend on the approval of both provincial and municipal health authorities.

Canadian Premier League Commissioner David Clanachan had stated he was confident CPL clubs would all return to training in the near future, specifically mentioning that the league had a friend in Ontario’s Tourism, Culture and Sport Minister Lisa MacLeod.

Should Forge FC return to training next week, it is expected to follow the same phased approach taken by the other CPL clubs: training would begin on a voluntary non-contact individual and small group basis, with players undergoing temperature checks and filling out a daily questionnaire to monitor for symptoms of COVID-19.

We’ve just got to take it step-by-step. Obviously, us going back doesn’t necessarily mean the tournament is going to come back. It’s individual stuff to start. Just get going, try not to do anything crazy so we can stay fit and healthy. You’ve got to build it back up. You don’t want to come out of the gates going a hundred percent and someone gets hurt because we haven’t really been going a hundred percent in this time away. It’s just being smart about it. We’re trusting our staff to put us in the best situation to build all that stuff back up so that when the time comes, we are ready.

Kyle Bekker

The Canadian Premier League announced that it is officially looking into strategies on how to resume the 2020 Canadian Premier League season, which wasn’t exactly a well-kept secret: both PEI and BC have already bid to host a modified season in a single location, with Charlottetown also registering a bid of its own yesterday.

With the season expected to play out behind closed doors, the league has slashed player salaries by 25% in what was originally only supposed to be a deferral. Some rumours have indicated that the modified season won’t take place until August, which means the clubs may be looking at a long training window ahead of any official competition.

Of course, there’s still no telling what will ultimately unfold for the 2020 Canadian Premier League season.

Whatever does happen, Forge FC is hoping that it can resume training as early as next week, which would mean the majority of CPL sides would be back on the pitch. The club has retained most of its core roster after league MVP Tristan Borges was sold to Belgian Side Oud-Heverlee Leuven, with head coach Bobby Smyrniotis bringing in 21-year-old Belgian midfielder Paolo Sabak and veteran Canadian goalkeeper David Monsalve so far.

Source: OneSoccer (Via YouTube)