Path laid out for 17th annual Canadian Championship

The path for the 17th Annual Canadian Championship is now known.

The 2023 tournament will have its earliest start date as games begin on April 18, less than a week after the start of the fifth Canadian Premier League (CPL) season.

Canada Soccer hosted the draw at OneSoccer’s studio, where they brought back the East vs. West bracket seen in the 2022 competition. Aside from that, the addition of TSS Rovers of League 1 BC increased the tournament numbers and gave the draw some workarounds.

The teams were split into six pots ahead of Tuesday night’s draw. Pot A1 and A2 are the West side of the bracket – Pots B1 and B2 are the East side of the bracket – Pot C are Semi-Pro East teams that would not host a match in the first round – and Pot D is the winner and runner-up of the competition 2022.

Pot A1: Pacific FC (CPL) and TSS Rovers FC (Liga 1 BC);
Pot A2: Vancouver FC, Cavalry FC and Valor FC (all from the CPL);
Pot B1: CF Montreal (MLS), along with Forge FC and York United FC (both from the CPL);
Pot B2: Atlético Ottawa and HFX Wanderers (both CPL);
Pot C: Vaughan SC Azzurri (Liga 1 Ontario) and FC Laval (Première Ligue de Soccer du Québec);
Pot D: Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC (MLS)

To create some confusion and level both sides of the table, once the pots were selected, one team from Pot B1 – which ended up being York United FC – was selected and moved to Pot A1.

Additional “pre-draw” moves were made in Pots B1, B2 and C, leveling the top four with three teams each.

According to Canada Soccer, a variety of different reasons, including field availability, explained the split pots for each side of the bracket. Cavalry FC, Valor FC and HFX Wanderers have either opted out or are unable to host a home game this early in the year and have been awarded Round 1 games.

Atlético Ottawa, Vancouver FC, Vaughan SC Azzurri and FC Laval have also withdrawn or are unable to host certain games and will be the away team for the entire tournament.

If either of the teams that have chosen to play home games meet in the tournament, Canada Soccer will select a neutral venue for the game.

After the equalizing operations took place, the draw for each game of the 2023 tournament began

The 2023 #CanChamp Bracket is SET 🇨🇦🏆 pic.twitter.com/YHg1TQrd4n

— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) February 1, 2023