It has been a long wait for Canadian Premier League (CPL) fans, but now there is some substantial news. As mentioned before, there were four potential cities that could host the CPL. Apparently, according to Duane Rollins, they chose one of them, which is Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (PEI), as the host of the Canadian Premier League.
CPL Very Likely to Start Play Next Month
Duane Rollins, host of SoccerToday talked about the Canadian Premier League (CPL) tentative start date.
I can confirm that the 2020 #CanPL season/tournament will start Aug 15 in Charlottetown, PEI. Teams will start to arrive starting Aug 7.
— Duane Rollins 🇺🇦 (@24thminute) July 28, 2020
Of all the four cities that could host the CPL, Charlottetown makes the most sense. According to CBC News on July 28th, there are no more cases in Prince Edward Island, the province in which the city of Charlottetown is located in.
CPL has the benefit of looking at how other leagues started their leagues in Canada and in North America. The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL), have started their league in St. Catharines, Ontario.
This is while Major League Soccer (MLS) was successful in creating a bubble in Orlando. Although, they had a bad before the start to the MLS is Back Tournament. Both FC Dallas and Nashville SC dropping out of the tournament because of too many players testing positive for the coronavirus.
There is also big news for the Canadian Championship, which would happen straight after the CPL. The championship this year would include the eight CPL teams and three MLS Canadian teams according to Marty Thompson, digital content editor of canpl.ca.
Tenititive plan remains to play a tournament style Canadian Championship immediately after the #CanPL tournament ends. How to incorporate the MLS teams is still TBD.
— Duane Rollins 🇺🇦 (@24thminute) July 28, 2020
While more details are likely to come tomorrow, this is an exciting time for the CPL. However, it is unclear right now how the MLS teams would play the Canadian Championship in Charlottetown or in another city.
Overview of the Canadian Premier League Coming Back
A lot of CPL fans were waiting patiently for their league to announce a start date. They had to watch other leagues like MLS, CEBL, and the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) get going while they wait for an announcement.
All teams, save Halifax, will be flown to Charlottetown by charter and tested immediately upon arrival.
Teams will be responsible for the flights back to their home market. #CanPL
— Duane Rollins 🇺🇦 (@24thminute) July 29, 2020
Obviously, the coronavirus pandemic is still a widespread issue. In some parts of Canada, the coronavirus cases have unfortunately risen. So, like MLS and other leagues, they have the testing in place to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
All teams, save Halifax, will be flown to Charlottetown by charter and tested immediately upon arrival.
Teams will be responsible for the flights back to their home market. #CanPL
— Duane Rollins 🇺🇦 (@24thminute) July 29, 2020
The Canadian Premier League should announce a lot of these details tomorrow. CPL commissioner David Clanachan will have an interview with One Soccer tomorrow at 1:00 PM eastern time tomorrow according to OneSoccer. Furthermore, it has been rumoured of an official announcement on an update on the 2020 CPL season tomorrow.
FYI: Canadian Premier League to make announcement on July 29 at 1:00 pm ET/10 a.m. PT: Update on 2020 CPL season@CPLsoccer @onesoccerhttps://t.co/OmbFCwPRSE
— John Molinaro (@JohnMolinaro) July 28, 2020
