That would be a handy place. I was thinking of Tim Hortons or BMO with the idea of fans but, of course, there won't be any. The OSC is a neutral venue (as Robert Borden suggested) and that's always a good idea for a single game event.
The CPL format was known as early as end of July, the CSA announced it's format officially mid-August and yet, MLS chose to schedule all the Canadian teams right after the tournament. Due to the quarantine requirement, you're looking at mid-october at the earliest but if Forge wins, they are off to Central America that week for their Concacaf league game. So they get back, they have to quarantine, you're looking at November...it just doesn't work. The best window was end of September My point is that Manning saying that there was an "understanding" that the CSA would plan for the final game after the MLS season is a direct contradiction to what the CSA had implied thus far and what was being reported earlier on. Everything pointed towards the CSA having the finals after the CPL games which makes sense. Doubtful that the CSA would intentionally organize the finals knowing that CPL clubs would not be playing for over 3 months and would have lost players to loans or deals being up. Makes no sense at all League reschedule games all the time when there's congestion due to parallele competition going on. MLS did it in the past for CCL so yeah, if the CSA asks MLS to move games and they refuse, then they should forfeit it the trophy. I mean, who wants to see TFC after a full fall season dismember half a CPL squad in the middle of winter? That's an utter farce. The alternative I've seen on social media is delaying the finals to next year when squads will be complete and games will have been played. Since we don't even know when the 2020 CCL will resume, this is best for everybody. So I'll clarify - preference is to delay the finals until next year. But a final during the winter is unacceptable and unless there's an accommodation done by MLS, I maintain they should forfeit
If it's played "in the middle of winter" that would be January. Both teams would be out of fitness and in the midst of roster juggling so that would at least be fair. The idea of waiting until next year is not one I had considered and it is a good one. "Next year", however, would have to be January or early February since we'll need to know the winner in time for the CCL in February. Out of curiosity, is there a plan in place for the CL slot if Hamilton were to win the Canadian Championship?
With Concacaf having no plans for CCL and current travel restrictions, I have doubts they can complete the 2020 tournament by next winter. This might be a chance to have a more traditional schedule for the next tournament and make it a 2020-2021 season (fall/winter) This means that we'd have the ability to have a Canadian champion much later and late spring would work. Both teams would have their full squads and have played games. Halifax or Forge are likely to lose a bunch of players right after the Island Games as they will be looking to loan a bunch of them due to the long off season. CPL commish implied on Onesoccer that should a CPL team win the Canadian Championship, the Island Games runner-up would get the CL berth. So that would mean Forge --> CCL Halifax --> CL TFC --> No tournament
Looks like that if Forge qualifies for the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League, the CSA might cancel the TFC vs Forge game as they would both qualify making the game pointless. The CSA might need to come up with a better formula in such situations - CPL teams will qualify for CCL regularly eventually. I’ve been told that we should not expect an announcement on the Voyageurs Cup final date until after @ForgeFCHamilton plays its CONCACAF League quarterfinal. If Forge wins that game, or the play in game that follows, the 2020 Canadian Championship will likely be cancelled.— Duane Rollins (@24thminute) November 16, 2020 I asked if there would be a possibility of Forge and TFC playing for the cup in 2021 and was told that was unlikely, but if there was a demand for it it might be possible to incorporate into a pre-season date.— Duane Rollins (@24thminute) November 16, 2020
^ I understand the logic so far as the CCL goes. To me, however, it isn't pointless to crown a Canadian Championship winner. Forge will be playing into December in the CL. TFC will be playing as late as December 12 in the MLS playoffs. So both teams will be in game shape. It should be possible to fit in a match in mid to late December that would work with the schedules of both teams. There won't be fans anyway so even an indoor venue would be fine.
Personally I think it has more to do with costs more than anything. If both teams goes to CCL, the CSA won't see a point in spending money to rent a venue and all the costs attached to it with no fans or revenues. Forge doesn't run the risk of getting destroyed by TFC TFC doesn't risk losing face by losing to Forge Too many reasons to walk away from this year's final - not that I agree btw
^ Rental of the full domed field here in Kingston is $800 per hour. For three hours, that's $2400. Add refs and we're up to maybe $3000. I'm pretty sure the CSA can afford it. You may be right and they don't do it. I think maintaining the continuity of the Canadian Championship would be worth it. It's one of the few pieces of living soccer history we have in this country.
If TFC makes MLS Cup, they won't be clear from quarantine until Boxing Day. Meanwhile Hamilton is playing at least 2 more CONCACAF League matches. The Quarterfinals are on December 1, but if they win, they go on to the semi-finals being played in 2021. If they lose, they play the play-in game on between December 8 and December 10. To many unknowns. If Toronto drops out of the play-offs earlier, and Hamilton wins the quarter-finals - then perhaps there's a window before Christmas. Otherwise, would TFC be together in January to play - I'd assume they'd be off by then before getting together in mid-February for spring-training. If there was a reason to return early, I can see. But no reason this can't be delayed until later. Hamilton would have to be together early this year to play in Concacaf Champions League. I suppose a match between Christmas Day and Boxing Day might be an option under all scenarios. If it comes down to playing in a dome like that, I'd think they'd simply play in Toronto FC's dome at Downsview Park without a charge. I can't see Toronto FC charging CSA. Heck if Forge makes Champions League, perhaps they should be there in February to play training matches against TFC this year, as I expect either will have little desire to be in the USA this winter until the MLS season starts.
There are certainly difficulties. I'd still like to see the CSA make every effort to see the game played. My point was not to suggest the game actually be played in Kingston but rather to show that the cost need not be an obstacle.
Forge will face TFC in 2021 Canada Soccer has confirmed that the 2020 Canadian Championship Final will be played in the first quarter of the 2021 year due to current pandemic restrictions, with a date and location to be determined in conjunction with club and league schedules.https://t.co/McuJ6h3H5x— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) November 25, 2020
What are the rules regarding nationality for players who have options but have not declared? Specifically, would Ayo Akinola count as a Canadian or a foreign player for TFC in the Canadian Championship?
TFC is being permitted to start training camp on February 17 (compared to March 1 for everyone else) "in preparation for the Canadian Championship Final." https://www.torontofc.ca/post/2021/02/13/major-league-soccer-preseason-schedule-update
Good to see it's going to happen. When does Hamilton's camp start? Players must have known for a while, so they can do their fortnight quarantine.
The first CCL game for Canada is April 7 so that sets a hard limit on when the Canadian Championship game can be. Since TFC was permitted by MLS to start training two weeks early it would imply they didn't think a March 1 start date allowed enough time to prep for the Canadian Championship. That would imply they believe the game will be held in early March as opposed to late March. I'd hope the CPL would to the same for Hamilton.
World Cup Qualifers are March 25 to 28th as well. So that points earlier as well, given the 14-day return to Canada quarantine. Also 8 TFC players have been named for the Olympic Games qualifiers from March 19 to March 30. March 9th or 10th maybe? Maybe 13th or 14th if they play on the weekend. Hamilton camp must surely be starting soon.
How is that incompetence on the part of the CSA? They don't control when Forge start training. Don't get me wrong, I'd prefer to see Forge as close to full power as possible. I just don't see how this is on the CSA.
Forge aren't allow to train as a group due to the pandemic unless they get the permission from the province to do so. The NHL had to negotiate, TFC obviously did as soon as MLS provided preseason dates. CPL starts end of May and had the CSA told everyone the date in early February, Forge could have got the green light from the province. The CSA effectively just gave them 2 weeks notice... that's insane incompetence to me.
To me, that's entirely on the CPL. An official date still hasn't actually been announced but everyone knows it has to be before the start of the CCL and therefore likely in late March or extremely early April. There's no way the CPL/Forge could possibly be surprised by this. They're a professional league and team. It's not the CSA's fault if they can't be pro-active enough to look at a calendar and take steps to get themselves ready even in advance of an official announcement. At the very least, MLS saying "we're letting TFC start training early specifically so that they can be ready for the Canadian Championship" should have been a prompt to consider doing the same. Prep time aside, I'm looking forward to this game. My expectation is that TFC will win but if there was ever a chance for an upset, this is it. It is a single game instead of a two leg final so a fluke event like a goalie blunder can tip the scale. Also, both teams will be in rusty, preseason form which further magnifies the chances for errors. It's just too bad that there won't be fans as I imagine the fans from Hamilton would be loud for a game against Toronto.
They haven't officially qualified for CCL otherwise - they would have petition the province way in advance to be allowed to train like they did in the fall during their CONCACAF League run. Without a date from the CSA, the province would just deny the request. Forge isn't above provincial laws - the tweet below highlights this. Doubtful that CPL/Forge didn't petition to train earlier like they did for CONCACAF league. 1367674842695221252 is not a valid tweet id The only reason I could see for the double standards are the preseason dates being different and one league being US-Based, the other Ontario based. Remember that it was the NHL that negotiated with each provinces to be allowed to play. A clear date in advance for the finals would have facilitated Forge getting approval to train. Without one, Government will not start making exceptions without valid reasons in an environment where so many businesses were shutdown by force. CSA Incompetence Figuring out a viable solution for #CanChamp has been so complicated that at one point it was suggested to me they should flip a coin for the Champions League and play for the trophy later, in front of fans. A lot of factors but no denying Forge comes out at a major disadvantage.— Oliver Platt (@plattoli) March 5, 2021