{
    "title": "Canadian Championship to kick off in Hamilton and Montr\u00e9al on 18 April",
    "modified_at": "2026-04-21 17:36:19",
    "published_at": "2023-02-07 16:52:00",
    "url": "https://news.canadasoccer.com/canadian-championship-to-kick-off-in-hamilton-and-montreal-on-18-april",
    "short_url": "http://prez.ly/IpDd",
    "culture": "en",
    "language": "EN",
    "subtitle": "The 2023 Canadian Championship will kick off Tuesday 18 April in Hamilton and Montr\u00e9al with a pair of First Round matches featuring Forge FC Hamilton against FC Laval and CF Montr\u00e9al against Vaughan SC. They are two of six First Round matches scheduled that week in Canada Soccer\u2019s annual Battle of t\u2026",
    "slug": "canadian-championship-to-kick-off-in-hamilton-and-montreal-on-18-april",
    "body": "<p>The 2023 Canadian Championship will kick off Tuesday 18 April in Hamilton and Montr&eacute;al with a pair of First Round matches featuring Forge FC Hamilton against FC Laval and CF Montr&eacute;al against Vaughan SC. They are two of six First Round matches scheduled that week in Canada Soccer&rsquo;s annual Battle of the North for the Voyageurs Cup.<br>\u200b<br>\u200bWednesday will feature the competition&rsquo;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 Atl&eacute;tico 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&rsquo;s TSS Rovers FC host Winnipeg&rsquo;s Valour FC at Swangard Stadium, the first Canadian Championship match in that stadium since 2010.<br>\u200b<br>\u200bOn Thursday, the Canadian Championship week wraps up with Pacific FC hosting Calgary&rsquo;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&rsquo;s digital channels including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube featuring the hashtag #CanChamp.<br>\u200b<br>\u200bBeyond 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&rsquo;s two finalists, champions Vancouver Whitecaps FC and runners up Toronto FC who both received byes from the First Round.<br>\u200b<br>\u200bCanada Soccer&rsquo;s Canadian Championship is the nation&rsquo;s highest men&rsquo;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 Qu&eacute;bec&rsquo;s Premier League (Premi&egrave;re ligue de soccer du Qu&eacute;bec). 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.</p><p><strong>Forge FC v FC Laval</strong><br>\u200bTuesday 18 April 2023<br>\u200bKickoff &ndash; 19.00 local (19.00 ET / 16.00 PT)<br>\u200bTim Hortons Field</p><p><strong>CF Montr&eacute;al v Vaughan SC</strong><br>\u200bTuesday 18 April 2023<br>\u200bKickoff &ndash; 19.00 local (19.00 ET / 16.00 PT)<br>\u200bStade Saputo</p><p><strong>HFX Wanderers FC v Atl&eacute;tico Ottawa</strong><br>\u200bWednesday 19 April 2023<br>\u200bKickoff- 17.00 local (17.00 ET / 14.00 PT)<br>\u200bYork Lions Stadium</p><p><strong>York United FC v Vancouver FC</strong><br>\u200bWednesday 19 April 2023<br>\u200bKickoff- 20.00 local (20.00 ET / 17.00 PT)<br>\u200bYork Lions Stadium</p><p><strong>TSS Rovers FC v Valour FC</strong><br>\u200bWednesday 19 April 2023<br>\u200bKickoff &ndash; 19.30 local (22.30 ET / 19.30 PT)<br>\u200bSwangard Stadium</p><p><strong>Pacific FC v Cavalry FC</strong><br>\u200bThursday 20 April 2023<br>\u200bKickoff &ndash; 19.00 local (22.00 ET / 19.00 PT)<br>\u200bStarlight Stadium<br>\u200b</p><hr /><p><strong>About Canadian Championship</strong><br>\u200bCanada Soccer&rsquo;s Canadian Championship, also known as the Battle of the North, is the nation&rsquo;s highest men&rsquo;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 Qu&eacute;bec&rsquo;s Premier League (Premi&egrave;re ligue de soccer du Qu&eacute;bec). 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.</p><div class=\"release-content-contact\" id=\"contact-25029bf2-1c29-4e2c-ad3f-7950933cee2c\">\n    \n    <div class=\"release-content-contact__details\">\n        <strong class=\"release-content-contact__name\">Paulo Senra</strong>\n        <em class=\"release-content-contact__description\">Chief Communications &amp; Content Officer | Chef des communications et du contenu, Canada Soccer</em>\n        <ul class=\"release-content-contact__details-list\"><li class=\"release-content-contact__details-list-item\"><a href=\"mailto:psenra@canadasoccer.com\"  class=\"release-content-contact__details-list-item-link\" title=\"psenra@canadasoccer.com\"><svg class=\"icon icon-paper-plane release-content-contact__details-list-item-icon\">\n                <use xlink:href=\"#icon-paper-plane\"></use>\n            </svg>psenra@canadasoccer.com</a></li>\n<li class=\"release-content-contact__details-list-item\"><a href=\"tel:(416)&nbsp;882-7919\"  class=\"release-content-contact__details-list-item-link\" title=\"(416)&nbsp;882-7919\"><svg class=\"icon icon-mobile release-content-contact__details-list-item-icon\">\n                <use xlink:href=\"#icon-mobile\"></use>\n            </svg>(416)&nbsp;882-7919</a></li></ul>\n    </div>\n</div>",
    "header": {
        "large": "https://cdn.uc.assets.prezly.com/c3518b00-647d-49b8-a563-d35ca231bfab/-/preview/1200x1200/-/format/auto/",
        "release": "https://cdn.uc.assets.prezly.com/c3518b00-647d-49b8-a563-d35ca231bfab/-/preview/1200x1200/-/format/auto/"
    },
    "contacts": [
        {
            "name": "Paulo Senra",
            "company": "Canada Soccer",
            "description": "Chief Communications & Content Officer | Chef des communications et du contenu",
            "email": "psenra@canadasoccer.com",
            "website": null,
            "address": null,
            "telephone": null,
            "mobile": "(416)\u00a0882-7919",
            "twitter": null,
            "facebook": null
        }
    ],
    "author": {
        "first_name": "Integration",
        "last_name": "Integration"
    },
    "format_version": 5
}