One of the great aspects of football is that there are a lot, I mean a lot, of opportunities for players to play professionally somewhere in the world. There are few sports that allow players to find a club to play at some type of professional level with the three that come to mind being football, ice hockey, and basketball. With so many leagues to play in, you may not be familiar with the Canadian Premier League.
What is the Canadian Premier League?
You may be asking yourself, what is the Canadian Premier League? The CPL was founded in 2017 and began to play in 2019 across the country of Canada. As you may know, Canada is a big country, and teams are spread across the nation in eight different locations.
The teams include:
- Atletico Ottawa
- Calvary FC
- FC Edmonton
- Forge FC
- HFX Wanderers FC
- Pacific FC
- Valour FC
- York9 FC
Forge FC have won back-to-back CPL championship in 2019 and 2020. The club are located in Hamilton, Ontario and thus far, the cream of the crop in the CPL.
Why was the Canadian Premier League created?
The CPL was created to give Canadian football players (aka soccer players) more opportunities to develop in a professional atmosphere. Although Major League Soccer has three Canadian teams and several others compete in leagues in the United States, the CPL hopes to create more chances for Canadians thus improving the national team.
There are opportunities for foreign players as well. Each club can sign a maximum of seven foreign players with five of those being eligible to be in the starting XI.
As Canadian players develop, the likelihood they are signed away from CPL teams is high. Salaries are not high in the CPL with $55,000 Canadian being highlighted as the top end of the pay scale. Still, it is a chance to play professional football and get spotted by other clubs.
The 2021 season will see teams play 28 games with a playoff structure to crown the champion. To learn more about the CPL, please visit the league’s official website.