2024 Canadian Premier League final
Soccer match
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The 2024 Canadian Premier League final was the sixth edition of the CPL Finals, the post-season championship of the Canadian Premier League, the top level of Canadian soccer, which determined the winner of the 2024 Canadian Premier League season. It was played on November 9, 2024 at ATCO Field in Foothills County, Alberta between Cavalry FC and Forge FC. The 2024 final was a rematch of the 2023 final which was hosted and won by Forge FC.[2]
| Event | 2024 Canadian Premier League season | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Date | November 9, 2024 | ||||||
| Venue | ATCO Field, Foothills County, Alberta | ||||||
| CPL Finals MVP | Tobias Warschewski | ||||||
| Referee | Renzo Villanueva | ||||||
| Attendance | 7,052 | ||||||
| Weather | Cloudy 4 °C (39 °F) 65% humidity[1] | ||||||
Cavalry defeated Forge 2–1 to win their first CPL title. Tobias Warschewski and Sergio Camargo scored first half goals to give Cavalry a 2–0 half-time lead; Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson responded for Forge in the second half. Following the match, Warschewski was named the inaugural CPL Final MVP. Cavalry was awarded the North Star Cup as CPL champion and earned a spot in the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup.[3]
Path to the final
The 2024 CPL season was contested by eight teams. Each team played four games against each of the seven opponents for a total of 28 matches. The top-five teams from the regular season qualified for the playoffs which begin on October 23. The playoffs featured a Page playoff format where teams entered in different rounds depending on their finishing position. All matches in the playoffs were played as single legs. The finals were contested by the winner of the playoffs' first semifinal and the winner of the second semifinal.[4][5]
Regular season standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Playoff qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Forge (S) | 28 | 15 | 5 | 8 | 45 | 31 | +14 | 50 | First semifinal |
| 2 | Cavalry (C) | 28 | 12 | 12 | 4 | 39 | 27 | +12 | 48 | |
| 3 | Atlético Ottawa | 28 | 11 | 11 | 6 | 42 | 31 | +11 | 44 | Quarterfinal |
| 4 | York United | 28 | 11 | 6 | 11 | 35 | 36 | −1 | 39 | Play-in round |
| 5 | Pacific | 28 | 9 | 7 | 12 | 27 | 32 | −5 | 34 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Total number of wins; 3) Head-to-head; 4) Goal differential; 5) Goals for; 6) Away goals differential; 7) Away goals for; 8) Home goals differential; 9) Home goals for; 10) Fewest disciplinary points; 11) Most under-21 domestic player minutes; 12) Drawing of lots.[4]
(C) Champion (qualified to Champions Cup Round one); (S) CPL Shield winner (qualified to Champions Cup Round one)
Notes
Playoff bracket
| Play-in round | First semifinal | Second semifinal | Final | |||||||||||||||
| October 27 | November 9 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Forge FC | 0 | 2 | Cavalry FC | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Cavalry FC | 1 | November 2 | 1 | Forge FC | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Forge FC | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Quarterfinal | 3 | Atlético Ottawa | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| October 27 | ||||||||||||||||||
| October 23 | 3 | Atlético Ottawa (p) | 2 (5) | |||||||||||||||
| 4 | York United | 2 | 4 | York United | 2 (4) | |||||||||||||
| 5 | Pacific FC | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
Background
Cavalry FC
Cavalry reached the CPL final for the third time in six seasons and the second time in a row.
Forge FC
Forge qualified for the CPL playoffs on September 21[6] and clinched first place and the top seed in the playoffs on October 6.[7]
Following a 1–0 win against Atlético Ottawa on November 2, Forge FC qualified for a record-extending sixth consecutive CPL final. Forge attempted to win their fifth CPL championship and tried to become the first CPL team to win the double by winning the CPL Shield and the North Star Cup in the same season.
Head-to-head
The 2024 CPL final was the sixth meeting of the season between these two teams and the twenty-sixth overall. Forge had the advantage in the 2024 regular season against Cavalry, leading the head-to-head with two wins, one draw, and one loss and finishing two points ahead in the standings. This was the second consecutive CPL final between Cavalry and Forge and the third overall. The previous occurrences in 2019 and 2023 were both won by Forge FC.
As the top-two teams in regular season, Forge hosted Cavalry in the first semifinal which was a non-elimination game. Cavalry won the game and earned the right to host the CPL final while Forge qualified to the second semifinal as losers. The match was the 29th of 31 games between the teams that was decided by one goal or fewer.[8]
Venue
ATCO Field in Foothills County, Alberta, home of Cavalry FC, was the host stadium for the final.[9] This was determined by the outcome of the playoffs' first semifinal on October 27 between regular season winner Forge FC and second seed Cavalry FC;[4][5] Cavalry won the match 1–0.[9] ATCO Field has previously hosted the second leg of the 2019 Canadian Premier League finals.
Broadcasting
Pre-match
As part of its broadcasting announcement, the CPL announced that the final would be played on November 9 at 3:00 pm ET.[10][11] The CPL confirmed the date and time following Cavalry's win in the first semifinal.[9]
Associated with the final, the annual Canadian Premier League Awards took place on November 7 in Calgary.[9][12] Matchday featured a "FanFest" headlined by singer Lu Kala.[9][12]
Match
| Cavalry FC | 2–1 | Forge FC |
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Report |
         Cavalry
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    Forge
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CPL Final MVP:
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Assistant referees:
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Match rules
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Post-match
Following the match, Cavalry was awarded the North Star Cup and crowned CPL champions, while striker Tobias Warschewski was named the CPL Final MVP.[13][14] Although the CPL champion team is awarded a spot in the next year's CONCACAF Champions Cup,[4][10] Cavalry had already qualified for the 2025 edition as a result of both them and Forge qualifying for the final.[15][a] Cavalry and Forge faced Pumas UNAM and Monterrey respectively in round one of the Champions Cup; neither club advanced to the competition's round of 16.[17][18]
See also
Notes
- Forge had previously qualified for the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup as CPL Shield winners.[16]