Canadian Premier League
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Confederation | CONCACAF |
| Founded | May 6, 2017 |
| Number of teams | 6–8 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Domestic cup(s) | Canadian Championship |
| Website | canpl |
The Canadian Premier League is a proposed fully professional, FIFA-sanctioned soccer league expected to begin play as early as 2018. Six to eight teams owned and operated, at least in part, by a mix of NHL and CFL ownership groups are expected to initially compete in the league. The league's focus will be to fully "Canadianize" itself to improve talent and the sport in Canada. It was officially sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association on May 6, 2017, with a launch date of 2018. It is expected to be headquartered in Hamilton, Ontario.
A potential new fully professional Canadian soccer league was first reported in June 2013. At that time, it was reported that Hamilton Tiger-Cats owner Bob Young was part of a core group of investors working with the Canadian Soccer Association and its president Victor Montagliani to create a new set of fully professional teams or a league in Canada. The CSA was exploring these options based upon a conceptual outline laid out in the Easton Report which recommended a fully professional Tier II league with supporting regional Tier III leagues. At that time, the CSA revealed that they had been exploring the possibility for the previous 18 months as Canada was by far the richest country in the world without its own fully professional league. The league would also develop a system of academies for young players and an MBA program to develop executives. At that time, it was also announced that the Tiger-Cats ownership group had been granted exclusive rights by the CSA until 2017 to establish a team that would play in the under-construction Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton.
Conversation of the league emerged again in February 2016 when Bob Young spoke to the Hamilton City Council requesting permission to erect an air-dome over Tim Hortons Field between December 1 and April 30 yearly to allow for year-round training for his new professional soccer team which would call the stadium home. During questions by the council members, it was revealed that the name of the league would be the Canadian Premier League and that the Hamilton team was expected to be the flagship franchise. Further details were expected following the Canada Soccer Association's annual meeting in May 2016. At that time it was unclear whether existing NASL clubs FC Edmonton and Ottawa Fury FC would join the new league.
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