2023 in Canadian soccer

Soccer in Canada

Season	2023
CPL championship	Forge FC
CPL Shield	Cavalry FC
MLS Cup	Columbus Crew
Supporters' Shield	FC Cincinnati
League1 Ontario	Simcoe County Rovers FC
Canadian Championship	Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Challenge Trophy	West Ottawa Warriors
← 2022 2024 →

The following are events related to Canadian soccer in the year 2023.

National teams

Men’s

Senior

Main article: Canada men's national soccer team

As of October 13, 2023:

Wins	Losses	Draws
4	2	3

Friendlies

Japan v Canada

October 13	Japan	4–1	Canada	Niigata, Japan
19:35 JST (UTC+09:00)	Tanaka  2', 49' Davies  40' (o.g.) Nakamura  42'	Report	Hoilett  89'	Stadium: Denka Big Swan Stadium Attendance: 37,125 Referee: Alex King (Australia)

2022–23 CONCACAF Nations League

Main article: 2022–23 CONCACAF Nations League

Group C

Main article: 2022–23 CONCACAF Nations League A

Curaçao v Canada

March 25	Curaçao	0–2	Canada	Willemstad, Curaçao
21:00 AST (UTC−04:00)		Report	David  23' Larin  43'	Stadium: Ergilio Hato Stadium Referee: Juan Gabriel Calderón (Costa Rica)

Canada v Honduras

March 28	Canada	4–1	Honduras	Toronto, Canada
20:00 EDT (UTC−04:00)	Larin  9', 12' David  50' Osorio  80'	Report	Benguché  73'	Stadium: BMO Field Attendance: 13,626 Referee: Iván Barton (El Salvador)

Finals

Main article: 2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals

Panama v Canada

June 15 SF	Panama	0–2	Canada	Paradise, United States
16:00 PDT (UTC−07:00)		Report	David  25' Davies  70'	Stadium: Allegiant Stadium Attendance: 65,000 Referee: Juan Gabriel Calderón (Costa Rica)

Canada v United States

June 18 F	Canada	0–2	United States	Paradise, United States
17:30 PDT (UTC−07:00)		Report	Richards  12' Balogun  34'	Stadium: Allegiant Stadium Attendance: 35,000 Referee: Saíd Martínez (Honduras)

Source: CONCACAF

2023–24 CONCACAF Nations League

Main article: 2023–24 CONCACAF Nations League

Quarter-finals

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Jamaica	4–4 (a)	Canada	1–2	3–2

Jamaica v Canada

November 18 QF 1st Leg	Jamaica	1–2	Canada	Kingston, Jamaica
	Nicholson  56'	Report	David  45+1' Eustáquio  86'	Stadium: Independence Park Referee: Tori Penso (United States)

Canada v Jamaica

November 21 QF 2nd Leg	Canada	2–3 (4–4 agg.)	Jamaica	Toronto, Canada
19:30 EDT (UTC−04:00)	Davies  25' Koné  69'	Report	Nicholson  63', 66' Decordova-Reid  78' (pen.)	Stadium: BMO Field Referee: César Ramos (Mexico)
Note: Tied 4–4 on aggregate. Jamaica won on away goals, advanced to the Finals and qualified for the 2024 Copa América. Canada advanced to the play-in.

Gold Cup

Main article: 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup

Group D

Main article: 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup Group D

2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup Group D

Canada v Guadeloupe

June 27	Canada	2–2	Guadeloupe	Toronto, Ontario
19:00 EDT (UTC−04:00)	Cavallini  49' Lina  70' (o.g.)	Report	Ambrose  23' Russell-Rowe  90+3' (o.g.)	Stadium: BMO Field Attendance: 15,301 Referee: Rubiel Vazquez (United States)

Guatemala v Canada

July 1	Guatemala	0–0	Canada	Houston, United States
20:30 CDT (UTC−05:00)		Report		Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Attendance: 19,766 Referee: Marco Ortiz (Mexico)

Canada v Cuba

July 4	Canada	4–2	Cuba	Houston, United States
17:30 CDT (UTC−05:00)	Hoilett  21' (pen.) Osorio  27' Nelson  47' Millar  62'	Report	Paradela  45+4' (pen.) Reyes  89' (pen.)	Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Referee: Keylor Herrera (Costa Rica)

Knock out

Main article: 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup knockout stage

United States v Canada

July 9 QF	United States	2–2 (a.e.t.) (3–2 p)	Canada	Cincinnati, United States
19:30 EDT (UTC−04:00)	Vázquez  88' Kennedy  114' (o.g.)	Report	Vitória  90+3' (pen.) Shaffelburg  109'	Stadium: TQL Stadium Attendance: 24,979 Referee: Marco Ortiz (Mexico)
		Penalties
	Vázquez Cowell Busio Ferreira		Vitória Fraser Miller Russell-Rowe Brym

U-17

Main article: Canada men's national under-17 soccer team

As of February 24, 2023.

Wins	Losses	Draws
4	2	0

Friendlies

Brazil v Canada

September 29	Brazil	3–1	Canada	Sorocaba, Brazil
				Stadium: Estádio Municipal Walter Ribeiro

Brazil v Canada

2023 CONCACAF U-17 Championship

Main article: 2023 CONCACAF U-17 Championship

Group F

Canada v Trinidad and Tobago

February 11	Canada	3–2	Trinidad and Tobago	Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala
	Vojvodic  27', 68' Omeze  61'	Report	Webb  67' Sween  81'	Stadium: Estadio Pensativo Referee: José Fuentes (Guatemala)

Barbados v Canada

February 13	Barbados	0–2	Canada	Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala
		Report	MacKenzie  21' Biello  28' (pen.)	Stadium: Estadio Pensativo Referee: Sanchez Bass (Saint Kitts and Nevis)

United States v Canada

February 15	United States	1–0	Canada	Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala
	Figueroa  64'	Report		Stadium: Estadio Pensativo Referee: Fernando Morón (Panama)

Knockout stage

Canada v Haiti

February 18 R16	Canada	3–0	Haiti	Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala
20:00 ET	N’Diaye  4' Ozimec  16' Pop  88'	Report		Stadium: Estadio Pensativo Referee: Víctor Cáceres (Mexico)

Puerto Rico v Canada

February 22 QF	Puerto Rico	0–3	Canada	Guatemala City, Guatemala
17:00 ET		Report	Vojvodic  8' N’Diaye  36' Stefanovic  55'	Stadium: Estadio Doroteo Guamuch Flores Referee: Kwinsi Williams (Trinidad and Tobago)

Canada v United States

February 24 SF	Canada	0–2	United States	Guatemala City, Guatemala
20:00 ET		Report	Burton  36' Figueroa  90+4'	Stadium: Estadio Doroteo Guamuch Flores Referee: Christopher Mason (Jamaica)

2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup

Main article: 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup

The 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup will be hosted by Indonesia. Canada qualified for the tournament on February 22, 2023 by defeating Puerto Rico in the quarter-finals of the 2023 CONCACAF U-17 Championship. On September 15, 2023, Canada were drawn into Group B with Spain, Mali, and Uzbekistan.

Group B

Spain v Canada

November 10	Spain	2–0	Canada	Surakarta, Indonesia
7:00 ET	Guiu  21' Junyent  76'	Report		Stadium: Manahan Stadium Attendance: 6,613 Referee: Roberto Pérez (Peru)

Uzbekistan v Canada

November 13	Uzbekistan	3–0	Canada	Surakarta, Indonesia
7:00 ET	Chukwu  22' (o.g.) Saidov  24', 81'	Report		Stadium: Manahan Stadium Attendance: 6,919 Referee: Ivo Méndez (Bolivia)

Canada v Mali

November 16	Canada	1–5	Mali	Surabaya, Indonesia
4:00 ET	Chukwu  45'	Report	I. Diarra  14' Barry  26' Kanaté  73' Makalou  77' Thiero  90+1'	Stadium: Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium Referee: Espen Eskås (Norway)

Women’s

Senior

Main article: Canada women's national soccer team

As of December 31, 2023.

Wins	Losses	Draws
7	5	1

Friendlies

France v Canada

April 11	France	2–1	Canada	Le Mans, France
	Geyoro  51' Le Garrec  64'	Report	Huitema  71'	Stadium: Stade Marie-Marvingt Attendance: 14,200 Referee: Sandra Bastos

Canada v Brazil

October 28	Canada	0–1	Brazil	Montréal, Canada
14:30 ET		Report	Debinha  90+4'	Stadium: Stade Saputo

Canada v Brazil

October 31	Canada	2–0	Brazil	Halifax, Canada
18:30 ET		Report		Stadium: Wanderers Grounds

Canada v Australia

December 1	Canada	5–0	Australia	Langford, Canada
19:30 PT		Report		Stadium: Starlight Stadium

Canada v Australia

December 5	Canada	1–0	Australia	Vancouver, Canada
19:00 PT		Report		Stadium: BC Place

SheBelieves Cup

Main article: 2023 SheBelieves Cup

source

United States v Canada

February 16	United States	2–0	Canada	Orlando, Florida
19:00 ET	Swanson  7', 34'	Report		Stadium: Exploria Stadium Attendance: 14,697 Referee: Katia Garcia (Mexico)

Brazil v Canada

February 19	Brazil	0–2	Canada	Nashville, Tennessee
18:30 ET		Report	Gilles  31' Viens  71'	Stadium: Geodis Park Attendance: 6,502 Referee: Ekaterina Koroleva (United States)

Canada v Japan

February 22	Canada	0–3	Japan	Frisco, Texas
16:00 ET		Report	Seike  26' Hasegawa  41' (pen.) Endo  77'	Stadium: Toyota Stadium Attendance: 6,975 Referee: Danielle Chesky (United States)

2023 FIFA Women's World Cup

Main article: 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup

Group B

Main article: 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup Group B

Nigeria v Canada

July 20	Nigeria	0–0	Canada	Melbourne, Australia
22:30 ET		Report		Stadium: Melbourne Rectangular Stadium Attendance: 21,410 Referee: Lina Lehtovaara (Finland)

Canada v Republic of Ireland

July 26	Canada	2–1	Republic of Ireland	Perth, Australia
8:00 ET	Connolly  45+5' (o.g.) Leon  53'	Report	McCabe  4'	Stadium: Perth Rectangular Stadium Attendance: 17,065 Referee: Laura Fortunato (Argentina)

Canada v Australia

July 31	Canada	0–4	Australia	Melbourne, Australia
6:00 ET		Report	Raso  9', 39' Fowler  58' Catley  90+4' (pen.)	Stadium: Melbourne Rectangular Stadium Attendance: 27,706 Referee: Stéphanie Frappart (France)

2024 Summer Olympics – Women's qualification (CONCACAF play-off)

Main article: Football at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Women's qualification (CONCACAF play-off)

Jamaica v Canada

September 22 1st Leg	Jamaica	0–2	Canada	Kingston, Jamaica
8:00 PM		Report	Prince  18' Leon  90+3'	Stadium: Independence Park Attendance: 9,000 Referee: Katja Koroleva (United States)

Canada v Jamaica

September 26 2nd Leg	Canada	2–1 (4–1 agg.)	Jamaica	Toronto, Canada
	Lacasse  40' Huitema  50'	Report	Spence  33'	Stadium: BMO Field Attendance: 29,212 Referee: Katia Itzel García (Mexico)

U–20

Main article: Canada women's national under-20 soccer team

CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship qualification

Main article: 2023 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship qualification

Group A

Canada v Martinique

April 14	Canada	15–0	Martinique	San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic
	Mouratidis  4' Jourde  6' Ottey  11' Hernandez-Gray  21' Markesini  35' Maalouf  37' Perrault  40' Chukwu  45', 54' Smith  50', 65' Rose  64', 68', 76' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Estadio Panamericano

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines v Canada

April 16	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	0–12	Canada	San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic
			Smith  20' (pen.), 25' (pen.), 45+1' Rose  31' Briggs  38' Collin  55' Maalouf  56', 89' Chukwu  70' Hernandez-Gray  72' McBride  81', 87'	Stadium: Estadio Panamericano Referee: Shandor Wilkinson (Saint Kitts and Nevis)

Cuba v Canada

April 20	Cuba	0–4	Canada	San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic
			Jourde  12', 44' Briggs  67', 81'	Stadium: Estadio Panamericano Referee: Kedeen Foster (Cayman Islands)

Canada v El Salvador

April 22	Canada	9–1	El Salvador	San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic
	Jourde  8' Smith  14', 19' (pen.) Chukwu  43', 47' Allen  55', 73' Briggs  85', 87'		Johannes  34'	Stadium: Estadio Panamericano Referee: Karitza Guerra (Honduras)

CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship

Main article: 2023 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship

Group A

Canada v Jamaica

May 26	Canada	4–0	Jamaica	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
	Chukwu  39', 45' Smith  56' Watson  90+4'	Report		Stadium: Félix Sánchez Olympic Stadium Referee: Marianela Araya (Costa Rica)

Panama v Canada

May 28	Panama	0–5	Canada	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
		Report	Markesini  22' Garay  25' (o.g.) Smith  29', 41' Allen  51'	Stadium: Félix Sánchez Olympic Stadium Referee: Sandra Benítez (El Salvador)

United States v Canada

May 30	United States	5–2	Canada	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
	Dahlien  3' Sentnor  11', 55' Thompson  45+1' (pen.) Gamero  61'	Report	Allen  54' (pen.) Rose  67'	Stadium: Félix Sánchez Olympic Stadium Referee: Katia García (Mexico)

Knockout stage

Mexico v Canada

June 2 SF	Mexico	2–1	Canada	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
	M. Orozco  77' A. Soto 90'	Report	K. Briggs  65'	Stadium: Félix Sánchez Olympic Stadium Referee: Astrid Gramajo (Guatemala)

Canada v Costa Rica

June 4 3rd	Canada	5–3 (a.e.t.)	Costa Rica	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
	Ottey  16' Jourde  27' Smith  75' Chukwu  101', 120+1'	Report	Solano  24' Scott  45+1' Briceño  45+6'	Stadium: Félix Sánchez Olympic Stadium Referee: Odette Hamilton (Jamaica)

Club competitions

Men’s

Domestic leagues

Canadian Premier League

Main article: 2023 Canadian Premier League season

Regular season

Canadian Premier League

Season	2023
← 2022 2024 →

The 2023 Canadian Premier League season will be the fifth season of the Canadian Premier League, the top level of Canadian soccer. The 2023 CPL playoff champion and 2023 CPL regular season winner will both earn berths in the newly expanded 2024 CONCACAF Champions League. Forge FC are the defending CPL champions, having beaten Atlético Ottawa in the 2022 final. Atlético Ottawa are the defending regular season winners.

Team and rule changes

Eight teams are expected to compete in the 2023 season, with Vancouver FC scheduled to debut, and FC Edmonton being terminated by the league. The player compensation budget increased by $175,000 compared to 2022. Teams must spend between $750,000 and $1,025,000 on their rosters with a minimum of $30,000 per player. A team making full use of the U21 salary rule can reach a compensation maximum of $1,125,000.

Teams

Stadiums and locations

See also: List of soccer stadiums in Canada

Club	Location	Stadium	Capacity
Atlético Ottawa	Ottawa	TD Place Stadium	24,000
Cavalry FC	Foothills County	ATCO Field	6,000
Forge FC	Hamilton	Tim Hortons Field	23,218
HFX Wanderers FC	Halifax	Wanderers Grounds	6,500
Pacific FC	Langford	Starlight Stadium	6,000
Valour FC	Winnipeg	IG Field	33,000
Vancouver FC	Langley	Willoughby Community Park	6,560
York United FC	Toronto	York Lions Stadium	4,000

Personnel and sponsorship

Team	Head coach	Captain	Shirt sponsor (chest)	Shirt sponsor (sleeve)	Kit manufacturer
Atlético Ottawa	Carlos González	TBD		CIBC	Macron
Cavalry	Tommy Wheeldon Jr.	TBD
Forge	Bobby Smyrniotis	TBD
HFX Wanderers	Patrice Gheisar	Andre Rampersad
Pacific	James Merriman	TBD
Valour	Phillip Dos Santos	TBD
Vancouver	Afshin Ghotbi	TBD	CIBC
York United	Martin Nash	Roger Thompson	Carlsberg

Number of teams by province or territory

Rank	Province or territory	Number	Teams
1	Ontario	3	Atlético Ottawa Forge York United
2	British Columbia	2	Pacific Vancouver FC
3	Alberta	1	Cavalry
	Manitoba	1	Valour
	Nova Scotia	1	HFX Wanderers

Coaching changes

Team	Outgoing coach	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming coach	Date of appointment
HFX Wanderers	Stephen Hart	End of contract	October 13, 2022	Pre-season	Patrice Gheisar	November 30, 2022
Vancouver FC	N/A (inaugural season)				Afshin Ghotbi	November 2, 2022
FC Edmonton	Alan Koch	Team folded	November 21, 2022	N/A

Regular season

Results

Home \ Away	ATO	CAV	FOR	HFX	PAC	VAL	VAN	YRK
Atlético Ottawa	—
Cavalry		—
Forge			—
HFX Wanderers				—
Pacific					—
Valour						—
Vancouver FC							—
York United								—

Playoffs

Format

The team who finishes first in the regular-season table will play the team who finishes fourth. Seeds two and three will also play in a semifinal. The semifinals are played over two matches, where whoever scores more goals advances to the final. The second leg is hosted by the higher seed.

Player transfers

Main article: List of Canadian Premier League transfers 2023

U Sports Draft

The 2023 CPL–U Sports Draft is scheduled to take place on December 15, 2022. Each team will make two picks in the draft for a total of 16 selections with expansion club Vancouver FC selecting first.

Foreign players

Main article: List of foreign CPL players

Canadian Premier League teams can sign a maximum of seven international players, out of which only five can be in the starting line-up for each match. Teams are required to carry a minimum of four international players, either signed through or approved by the league's scouting partner, 21st Club. The following players are considered foreign players for the 2023 season. This list does not include Canadian citizens who represent other countries at the international level.

Club	Player 1	Player 2	Player 3	Player 4	Player 5	Player 6	Player 7	Injured players
Atlético Ottawa	Miguel Acosta	Ollie Bassett	Diego Espejo
Cavalry	José Escalante	Daan Klomp	Roberto Alarcón	Jesse Daley	Udoka Chima
Forge	Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson	Malik Owolabi-Belewu	Rezart Rama
HFX Wanderers	Andre Rampersad	João Morelli	Lifumpa Mwandwe	Lorenzo Callegari	Callum Watson	Théo Collomb
Pacific	Djenairo Daniels	Bradley Vliet	Ayman Sellouf
Valour	Andrew Jean-Baptiste	Walter Ponce	Jonathan Esparza	Kevin Rendón	Pacifique Niyongabire	Kian Williams	Jaime Siaj
Vancouver
York United	Tass Mourdoukoutas	Kevin Dos Santos	Lassana Faye	Oussama Alou	Brem Soumaoro

Players in italic denote players new to their respective clubs for the 2023 season, sorted chronologically by their announcement.

2024 CONCACAF Champions League

The 2023 CPL playoff champion and 2023 CPL regular season champion will both earn berths in the newly expanded 2024 CONCACAF Champions League, competing against teams from across North America, Central America and Caribbean for a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup. Qualification for the CONCACAF Champions League is also available to CPL clubs by winning the Canadian Championship.

Should a CPL club hold multiple CCL qualification slots, then the CPL club(s) which has accumulated the most regular season league points will earn the remaining slot(s).

Method	Qualified team
Canadian Championship winner	TBD
CPL champion	TBD
CPL regular season winner	TBD

References

League1 Canada

Main article: 2023 League1 Canada season § Men's competitions

League	Playoff champion	Playoff runner-up	Regular season winner	Regular season runner-up
British Columbia	Whitecaps FC Academy	Victoria Highlanders FC	Victoria Highlanders FC	TSS FC Rovers
Ontario	Simcoe County Rovers FC	Scrosoppi FC	Scrosoppi FC	Simcoe County Rovers FC
Quebec	N/A (league championship decided by regular season)		CS Saint-Laurent	Royal-Sélect de Beauport

Domestic cups

Canadian Championship

Main article: 2023 Canadian Championship

Bracket

Preliminary round April 18–20

Quarter-finals May 9–10

Semi-finals May 24

Final June 7

Langford, BC

Pacific FC (p)

1 (5)

Langford, BC

Cavalry FC

1 (3)

Pacific FC

2

Burnaby, BC

TSS FC Rovers

0

TSS FC Rovers

3

Langford, BC

Valour FC

1

Pacific FC

0

Toronto (York Lions), ON

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

3

York United FC

1

Toronto (York Lions), ON

Vancouver FC

0

York United FC

1

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

4

Vancouver, BC

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

2

CF Montréal

1

Toronto (BMO), ON

Toronto FC

1

Montreal, QC

CF Montréal

2

CF Montréal

2

Montreal, QC

Vaughan Azzurri

0

CF Montréal

2

Hamilton, ON

Forge FC

0

Forge FC

3

Hamilton, ON

FC Laval

0

Forge FC (p)

1 (3)

Toronto (York Lions), ON

Atlético Ottawa

1 (2)

HFX Wanderers FC

1

Atlético Ottawa

3

Final

Main article: 2023 Canadian Championship final

Challenge Trophy

Main article: 2023 Challenge Trophy

2023 Challenge Trophy

2023 Challenge Trophy

Final

Team 1	Score	Team 2
West Ottawa Warriors	1–0	Western Halifax FC

USSF domestic leagues

Major League Soccer

Main article: 2023 Major League Soccer season

MLS Cup Playoffs

Main article: 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs

Round One

Team 1	Series	Team 2	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3
Los Angeles FC	2–0	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	5–2	1–0	—

International leagues/cups

CONCACAF Champions League

Main article: 2023 CONCACAF Champions League

Round of 16

Main article: 2023 CONCACAF Champions League Round of 16

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Vancouver Whitecaps FC	7–3	Real España	5–0	2–3

Notes

Quarter-finals

Main article: 2023 CONCACAF Champions League Quarter-finals

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Vancouver Whitecaps FC	0–6	Los Angeles FC	0–3	0–3

Leagues Cup

Main article: 2023 Leagues Cup

Group stage

Main article: 2023 Leagues Cup group stage

Knockout stage

Main article: 2023 Leagues Cup knockout stage

Round of 32

Team 1	Score	Team 2
UANL	1–1 (5–3 p)	Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Women’s

Domestic leagues

League1 Canada

Main article: 2023 League1 Canada season § Women's competitions

League	Playoff champion	Playoff runner-up	Regular season winner	Regular season runner-up
British Columbia	Whitecaps FC Girls Elite	Unity FC	Whitecaps FC Girls Elite	Nautsa’mawt FC
Ontario	Alliance United FC	NDC Ontario	NDC Ontario	Vaughan Azzurri
Quebec	N/A (league championship decided by regular season)		PEF Québec	Rapides de Chaudière-Ouest

Domestic cups

L1C Inter-provincial Championship

Main article: 2023 League1 Canada season § Inter-provincial Championship

	Semifinals					Championship Game
	1	PEF Québec	6
	4	Unity FC	4
							PEF Québec	0
							Whitecaps FC Girls Elite	5
	2	Alliance United FC	1
	3	Whitecaps FC Girls Elite	2			Third place

External links

• Canadian Soccer Association
• CONCACAF
• FIFA
• MLS