Canadian Championship Qualifying Round 2 kicks off

Canada Soccer’s expanded 13-team, 24-match 2019 Canadian Championship will see three debut Canadian Premier League (CanPL) teams join the fray on 4 June at the start of Qualifying Round 2. FC Edmonton rejoins the competition after a one-year hiatus as a member of CanPL and are joined by inaugural CanPL members Forge FC and Valour FC. The matches will be shown LIVE on OneSoccer.ca.
 
After advancing from Qualifying Round 1 4:1 on aggregate, Cavalry FC travel for a rare Tuesday fixture in Hamilton, ON against Forge FC 4 June at 19.30 ET.  The teams will also play on Tuesday for the return fixture on matchday two 11 June at 21.30 ET from Spruce Meadows in Calgary, AB.
 
HFX Wanderers FC who advanced from Qualifying Round 1 3:3 on away goals against League1 Ontario champions Vaughan Azzurri SC, will host their CanPL counterparts Valour FC in their QR2 opener 5 June at 18.15 ET from Wanderers Grounds in Halifax, NS. The teams will play the second leg 12 June at 20.30 ET from Investors Group Field in Winnipeg, MB.
 
York9 FC will host FC Edmonton in the third fixture of QR2 starting 5 June at 19.00 ET from York Stadium, in North York, ON. The return leg will go 12 June at 21.30 ET from Clarke Stadium in Edmonton, AB. York9 defeated Première ligue de soccer du Québec champions AS Blainville 1:0 on aggregate in QR1.
 
Qualifying Round 3 (QR3) entry teams Ottawa Fury FC, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, and Montreal Impact FC await the QR2 winners. Ottawa will travel to face the winner of the HFX Wanderers FC v Valour FC matchup in QR3, Vancouver will travel to face the Forge FC v Cavalry FC winner, and Montreal will travel to face the winner of York9 FC v FC Edmonton in leg one. QR3 entry teams will host the second leg of each matchup.
 
Toronto FC will entry the 2019 Canadian Championship at the Semi-Final Round to the winner of the Ottawa Fury FC QR3 Matchup.
 
About the Canadian Championship

The Canadian Championship is Canada Soccer’s highest domestic professional soccer competition and is the sole qualification route for Canadian professional clubs into Concacaf Champions League and onto the FIFA Club World Cup.
 
Dubbed the Battle of the North, the Championship sets itself apart from all North American professional sports competitions that operate on both sides of the border as the only one to hold an all-Canadian competition that leads to the international stage.
 
Canadian content is a focus of the competition and since 2017, regulations state that each team must field a minimum of three eligible Canadian Internationals as starters for each match.
In 2019, the Canadian Championship will feature 13 teams including three Major League Soccer clubs, Toronto FC, Montréal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps FC; United Soccer League’s Ottawa Fury FC; seven Canadian Premier League clubs, FC Edmonton, Forge FC, Valour FC, Cavalry FC, HFX Wanderers FC, Pacific FC, and York9 FC; Première ligue du Soccer de Québec’s AS Blainville; and League1 Ontario champions Vaughan Azzurri.
 
The Voyageurs Cup has been awarded to the Canadian Championship winner since 2008. Created by the Voyageurs Canadian Supporters group, the trophy represents Canadian fans’ commitment to the game in our country. The George Gross Memorial Trophy recognises the Canadian Championship’s Most Valuable Player, with Jonathan Osorio the 2018 winner. The award is named after the late George Gross, an honoured member of the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame. New in 2019, the Best Young Canadian Player Award recognises the player 21 years or younger who makes the biggest impact in the Canadian Championship.