Monday January 10, 2022 | LANGFORD, BC
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
It was just last night that we posted the news about Pacific FC here on Vancouver Island losing two top players (Terran Campbell and Alessandro Hojabrpour are heading over to Forge FC in Hamilton starting for the 2022 season).
Now the Canadian Premier League is losing its high-energy first Commissioner, to settle in his home town of Windsor and start a league there. Clanachan has been awarded the exclusive rights for a CPL expansion club in Windsor/Essex County. Commissioner David Clanachan spent four years with CPL, and the league lauds his accomplishments.
The launch of an expansion club is contingent upon delivering a soccer-specific stadium and other expansion criteria to League standards. Subsequently, Clanachan will step down as the first Canadian Premier League Commissioner to focus on bringing professional sports and the first ever professional soccer club to his hometown.
Oversaw launch of successful league:
“Everybody involved with the CPL and Canadian Soccer Business would like to thank David for his contributions to this incredible project,” said Scott Mitchell, CPL and CSB Co-founder. “Very few thought we could pull this off when we started talking about this with David five years ago, and yet here we sit with a league that is clearly been a great success despite the obstacles and that is destined to establish itself as one of the more important leagues in the world. We want to also express our appreciation to David for his commitment in helping us with a seamless transition to our next leader.”
Clanachan was appointed the first Commissioner of the CPL in 2018 and oversaw the successful launch of the League and expansion to eight Canadian markets. The CPL concluded its third season in December with Pacific FC winning its first CPL Final. The League has also distinguished itself on the international stage with impressive performances in Concacaf earning a Champions League spot (Forge FC) in 2022.
Pacific FC (PFC) won the North Star league trophy in December, in the third active year of the Canadian Premier League (CPL). Only the inaugural year 2019 was played fully pre-COVID. Last year was played in a bubble in Prince Edward Island. This year was played in a combination of bubble and live games as public health protocols evolved.
Three new leagues in the works:
The Windsor/Essex league opportunity is part of CPL expansion goals. There is also a team planned for the Vancouver Lower Mainland market for the 2023 season (owned by the same Pacific FC investors and leadership — SixFive Sports & Entertainment – Dean Shillington, President at Knightsbridge Capital; Josh Simpson and Rob Friend and City of Langford with its foot in the door) and one planned for Saskatoon. All three scenarios are dependent upon a stadium being built.
CPL plans for the expansion to 10 markets in 2023 with a team in Vancouver and a conditional franchise awarded to Saskatoon. For updates and more information, please go to CanPL.ca.
Canadian Premier League (CPL) is Canada’s Tier 1 domestic professional men’s soccer league entering its fourth season in 2022, competing in the Concacaf and FIFA sanctioned series of competitions.
Playing in world-class and unique venues, and partnering with strong community-led ownership groups, the CPL is a league for Canadians, by Canadians that presently brings professional soccer to eight communities coast-to-coast.
Eye on World Cup games:
For CPL, the north star guiding all of this is the FIFA World Cup in 2026 which will be staged with 48 teams at locations in Canada, Mexico and the United States. The Canadian soccer community hopes to play big there.
Having three host countries is a first for World Cup Soccer. The 23rd edition of the FIFA World Cup will begin and end in the summer of 2026. The qualifiers will start in 2023. The 48 teams will play 80 matches in total at the North American finals of this international association football competition. The 2026 World Cup was awarded to North America on June 13, 2018.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup final in North America will take place in New York/New Jersey at the infamous MetLife Stadium.
Heading home:
“Windsor’s passionate sports community has always inspired me and fueled my love of soccer. It has been a dream of mine to bring professional soccer to the amazing people of Windsor /Essex County and I am looking forward to this next chapter and beginning the work necessary to bring a club to my hometown,” said Commissioner Clanachan.
“After an exhilarating and rewarding four years as Canadian Premier League Commissioner, now is the right time for new leadership. We have built something truly special that has captured the imagination of soccer fans across the country. The CPL is now firmly established as a key pillar in Canada’s sports landscape and will be at the centre of soccer’s remarkable growth in the coming years. Having a successful club in Windsor will only make us stronger,” said Clanachan in a statement released by PFC and CPL this morning.
“We want to thank Commissioner Clanachan for his dedication to this growing league, his leadership and vision that were instrumental in seeing our Atlético de Madrid group join as owners of the Atlético Ottawa franchise,” said Fernando López, Chief Executive Officer, Atlético Ottawa. “We look forward to building on the solid foundation he has established and continue developing professional soccer in Canada.”
Long list of accomplishments:
Clanchan’s work as Commissioner has produced some unprecedented achievements for the League and soccer in Canada. His accomplishments include:
- Successfully launching Canada’s sanctioned Tier One men’s professional soccer league, the Canadian Premier League from the ground up. Bringing it to life in front of 20,000 fans at the inaugural match in Hamilton on April 27, 2019.
- Collaborating on the design of the inaugural Macron kits in 2019 and passionately pursuing that the CPL Awards beunique pieces of Inuit Art designed by artists in the community of Kinngait (Cape Dorset), Nunavut.
- Setting the foundation for expansion through adding Atlético Ottawa as the eighth franchise in 2020 owned by the world football powerhouse Atlético de Madrid.
- Further delivering on expansion to 10 markets with an agreement for a club to begin play in Vancouver in 2023 and awarding a conditional franchise to Saskatoon.
- Helping to establish an innovative business model that ensures CPL owners and clubs benefit from both their local success but also as shareholders in CSB (Canadian Soccer Business).
- Beginning to strengthen and build a pathway for young Canadian players to the professional level and continue to expand the League through the addition of League1 Ontario, implementation of the CPL U-21 minutes and player requirement rules and the CPL- U SPORTS Draft.
- Securing national league sponsorship with top brands including Volkswagen, WestJet, Allstate, and Macron.
- Supporting CSB to negotiate a landmark media rights deal to ensure short- and long-term distribution of CPL matches across all available platforms with Mediapro (OneSoccer).
- Successfully orchestrating the 2020 Island Games to ensure a safe and meaningful season for the league while driving tourism and new revenue for Prince Edward Island.
- Delivering on a second pandemic season in 2021 playing all 115 matches beginning with The Kickoff bubble in Winnipeg.
Congrats from Canada Soccer and CPL co-founder:
Dr. Nick Bontis, President, Canada Soccer added: “David leaves a tremendous legacy for professional soccer in Canada. I still remember our initial meetings when we drew up many of the current league policies on the back of a napkin several years ago. The league is now ready for a new trajectory of growth in large part due to his commitment. Congratulations and all the best in the future.”
“David has been an incredible leader, builder and a passionate champion for Canada’s soccer community. He has inspired our league through our exciting startup phase and navigated us through the difficult days of the pandemic,” said Bob Young, Co-founder CPL and Forge FC.
“His work has set the foundation for an exciting new era for professional club soccer in Canada and leaves the CPL as one of the fastest-growing sports leagues in the world. We are thrilled that David will remain a part of our soccer community and play the leading role in trying to bring the CPL to Windsor,” said Young.
An announcement about the next commissioner steps will be made shortly, said CPL today in their statement.
===== Pacific FC profile:
Pacific Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Greater Victoria, British Columbia.
The club competes in the Canadian Premier League, playing home matches at Starlight Stadium located in Langford. Coach: Pa-Modou Kah | League: Canadian Premier League | Owners: SixFive Sports & Entertainment – Dean Shillington, President at Knightsbridge Capital; Josh Simpson and Rob Friend. | Stadium capacity: 6,200.
The stadium name was officially changed from Westhills Stadium to Starlight Stadium in spring 2021.
===== RELATED:
Season 3 fallout: Pacific FC loses two top players to Forge FC (January 9, 2022)
Pacific FC captures Season 3 North Star (December 5, 2021)
CPL Commissioner Clanachan weighs in ahead of 3rd-season final (December 4, 2021)
Soccer celebration: CPL awards coming after final game & on awards night (December 4, 2021)
Pacific FC in final CPL match Dec 5 (December 2, 2021)
Starlight Stadium naming now ceremoniously official (September 19, 2021)
COVID economics: Langford woos Starlight for recovery of stadium & team sport (January 19, 2021)
