| Season | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Dates | June 26 – November 16 (regular season) |
| Champions | Pacific FC (1st title) |
| Regular season winners | Forge FC (1st title) |
| CONCACAF Champions League | Forge FC[a] |
| CONCACAF League | Pacific FC |
| Matches | 112 |
| Goals | 282 (2.52 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | João Morelli (14 goals) |
| Best goalkeeper | Jonathan Sirois (9 clean sheets) |
| Biggest home win | Forge FC 4–0Atlético Ottawa (August 25) Pacific FC 5–1FC Edmonton (October 26) |
| Biggest away win | Valour FC 0–3FC Edmonton (September 7) Atlético Ottawa 0–3Forge FC (October 3) |
| Highest scoring | 7 goals FC Edmonton 3–4Atlético Ottawa (October 12) |
| Longest winning run | 3 matches Valour FC (June 27 – July 3, July 11–18) Pacific FC (July 21 – August 4, August 29 – September 9) Forge FC (September 25 – October 6, October 30 – November 9) |
| Longest unbeaten run | 10 matches HFX Wanderers (August 22 – October 3) |
| Longest winless run | 8 matches Atlético Ottawa (August 18 – September 19) Valour FC (August 29 – October 5) |
| Longest losing run | 4 matches Valour FC (July 24 – August 12) |
| Highest attendance | 12,064 Atlético Ottawa 2–1HFX Wanderers (August 14) |
←2020 2022 →
| |
The2021 Canadian Premier League season was the third season of theCanadian Premier League, thetop level ofCanadian soccer.Forge FC were defending champions, after defeatingHFX Wanderers FC in the2020 final.[1]
The season was planned to commence on May 22, the Victoria Day weekend, pending the approval of government authorities and the state of theCOVID-19 pandemic in Canada.[2] However, on May 14, it was announced that the start was to be pushed back to mid-June or early July.[3]
On June 5, the league committed to a full 28-match season, but that the season would begin in a single-sitebubble atIG Field inWinnipeg,Manitoba, promoted as "The Kickoff", with each team playing eight matches between June 26 and July 24. All matches were playedbehind closed doors and in compliance with Manitoba public health orders.[4] On July 30, the CPL began to play matches at home venues.[5]
Pacific FC defeated two-time champions and title holdersForge FC in thefinal to win their first title.
The same eight clubs that participated in the2020 Canadian Premier League season competed in 2021.York United FC participated under their new name for the first time, having previously been known as York9 FC.
Teams were required to play Canadian players aged 21 years or younger for a minimum of 1,500 minutes this season, increased from 1,000 minutes.[6] The maximum team compensation for this season was $1.2 million split between players and coaching staff. The required spend on player compensation was $650,000 to $850,000.[7]
| Club | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlético Ottawa | Ottawa | TD Place Stadium | 24,000 |
| Cavalry | Foothills County | ATCO Field | 6,000 |
| FC Edmonton | Edmonton | Clarke Stadium | 5,100 |
| Forge | Hamilton | Tim Hortons Field | 23,218 |
| HFX Wanderers | Halifax | Wanderers Grounds | 6,500 |
| Pacific | Langford | Starlight Stadium | 6,000 |
| Valour | Winnipeg | IG Field | 33,000 |
| York United | Toronto | York Lions Stadium | 4,000 |
| Rank | Province or territory | Number | Teams |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ontario | 3 | Atlético Ottawa Forge York United |
| 2 |  Alberta | 2 | Cavalry FC Edmonton |
| 3 |  British Columbia | 1 | Pacific |
 Manitoba | Valour | ||
 Nova Scotia | HFX Wanderers |
| Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming coach | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FC Edmonton |  Jeff Paulus | Resigned[8] | September 21, 2020 | Pre-season |  Alan Koch | November 24, 2020[9] |
| Valour FC |  Rob Gale | Sacked[10] | September 23, 2021 | 5th | Phillip Dos Santos | September 23, 2021 |
Between June 26 and July 24, teams played their first eight games atIG Field inWinnipeg. Teams fromEastern Canada andWestern Canada played two matches against each of the four teams in the opposite region to reduce travel when teams return to home stadiums.[11] For the remainder of the season, teams played 16 games against opponents from their own region and 4 against opponents from the opposite region.[12]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Forge(S) | 28 | 16 | 2 | 10 | 39 | 24 | +15 | 50 | Advance toplayoffs |
| 2 | Cavalry | 28 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 34 | 30 | +4 | 50 | |
| 3 | Pacific(C) | 28 | 13 | 6 | 9 | 47 | 34 | +13 | 45 | |
| 4 | York United | 28 | 8 | 12 | 8 | 35 | 39 | −4 | 36 | |
| 5 | Valour | 28 | 10 | 5 | 13 | 38 | 36 | +2 | 35 | |
| 6 | HFX Wanderers | 28 | 8 | 11 | 9 | 28 | 34 | −6 | 35 | |
| 7 | FC Edmonton | 28 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 34 | 41 | −7 | 28 | |
| 8 | Atlético Ottawa | 28 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 30 | 47 | −17 | 26 |
| Teams | CAV | EDM | PAC | VAL | ATO | FOR | HFX | YRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cavalry | — | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | |||
| FC Edmonton | — | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | |||
| Pacific | — | 4–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–0 | |||
| Valour | — | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | |||
| Atlético Ottawa | 1–4 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | — | |||
| Forge | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–2 | — | |||
| HFX Wanderers | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | — | |||
| York United | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | — |
West[edit] | East[edit]
Source:CanPL.ca Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
|
The top-four teams in the regular season qualified for the league playoffs. The first-place team hosted the fourth, and the second-place team hosted the third in a single match round. The winners advanced to theCPL Final, a single match hosted by the higher-seeded team.[12]
If a match was level at the end of normal playing time, extra time would be played (two periods of 15 minutes each) and followed, if necessary, by a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner. If a match reached extra time, each team was allowed to make an additional substitution.[14]
| Semi-finals November 20–21 | Final December 5 | ||||||||
| 1 | Forge FC | 3 | |||||||
| 4 | York United | 1 | |||||||
| 1 | Forge FC | 0 | |||||||
| 3 | Pacific FC | 1 | |||||||
| 2 | Cavalry FC | 1 | |||||||
| 3 | Pacific FC(a.e.t.) | 2 | |||||||
| November 20, 2021 | Cavalry FC | 1–2 (a.e.t.) | Pacific FC | Foothills County, Alberta |
| 1:00 pmMST (UTC−07:00) | Yao 47' | Report | Stadium:ATCO Field Attendance: 2,927 Referee: Pierre-Luc Lauzière |
| November 21, 2021 | Forge FC | 3–1 | York United | Hamilton, Ontario |
| 3:00 pmEST (UTC−05:00) | Report | Petrasso 38' | Stadium:Tim Hortons Field Attendance: 5,123 Referee: Juan Marquez |
| December 5, 2021 | Forge FC | 0–1 | Pacific FC | Hamilton, Ontario |
| 4:30pmEST (UTC−05:00) | Report | Hojabrpour 59' | Stadium:Tim Hortons Field Attendance: 7,488 Referee: Yusri Rudolf |
On December 4, 2021, the Canadian Premier League revealed the nominees for the four individual awards that would be voted on by the media. These four awards plus theGolden Boot award are given based on performance over the whole season including Finals. The awards are Inuit soapstone sculptures designed by artists fromCape Dorset,Nunavut.[15] The winners were announced at a ceremony on December 14.[16]
| Award | Recipient | Finalists[15] |
|---|---|---|
| Golden Boot(Hunter) |  João Morelli(HFX Wanderers) | N/A |
| Golden Glove(Qimmiq or Canadian Inuit Dog) | Jonathan Sirois(Valour FC) | Marco Carducci(Cavalry FC)Triston Henry(Forge FC) |
| Coach of the Year(Owl) |  Pa-Modou Kah(Pacific FC) | Bobby Smyrniotis(Forge FC)Tommy Wheeldon Jr.(Cavalry FC) |
| Player of the Year(Nikisuittuq) | João Morelli(HFX Wanderers FC) | Kyle Bekker(Forge FC)Terran Campbell(Pacific FC) |
| Best Under 21 Canadian Player of the Year(Polar Bear) | Alessandro Hojabrpour(Pacific FC) | Max Ferrari(York United FC)Victor Loturi(Cavalry FC) |
TheGatorade Team of the Week is selected byOneSoccer staff.
| Team of the Week | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards | Ref |
| June 26–28 | Powley (Ottawa) |  Peña (Valour)Beckie (Ottawa) Jean-Baptiste (Valour)Chung (Pacific) |  Martínez (Ottawa) Escalante (Cavalry) | Bassett (Pacific) Díaz (Pacific)Ricci (Valour)Bustos (Pacific) | [17] |
| June 28 – July 5 | Sirois (Valour) | Abzi (York)Yao (Cavalry)Jean-Baptiste (Valour)Farsi (Cavalry) | Simmons (Cavalry)Bekker (Forge) Ohin (Valour) | Alemán (Valour) Selemani (Cavalry) Jeannot Esua (Edmonton) | [18] |
| July 5–12 | Irving (Pacific) | Peña (Valour)MacNaughton (Pacific)Beckie (Ottawa)Chung (Pacific) | Bekker (Forge)McKendry (Ottawa)Rampersad (HFX) | Bassett (Pacific)Morelli (HFX)Bustos (Pacific) | [19] |
| July 12–19 | Sirois (Valour) | Awuah (Forge)Restrepo (HFX) Achinioti-Jönsson (Forge) Baquero (Valour) | Bekker (Forge) Sabak (Forge) Cissé (Forge) | Rea (Valour)Ricci (Valour) Musse (Cavalry) | [20] |
| July 20–26 | Sirois (Valour) | Restrepo (HFX)Yao (Cavalry) Klomp (Cavalry)Doner (HFX) | Johnston (York)Rampersad (HFX) | Bustos (Pacific)Díaz (Pacific)Shaw (Ottawa)Riggi (HFX) | [21] |
| July 26 – August 2 | Irving (Pacific) | Awuah (Forge) Samake (Pacific)Đidić (Edmonton)Doner (HFX) | Morelli (HFX)Gorskie (Edmonton)Cissé (Forge) | Bent (HFX) Warschewski (Edmonton)Bustos (Pacific) | [22] |
| August 2–9 | Giantsopoulos (York) | Ruby (HFX)Zator (York)Klomp (Cavalry)Farsi (Cavalry) | Ferrari (York)Norman Jr. (Cavalry)Johnston (York) | Camargo (Cavalry)Ongaro (Edmonton)Morelli (HFX) | [23] |
| August 9–16 | Silva (Valour) | Yao (Cavalry)Đidić (Edmonton)Beckie (Ottawa) | Chung (Pacific)Soto (Ottawa)McKendry (Ottawa)Farsi (Cavalry) | Wright (Ottawa)Shaw (Ottawa)Hernández (Cavalry) | [24] |
| August 16–23 | Giantsopoulos (York) | Gagnon-Laparé (HFX)Yao (Cavalry)Geffrard (HFX)Doner (HFX) | Aparicio (Pacific)Galhardo (Valour)Polisi (Pacific)Petrasso (York) | Ricci (Valour) Mason (Cavalry) | [25] |
| August 23–30 | James (Edmonton) | Awuah (Forge)Krutzen (Forge)Achinioti-Jönsson (Forge)Farsi (Cavalry) | Aparicio (Pacific)Ohin (Valour)Hojabrpour (Pacific) | Borges (Forge)Pacius (Forge)Campbell (Pacific) | [26] |
| August 30– September 7 | Carducci (Cavalry) | Abzi (York)Schaale (HFX)Klomp (Cavalry)Chung (Pacific) | Ferrari (York)Simmons (Cavalry)Farsi (Cavalry) |  Heard (Pacific)Petrasso (York)Morelli (HFX) | [27] |
| September 7–13 | Henry (Forge) | Zator (York)Đidić (Edmonton)N'sa (York) | Gonzalez (Edmonton)Aparicio (Pacific)Cissé (Forge)Ferrari (York) | Shaw (Ottawa)Warschewski (Edmonton)Morelli (HFX) | [28] |
| September 13–20 | Silva (Valour) | Abzi (York)Reyes (Valour)MacNaughton (Pacific)Verhoven (Ottawa) | Lamothe (HFX)Ledgerwood (Cavalry)Loturi (Cavalry) | Ongaro (Edmonton)Soto (Ottawa) Gutiérrez (York) | [29] |
| September 20–27 | Powley (Ottawa) | Abzi (York)Krutzen (Forge)Achinioti-Jönsson (Forge)Beckie (Ottawa) | Bekker (Forge)Hojabrpour (Pacific)Rampersad (HFX) | Karajovanovic (HFX)L. Wright (York)B. Wright (Ottawa) | [30] |
| September 27 – October 4 | Henry (Forge) | Awuah (Forge)Krutzen (Forge)Klomp (Cavalry)Aird (Edmonton) | Gagnon-Laparé (HFX)Achinioti-Jönsson (Forge) Dyer (Valour) | Bent (HFX)Díaz (Pacific)Morelli (HFX) | [31] |
| October 4–12 | James (Edmonton) | Escalante (Cavalry)Wilson (York)Schaale (HFX)Fayia (Edmonton) | Fisk (Cavalry)Gagnon-Laparé (HFX)Ohin (Valour)Telfer (Ottawa) | Dyer (Valour) Akio (Valour) | [32] |
| October 12–18 | Baskett (HFX) | Yao (Cavalry)Schaale (HFX)Klomp (Cavalry) |  Browne (Forge)Bekker (Forge)Toussaint (York)Cissé (Forge) | Heard (Pacific)Díaz (Pacific)Campbell (Pacific) | [33] |
| October 19–25 | Ingham (York) | Santos (HFX)Acosta (Ottawa)Yao (Cavalry)Klomp (Cavalry)Verhoven (Ottawa) | Fisk (Cavalry)Verhoeven (York)Soto (Ottawa)Coupland (Ottawa) | Mason (Cavalry) | [34] |
| October 25 – November 1 | Sirois (Valour) | Awuah (Forge)Krutzen (Forge)Baquero (Valour) |  Navarro (Forge)Bekker (Forge)Galán (Valour)Akio (Valour) | Galhardo (Valour)Wright (York)Bustos (Pacific) | [35] |
| November 2–8 | Henry (Forge) | Metusala (Forge)Yao (Cavalry)Klomp (Cavalry) | Abzi (York) Najem (Edmonton)Cissé (Forge)Farsi (Cavalry) | Johnston (York)Mason (Cavalry)Dyer (Valour) | [36] |
Clean sheets[edit]
| Hat-tricks[edit]
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The2021 CPL–U Sports Draft was held virtually on January 29. Draftees are invited to team preseason camps, with an opportunity to earn a developmental contract and retain theirU Sports men's soccer eligibility.FC Edmonton selectedThomas Gardner with the first overall pick. Two players were selected by each CPL team, with a total of 16 players being drafted including 12 Canadians.[40]
Canadian Premier League teams could sign a maximum of seven international players, out of which only five could be in the starting line-up for each match. Starting this season, teams were required to carry a minimum of four international players, either signed through or approved by the league's scouting partner, 21st Club.[41] The following players were considered foreign players for the 2021 season. This list does not include Canadian citizens who represent other countries at the international level.[42]
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 | Player 6 | Player 7 | Former Players |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlético Ottawa | Viti Martínez | Vashon Neufville |  Tevin Shaw | Miguel Acosta |  Rafael Núñez | Alberto Soto | Raúl Uche | |
| Cavalry | José Escalante | Richard Luca | Tom Field | Daan Klomp | Joe Mason | |||
| FC Edmonton | Jeannot Esua | Ramón Soria |  Sharly Mabussi | Tobias Warschewski | Hunter Gorskie | Roberto Avila | Azriel Gonzalez |  Raúl Tito |
| Forge | Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson | Elimane Cissé | Daniel Krutzen | Paolo Sabak | Joshua Navarro | Omar Browne | ||
| HFX Wanderers | Akeem Garcia | Andre Rampersad | Peter Schaale | Alex Marshall | João Morelli | Eriks Santos | Cory Bent | |
| Pacific | Alejandro Díaz |  Ollie Bassett | Gianni dos Santos | |||||
| Valour | José Galán |  Arnold Bouka Moutou | Andrew Jean-Baptiste | Amir Soto | Moses Dyer | Rafael Galhardo | Rodrigo Reyes | |
| York United | Álvaro Rivero | Nicholas Hamilton | Julian Ulbricht | Gerard Lavergne | Osvaldo Ramírez | Sebastián Gutiérrez |
Players initalic denote players new to their respective clubs for the 2021 season, sorted chronologically by their announcement.
With the CPL tiebreaker defaulting to the number of wins
