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BURLINGTON, Canada—As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, the Canadian Premier League announced on Wednesday afternoon that they will not be kicking off the 2021 season on Victoria Day Weekend, as originally planned.
In a letter posted on the league’s website, CPL Commissioner David Clanachan said that the league is “committed to playing our 3rd season of CPL soccer in 2021.”
"We are committed to playing our 3rd season of CPL soccer in 2021. You can count on us delivering a creative and innovative solution for our Players, Partners and Supporters,"
— CanPL (@CPLsoccer) April 28, 2021
An update on the 2021 #CanPL season ⬇️https://t.co/7kp2ONfzm3
He outlined the desire to find “a creative and innovative solution” for the 2021 season, so another event similar to The Island Games, or another type of bubble environment, doesn’t look out of the question.
“We know what it takes, we have the playbook, and we know how to execute flawlessly as we did in 2020,” Clanachan said in the letter.
The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in the United States had a successful 2020 campaign by playing the NWSL Challenge Cup in a single-site bubble, and finishing it with a “Fall Series”. A format like that may work for the CPL, should they want to explore that route.
The Island Games that the CPL put on were also very successful, from both an entertainment perspective, and a health and safety one. The league didn’t have a single positive COVID test during the entire tournament.
Whatever they choose to do, the league will give a further update on the 2021 season on May 15.