Canadian Championship to kick off in Hamilton and Montréal on 18 April

The 2023 Canadian Championship will kick off Tuesday 18 April in Hamilton and Montréal with a pair of First Round matches featuring Forge FC Hamilton against FC Laval and CF Montréal against Vaughan SC. They are two of six First Round matches scheduled that week in Canada Soccer’s annual Battle of the North for the Voyageurs Cup.

Wednesday will feature the competition’s first-ever double header at York Lions Stadium in Toronto along with a return to Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, British Columbia. The neutral site match featuring Halifax Wanderers FC and Atlético Ottawa will kick off at 17.00 local followed by home side York United FC against Vancouver FC that will kick off three hours later. On the west coast, Richmond’s TSS Rovers FC host Winnipeg’s Valour FC at Swangard Stadium, the first Canadian Championship match in that stadium since 2010.

On Thursday, the Canadian Championship week wraps up with Pacific FC hosting Calgary’s Cavalry FC on Vancouver Island at Starlight Stadium in Langford, British Columbia. All six matches in the First Round will be broadcast live on OneSoccer, with extended coverage for the Canadian Championship published across Canada Soccer’s digital channels including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube featuring the hashtag #CanChamp.

Beyond the First Round, the six April winners will advance to the Canadian Championship Quarter-Finals from 9-11 May where they will join last year’s two finalists, champions Vancouver Whitecaps FC and runners up Toronto FC who both received byes from the First Round.

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

Forge FC v FC Laval
Tuesday 18 April 2023
Kickoff – 19.00 local (19.00 ET / 16.00 PT)
Tim Hortons Field

CF Montréal v Vaughan SC
Tuesday 18 April 2023
Kickoff – 19.00 local (19.00 ET / 16.00 PT)
Stade Saputo

HFX Wanderers FC v Atlético Ottawa
Wednesday 19 April 2023
Kickoff- 17.00 local (17.00 ET / 14.00 PT)
York Lions Stadium

York United FC v Vancouver FC
Wednesday 19 April 2023
Kickoff- 20.00 local (20.00 ET / 17.00 PT)
York Lions Stadium

TSS Rovers FC v Valour FC
Wednesday 19 April 2023
Kickoff – 19.30 local (22.30 ET / 19.30 PT)
Swangard Stadium

Pacific FC v Cavalry FC
Thursday 20 April 2023
Kickoff – 19.00 local (22.00 ET / 19.00 PT)
Starlight Stadium

About 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 across the country, notably professional teams in Major League Soccer and the Canadian Premier League as well as league winners in League1 BC, League1 Ontario and Québec’s Premier League (Première ligue de soccer du Québec). Winners of the 2023 Canadian Championship lift the Voyageurs Cup and qualify to the annual international competition, Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League. Winners of the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup.