Canadian Championship Semi-Finals set for Wednesday night

One game away from the Canadian Championship Final, four clubs will compete in this Wednesday’s Semi-Finals at Montréal’s Stade Saputo in Québec and Langford’s Starlight Stadium on Vancouver Island. There will be no second chances as two clubs must emerge from this week’s matches: 2021 winners CF Montréal against Forge FC  in the first match followed by Pacific FC against the 2022 winners Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

Both matches will be featured live in a back-to-back broadcast on OneSoccer with the first match kicking off at 19.00 Eastern / 16.00 Pacific (19.00 local at Stade Saputo) and the second match kicking off at 22.00 Eastern / 19.00 Pacific (19.00 local at Starlight Stadium). Extended coverage for both matches published across Canada Soccer’s digital channels from CanadaSoccer.com to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube featuring the hashtag #CanChamp.

With 14 clubs, the 2023 Canadian Championship has featured the largest field ever for the annual Battle of the North. From five leagues across four rounds, the 2023 winners will be crowned in early June in the single-match Canadian Championship Final for the Voyageurs Cup.

Canadian Championship – Wednesday 24 May 2023
CF Montréal v Forge FC 
Montréal, Québec – Stade Saputo
Kickoff – 19.00 local (19.00 ET / 16.00 PT)

CF Montréal and Forge FC are meeting in the Canadian Championship for the third year in a row. CF Montréal advanced in the first two meetings, winning 8-7 on kicks from the penalty mark in the 2021 Semi-Finals at Tim Hortons Field and then 3:0 in the 2022 Quarter-Finals at Stade Saputo.

The hosts CF Montréal of Major League Soccer have lost back-to-back matches in league action, but had posted six consecutive wins in all competitions before that. Forge FC, meanwhile, are at the top of the Canadian Premier Leagues standings and they are undefeated in all competitions through eight matches this year.

Canadian Championship – Wednesday 24 May 2023
Pacific FC v Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Langford, British Columbia – Starlight Stadium Kickoff
Kickoff – 19.00 local (22.00 ET / 19.00 PT)

The hosts Pacific will meet the 2022 champions Vancouver Whitecaps FC in an all-British Columbia Semi-Finals match. Just two years ago, Pacific FC won 4:3 over visiting Whitecaps FC at Starlight Stadium in the Preliminary Round of the 2021 competition.

This year, Pacific FC have started the season in second place behind Forge FC in the Canadian Premier League standings, in fact with their only loss across all competitions a 1-0 loss to the league leaders. Vancouver Whitecaps FC, meanwhile, are coming off a 2:0 home victory over Seattle Sounders on the weekend which has moved them into seventh place in the Major League Soccer standings.

Canadian Championship
Canada Soccer’s Canadian Championship, also known as the Battle of the North, is the nation’s highest men’s domestic competition featuring clubs from coast-to-coast, notably professional teams in Major League Soccer and the Canadian Premier League, as well as league winners in League1 BC, League1 Ontario and Ligue1 Québec (Première ligue de soccer du Québec). Winners of the 2023 Canadian Championship lift the Voyageurs Cup and qualify for the annual international competition, Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League. Winners of the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup.