Canada Soccer on Tuesday announced the 11 clubs that will participate in the 2020 Canadian Championship, marking a slight change in the makeup of the field from the past two years.
All three Canadian MLS teams (Montreal Impact, Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps) will participate, as will all eight teams from the Canadian Premier League, meaning 11 professional teams from MLS and the CPL will take part. The change to the field comes as the CSA announced that the 2019 champions of League1 Ontario and the Première Ligue de soccer du Québec (PLSQ), Toronto Master's FA and AS Blainville, will not participate in the 2020 edition and will instead play in the 2021 Canadian Championship.
The 2020 Canadian Championship was initially scheduled to kick off on June 16, but in March Canada Soccer and leagues around the world suspended all sanctioned soccer as a precaution against COVID-19. Major League Soccer recently announced plans for a return to play with the MLS is Back Tournament starting on July 8. Canada Soccer has not yet announced new dates for the Canadian Championship.
The removal of two teams, who were scheduled to face CPL opposition in the qualifying, as well as the inclusion of the CPL's Atlético Ottawa after they were initially left out of the original draw (they were announced as a CPL expansion team after the original format was announced) will also necessitate a slight change in the tournament format.
Here are the 11 teams qualified for the 2020 Canadian Championship:
- Montreal Impact (MLS)
- Toronto FC (MLS)
- Vancouver Whitecaps FC (MLS)
- Atlético Ottawa (CPL)
- Cavalry FC (CPL)
- FC Edmonton (CPL)
- Forge FC (CPL)
- HFX Wanderers (CPL)
- Pacific FC (CPL)
- Valour FC (CPL)
- York9 FC (CPL)
