The silly season shows no end, as Canadian Soccer expansion & expansion rumours span 4 provinces in the past two weeks. Atletico Ottawa is official, League1 Ontario sends a team to Premiere Ligue de Soccer du Quebec, and USL League Two swaps Winnipeg for… Manitoba? To be thorough, we’ve also added a few Canadian Premier League expansion rumours concerning Quebec City, and some more details on potential teams for League 1 BC.
Confirmed Canadian Soccer Expansion
Click team logos for links to relevant articles.
New – 31 Jan: Atletico Ottawa (no logo yet) is confirmed.
Be sure to read our announcement coverage.
Unfortunate Canadian Soccer Contraction
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Rumoured Changes
CPL Quebec (Updated 31 Jan) – Last we had heard, a stadium deal in Quebec City had been achieved, but everything had been very quiet in the province. Now, with Atletico Ottawa confirmed, we’re hearing a similar arrangement may be made with Olympique Lyonnais in Quebec City. The team wouldn’t be launching until 2021 at the earliest.
Rumour Strength: Moderate
Fraser Valley (Updated 2 Jan) – Although previously considered a lock for 2021, with play to occur at a new field located at the Langley Event Centre, recent rumours are starting to circulate that a team in the Fraser Valley is further off than anticipated, with some “sources” claiming 2022 a more likely target.
Rumour Strength: Moderate
Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge (Updated 2 Jan) – Rumours surrounding a team in this area have been heating up lately, with recent claims placing K-W & (somewhere in) Quebec as being “ready to announce” for a 2021.
Thanks to John Jacques at Northern Tribune, we know for certain that Stuart Neely, the former coach of KW United & current Manager of Coach Education at Canada Soccer, is not connected to the new club.
Rumour Strength: Strong
CPL Laval (Updated 2 Jan)- Despite surfacing on AFC Curtis, Bunbury remains relatively tight lipped on progress in Laval. Expansion expectations are pushed to 2022.
Rumour Stength: Moderate
Saskatoon (Updated 8 Nov) – Latest rumours indicate Belan is targeting a 2022 launch.
Rumour Strength: Moderate
St John’s, NL (New 17 Jan) – A series of tweets suggest that there is a plan on the table to refurbish King George V Park for a 10,000 seat stadium for a future CPL team called NL United to launch in 2021/2022. Aside from the series of tweets from “an unreliable source,” there has been no information.
We suspect this rumour could all be smoke.
Rumour Strength: Very Weak
Updated: 2 Jan 2020
Royal Beauport – According to justesoccer, Samir Ghrib, the head coach of Royal Beauport, claims the team is planning a move up to PLSQ in 2021. The move is being timed to, hopefully, coincide with obtaining the club obtaining the Canada Soccer National License.
Rumour Strength: Strong
Updated: 31 Jan 2020
At the beginning of summer, BC provided an update on their plans for L1BC. Many expect there will be a Voyaguer’s Cup spot for the league champion, although there is no public “guarantee” at this time.
The Highlanders have officially issued their release, which confirms they plan to participate in L1BC in 2021.
Other teams rumoured to be applying include:
- TSS FC Rovers
- Nanaimo United
- Okanagan FC
- Surrey United
According to an interview with Peter Schaad, at least 6 teams need to meet the operational requirements for the league to launch.
Rumour Strength: Strong
Canadian Division 2
Updated: 2 Jan 2020
Simon Fudge recently had an “exclusive” about the formation of a Canadian Division 2 league. Details are scarce, however, the Canadian USL2 clubs and the SK Soccer Series folks appear to be largely behind the discussion.
The main points:
- Season running May to August
- National league, regionally based
- Main interest from:
- Highlanders FC
- TSS FC Rovers
- Calgary Foothills FC
- Saskatchewan Soccer Series
- Someone in Edmonton
- Someone in Kelowna
- Some groups in “Eastern Canada”
Despite the CPL’s repeated talk of promotion and relegation with a future Division 2 league, this particular league is not a CPL/CSB product.
According to Rollins & Salisbury, talks about the Canadian Division 2 league have been happening since mid-summer. Discussions indicate the D2 league is more like a CPL proving-ground building off the Saskatchewan Soccer Series than a proper league of its own.
Rumours place the expanded Saskatchewan Soccer Series for 2020, with something more formal for 2021. As Highlanders have discussed plans to participate in the SSS this upcoming summer, this does appear to provide additional strength to (at least this portion) of the rumour.
Kevin Laramée, of Soccer Today, interviewed Simon Fudge seeking additional information. It provides a lot of great background, but little new information.
Rumour strength: Moderate
Challenge Cup Divisions
The BC Leagues (VISL, VMSL, FVSL) are currently in progress for the 2019-2020 season.
Many leagues in the Challenge Cup Divisions have promotion & relegation.
Promoted/New
LSEQ – St-Hubert and CS Fabrose both finished at the top of Men’s B, and should be promoted, however, actual promotion has not been confirmed.
MMSL – FC Northwest and CCS Sweatshack both finished at the top of Division 1, and should be promoted, however, actual promotion has not been confirmed.
Relegated/Dissolved
LSEQ – FS Salaberry and Brossard both finished at the bottom of Men’s A, and should be relegated, however, actual relegation has not been confirmed.
MMSL – World Soccer Academy and Forza-WSP both finished bottom of the Premier Division, and should be relegated, however actual relegation has not been confirmed.
No Change
AMSL – Calgary Villains Elite FC successfully defended Calgary Rangers Sportif FC‘s challenge.
Challenge Cup Divisions Include:
- New Brunswick Premier Soccer League
- Nova Scotia Soccer League
- Newfoundland & Labrador Challenge Trophy
- Ligue de Soccer du Quebec (Pro/Rel)
- Ontario Open Cup
- Manitoba Major Soccer League (Pro/Rel)
- Saskatchewan Open Cup
- Alberta Major Soccer League (Pro/Rel)
- BC Provincial Cup
- Fraser Valley Soccer League, Premier Division (Pro/Rel)
- Regular Season
- Pakenham Cup (2020)
- Soccer City Cup (2020)
- Vancouver Island Soccer League, Division 1 (Pro/Rel)
- Regular Season
- Jackson Cup (2020)
- Vancouver Metro Soccer League, Premier Division (Pro/Rel)
- Regular Season
- Imperial Cup (2020)
- Fraser Valley Soccer League, Premier Division (Pro/Rel)