Sunday June 7, 2020 ~ LANGFORD & NATIONAL
by Mary Brooke ~ West Shore Voice News
Plans for professional soccer action in Canada in 2020 are moving along, though slowly.
On Friday June 5 the Canadian Premier League (CPL) — together with its owners, clubs and player leadership — unanimously agreed on the structure and concept of a proposed strategy on the possibility of a 2020 CPL season.
This is in the face of consideration a significant professional sport setback resulting from the physical distancing orders in place across Canada and more locally for Pacific FC, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact individuals, communities and the economy.
Seeking input from their players:
The CPL said in a news release they “feel an obligation on behalf of our players, teams, supporters and partners, to get back on the pitch and that can’t happen without the players’ input and support”.
“The health and safety of all is the single most important issue and it is vital that appropriate health and safety protocols mandated by the local and Provincial officials are in place and agreed to by all stakeholders – players, clubs, owners, league and Canada Soccer, the CPL’s governing body,” it was stated in the June 5 release.
“Our position since we began the journey of building the League from the ground up has been to work together,” said David Clanachan, Canadian Premier League Commissioner.
The CPL professional soccer league launched in the fall of 2018 with scouting for players to build teams in seven cities across Canada. The first season was played from April to October in 2019. In BC, the league is based out of Victoria with games played at Westhills Stadium in Langford.
Heading into the 2020 season there have been eight clubs waiting to play the season (Ottawa being new in the league this year): Pacific FC, Cavalry FC, FC Edmonton, Valour FC, Forge FC, York9 FC, Atletico Ottawa, and HFX Wanderers FC.
Discussions behind the scenes:
“We started this process behind the scenes many weeks ago in consultation with our owners on the many details and protocols required to safely return to the field of play, and potential opportunities that may emerge. This led to the next step of a collaborative discussion with the players this week,” said Clanachan.
Clanachan continued: “It’s been gratifying and rewarding to see how much collective enthusiasm and co-operation there has been, and we have landed in an excellent and unanimous position with our clubs and club player leadership.”
Tight guidelines:
A few weeks ago, the hub setup and training plan — to be based in Langford for training and games at Westhills Stadium — would see players having to self-quarantine for two weeks upon arrival, be isolated between games, and kept in very tight groups.
Games would be played without a live audience, and then made available online.
In the June 5 release there was no mention of whether those strict guidelines have in any way been altered after discussions with the players.
Any proposal for a sports season at Westhills Stadium would require approval by the BC Provincial Health Officer.
“The discussions we’ve had with the League have been positive on how to safely get back to playing and I support the plan in place for the proposed 2020 season,” said de Jong.
“As players we are happiest when we are on the pitch and connected to the CPL community that runs across the country,” said Marcel de Jong, team captain, Pacific FC.
Consultation with fans and partners:
The next step will be to engage with the fans and partners as the CPL with its Clubs work collectively to find a solution for a 2020 CPL season.
===== Previous articles on Pacific FC & CPL this season:
Players start into training for potential 2020 season (June 1, 2020)
Soccer hub proposed for Westhills Stadium for Phase 3 of COVID-19 (May 28, 2020)