The seventh edition of the Amway Canadian Championship is set to kick off on Wednesday afternoon, with the first of two preliminary round matches between Ottawa Fury FC and FC Edmonton to be played at 4:30 p.m. PT at Carleton University in Ottawa.
For the first time since the inception of the competition, the Championship will feature a preliminary knockout home and away round between FC Edmonton and the most recent addition competition, Ottawa Fury FC. The two clubs will meet in Ottawa on Wednesday, then again on April 30 in Edmonton, with the team scoring the greater aggregate of goals over the two matches moving on to the semifinal round against Major League Soccer side Montreal Impact.
These two preliminary round matches will be streamed lived on canadasoccer.com/championship.
Both Ottawa and Edmonton are made up of multiple former Vancouver Whitecaps FC players and coaches. The Fury have a total of five former 'Caps on their roster, including defenders Omar Jarun and Mason Trafford, midfielders Phillipe Davies and Anthony Donatelli, and striker Tommy Heinemann. Former 'Caps captain Martin Nash is also an assistant coach with the expansion North American Soccer League outfit.
As for FC Edmonton, they're led by former Whitecaps FC assistant coach Colin Miller. And they also have two former Whitecaps FC Residency players in their squad: Gagandeep Dosanjh and Sadi Jalali.
As per previous years, the semifinal stage of the competition will be played on a home and away knock-out format in which the highest ranked team will play at home in the second leg. The team which scores the greater aggregate of goals in the two matches qualifies for the final.
The first leg of the semifinal round will be played on May 7, when the winner of the Ottawa Fury FC and FC Edmonton play-in round will host Montreal Impact, while Whitecaps FC will be visiting Toronto FC at BMO Field (kickoff at 4:30 p.m. PT).
The return leg of the semifinal round will then see the same teams traveling to play their opponents at home on May 14, with the Impact hosting at Saputo Stadium and Toronto FC visiting BC Place to face Whitecaps FC (kickoff at 7:30 p.m. PT). Tickets: http://ow.ly/w5dRD.
The semifinal round seeding has been determined according to the three MLS clubs’ final position in league play for 2013, with the winner of the preliminary round entering the competition seeded in fourth place.
Matches in both legs of the semifinal round will be broadcast live on Sportsnet One.
The final home-and-away that will crown the Championship winner will be played on May 28 and June 4, and will also be broadcast on Sportsnet One. The team that comes on top on aggregate for the two matches will be declared champion, lift the Voyageurs Cup, and earn the right to represent Canada in the 2014-2015 CONCACAF Champions League.
Additional information on the competition can be found on canadasoccer.com/championship.
Fans are encourage to follow @CanadaSoccerEN on Twitter using #canChamp for tournament updates, but also to connect with the five Canadian professional clubs involved for live match coverage (@impactmontreal, @OttawaFuryFC,@torontofc, @FCEdmontonNow, @WhitecapsFC). Match highlights and reports will be available oncanadasoccer.com/championship as well as on CanadaSoccerTV.
It’s not too late to participate in the best sporting experience in Vancouver. Whitecaps FC offer a flexible range of ticket products, including half-season tickets ($244), 5-packs ($149), student season tickets ($199), and a youth soccer half-season ticket ($100). Single-match tickets start at $22, subject to applicable fees. For more information on all Whitecaps FC ticket options, call 604.669.9283 ext. 2 or visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets.
