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2025 Canadian Premier League season

Professional soccer league season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2025 Canadian Premier League season was the seventh season of the Canadian Premier League, the top men's professional level of the Canadian Soccer Association's league system.

Season2025
DatesApril 5 – October 18 (regular season)
October 22 – November 9 (playoffs)
ChampionsAtlético Ottawa (1st title)
CPL ShieldForge FC (3rd title)
Quick facts Season, Dates ...
Canadian Premier League
Season2025
DatesApril 5 – October 18 (regular season)
October 22 – November 9 (playoffs)
ChampionsAtlético Ottawa (1st title)
CPL ShieldForge FC (3rd title)
CONCACAF
Champions Cup
Matches112
Goals336 (3 per match)
Top goalscorerSamuel Salter
(19 goals)
Biggest home winForge FC 5–0 Valour FC
(August 2)
Biggest away winValour FC 0–5 Forge FC
(June 22)
Highest scoringCavalry FC 5–4 Vancouver FC
(August 17)
Longest winning run6 matches
Forge FC
(July 18 – August 22)
Longest unbeaten run20 matches
Forge FC
(April 5 – August 22)
Longest winless run11 matches
Vancouver FC
(May 17 – July 25)
Longest losing run5 matches
Valour FC
(June 15 – July 20)
Vancouver FC
(August 10 – September 5)
Highest attendance17,971
Forge FC 2–2 Atlético Ottawa
(May 13)
Lowest attendance1,178
Vancouver FC 2–2 Cavalry FC
(October 18)
Total attendance447,800
Average attendance3,998
← 2024
2026 →
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Rule changes

The CPL's total player compensation budget was increased by $69,500 to a total of $1,182,000 (or $1,282,000 for teams maximizing the U-21 salary incentive).[1][2] Beginning in 2025, players who had three seasons of CPL experience or have lived in Canada for at least three years were considered domestic players for roster purposes.[1]

Teams

The same eight teams that competed in the 2024 season competed in the 2025 season. This was the final season of play for Valour FC who ceased operations.

Stadiums and locations

Location of the 2025 Canadian Premier League teams
More information Club, Results ...
Club Results Location Stadium Capacity
Atlético Ottawa details Ottawa, Ontario TD Place Stadium 24,000
Cavalry FC details Foothills County, Alberta ATCO Field 6,000
Forge FC details Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton Stadium 23,218
HFX Wanderers FC details Halifax, Nova Scotia Wanderers Grounds 7,500
Pacific FC details Langford, British Columbia Starlight Stadium 6,000
Valour FC details Winnipeg, Manitoba Princess Auto Stadium 32,343
Vancouver FC details Langley, British Columbia Willoughby Community Park 6,560
York United FC details Toronto, Ontario York Lions Stadium 4,000
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Personnel and sponsorship

More information Team, Head coach ...
Team Head coach Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Atlético Ottawa Mexico Diego Mejía Canada Nathan Ingham Macron Maple Lodge Farms[3]
Cavalry England Tommy Wheeldon Jr. Canada Marco Carducci WestJet
Forge Canada Bobby Smyrniotis Canada Kyle Bekker WeatherTech[4]
HFX Wanderers Canada Patrice Gheisar Trinidad and Tobago Andre Rampersad Volkswagen
Pacific Canada James Merriman Wales Josh Heard Telus[5]
Valour Canada Phillip Dos Santos Ghana Raphael Ohin OneSoccer
Vancouver Canada Martin Nash (interim) Canada Callum Irving Caffè Artigiano[6]
York United Canada Mauro Eustáquio England Elijah Adekugbe Carlsberg 0.0%[7]
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Coaching changes

More information Team, Outgoing coach ...
Team Outgoing coach Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming coach Date of appointment
York United Mexico Benjamín Mora[8] End of contract November 10, 2024 Pre-season Canada Mauro Eustáquio[9] November 21, 2024
Atlético Ottawa Spain Carlos González[10] Mutual consent November 21, 2024 Mexico Diego Mejía[11] January 15, 2025
Vancouver Iran Afshin Ghotbi[12] Mutual consent July 23, 2025 8th Canada Martin Nash (interim)[12] July 24, 2025
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Regular season

Format

The regular season was played as a quadruple round-robin, with each team playing the other seven teams twice at home and twice away between April and October. The regular season winner Forge FC was awarded the CPL Shield and qualified for Round one of the 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup.

The top five teams qualified for the playoffs.

Standings

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Forge (S) 28 16 10 2 51 22 +29 58 First semifinal and 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup
2 Atlético Ottawa (C) 28 15 11 2 54 28 +26 56 First semifinal
3 Cavalry 28 11 9 8 47 36 +11 42 Quarterfinal
4 HFX Wanderers 28 11 6 11 41 34 +7 39 Play-in round
5 York United 28 10 8 10 43 38 +5 38
6 Valour 28 7 5 16 35 62 −27 26
7 Pacific 28 5 8 15 30 59 −29 23
8 Vancouver 28 4 9 15 35 57 −22 21 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup[a]
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Source: CanPL
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.[13]
(C) Champion (qualified to Champions Cup Round one); (S) CPL Shield winner (qualified to Champions Cup Round one)
Notes:
  1. [a]
    Vancouver FC qualified for the Champions Cup as the runners-up of the 2025 Canadian Championship, due to the winners, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, qualifying through Major League Soccer.

Results

More information Home \ Away, ATO ...
Home \ Away ATO CAV FOR HFX PAC VAL VFC YRK
Atlético Ottawa 2–2 1–1 2–2 3–1 5–2 3–1 3–2
3–0 1–1 2–0 2–0 3–0 0–0 0–0
Cavalry 1–3 4–1 0–0 4–0 4–0 1–1 2–1
0–2 1–1 3–1 1–0 3–0 5–4 0–1
Forge 2–2 1–0 2–1 2–0 1–1 2–1 2–2
2–0 1–1 1–0 4–0 5–0 1–1 3–0
HFX Wanderers 2–0 0–3 0–0 3–1 3–1 1–0 4–0
0–1 1–1 1–2 3–0 4–1 1–2 1–1
Pacific 0–1 1–0 0–2 3–2 2–0 4–4 2–1
0–2 3–3 0–1 2–2 1–4 1–1 1–3
Valour 1–2 1–2 0–5 0–1 0–0 1–3 2–1
3–3 2–1 2–1 0–3 1–1 3–1 0–0
Vancouver 1–4 0–0 0–2 0–2 1–1 1–3 0–2
2–2 2–2 0–1 3–1 2–3 2–5 2–1
York United 0–0 1–2 2–2 1–2 5–1 3–2 1–0
2–2 3–1 1–2 2–0 2–2 1–0 4–0
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Source: CanPL.ca
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Positions by match week

More information Team ╲ Week, Atlético Ottawa ...
Team ╲ Week12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728
Atlético Ottawa5211111211111111122222222222
Cavalry6667543332334443333333333333
Forge3133334444222222211111111111
HFX Wanderers4322222123443334555554545545
Pacific2555755566666666666666777777
Valour8778887887777887777777666666
Vancouver7886466778888778888888888888
York United1444678655555555444445454454
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Source: CanPL As It Stands articles, CanPL standings
  = First semifinal;   = Quarterfinal;   = Play-in round

Playoffs

All times are local.

The 2025 playoffs features a series of single-leg matches for five teams following a modified Page playoff system; the top two regular season teams got byes to the first semifinal; the third-placed team got a bye to the quarterfinal; while the fourth- and fifth-placed teams contested a play-in match to reach the quarterfinal.

The winner of the quarterfinal and the loser of the first semifinal contested the second semifinal. The winner of the first semifinal hosted the winner of the second semifinal in the 2025 CPL Final to crown the league champion, who collected the North Star Cup, and qualified for the 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup.[14]

In playoffs, if the scores were equal at the end of normal time, two 15 minute periods of extra time were played with each team allowed an extra substitution. If still tied, the winner would have been decided by a penalty shoot-out.[13]

If a team completed the 'Double', that is, the regular season winner also won the 2025 CPL Final, then the second-highest seeded regular season team would have qualified for the 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup.[13][15]

Bracket

Play-in roundFirst semifinalSecond semifinalFinal
October 26 – HamiltonNovember 9 – Ottawa
1Forge12Atlético Ottawa (a.e.t.)2
2Atlético Ottawa2November 2 – Hamilton3Cavalry1
1Forge0
Quarterfinal3Cavalry1
October 26 – Foothills County
October 22 – Halifax3Cavalry4
4HFX Wanderers2 (4)5York United1
5York United (p)2 (5)

Play-in round

More information HFX Wanderers, 2–2 (a.e.t.) ...
HFX Wanderers2–2 (a.e.t.)York United
 Report
Penalties
 4–5
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Attendance: 5,444
Referee: Sebastian Noshinravani

Quarterfinal

More information Cavalry, 4–1 ...
Cavalry4–1York United
 Report
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Attendance: 3,729
Referee: Ben Hoskins

First semifinal

More information Forge, 1–2 ...
Forge1–2Atlético Ottawa
 Report
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Attendance: 6,463
Referee: Carly Shaw-MacLaren

Second semifinal

See also: Cavalry FC–Forge FC rivalry
More information Forge, 0–1 ...
Forge0–1Cavalry
Report
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Referee: Yusri Rudolf

Final

Main article: 2025 Canadian Premier League final
More information Atlético Ottawa, 2–1 (a.e.t.) ...
Atlético Ottawa2–1 (a.e.t.)Cavalry
 Report
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Attendance: 13,132[16]
Referee: Michael Venne

Statistical leaders

See also: Canadian Premier League records and statistics § Career player records
As of November 2, 2025

Top scorers

More information Rank, Player ...
Rank Player Club Goals[17]
1 Canada Samuel Salter Atlético Ottawa 20
2 Canada Tiago Coimbra HFX Wanderers 13
3 Canada Brian Wright Forge 12
4 Canada Julian Altobelli York United 11
Canada Ballou Tabla Atlético Ottawa
Germany Tobias Warschewski Cavalry
7 Somalia Ali Musse Cavalry 10
8 Canada Shaan Hundal Valour / York United 9
United States David Rodríguez Atlético Ottawa
10 Canada Sergio Camargo Cavalry 8
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Hat-tricks

More information Player, For ...
PlayerForAgainstResultDateRef
Canada Samuel Salter4Atlético OttawaValour5–2 (H)May 10[18]
Canada Brian WrightForgeValour5–0 (A)June 22[19]
Ivory Coast Yann ToualyPacificHFX Wanderers3–2 (H)July 12[20]
Canada Tiago CoimbraHFX WanderersValour4–1 (H)August 22[21]
Canada Shaan Hundal4York UnitedPacific5–1 (H)August 24[22]
Canada Myles MorganValourVancouver5–2 (A)September 5[23]
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Note: 4 – player scored 4 goals

Top assists

More information Rank, Player ...
Rank Player Club Assists[17]
1 United States David Rodríguez Atlético Ottawa 9
2 Somalia Ali Musse Cavalry 7
3 Canada Themi Antonoglou Valour 6
Canada Manny Aparicio Atlético Ottawa
Canada Thierno Bah Vancouver
Canada Sergio Camargo Cavalry
7 Canada Max Ferrari York United 5
Canada Hoce Massunda Forge
Canada Sean Rea Halifax Wanderers
Canada Wesley Timóteo Halifax Wanderers
Germany Tobias Warschewski Cavalry
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Clean sheets

More information Rank, Player ...
Rank Player Club Clean sheets[17]
1 Czech Republic Jassem Koleilat Forge 13
2 Canada Nathan Ingham Atlético Ottawa 11
3 Algeria Rayane Yesli HFX Wanderers 8
Canada Marco Carducci Cavalry
5 Mexico Diego Urtiaga York United 7
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Attendance

As of October 21, 2025
More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Total High Low Average Change
1 Forge FC 97,054 17,971 4,371 6,932 +31.3%†
2 HFX Wanderers 90,420 7,143 5,044 6,459 +6.6%†
3 Atlético Ottawa 65,899 6,087 3,337 4,706 −14.2%†
4 Cavalry FC 59,781 5,114 3,669 4,270 +1.1%†
5 Valour FC 44,977 11,390 1,591 3,213 +3.4%†
6 Pacific FC 41,459 4,300 2,281 2,961 −2.6%†
7 York United 28,768 7,218 1,342 2,055 +37.1%†
8 Vancouver FC 19,442 2,006 1,178 1,389 −56.1%†
League total 447,800 17,971 1,178 3,998 +0.4%†
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Source: CanPL, FotMob

Awards

Canadian Premier League Awards

The 2025 Canadian Premier League Awards was held in Gatineau, Quebec, on November 7, 2025.[24]

More information Award, Recipient ...
Award Recipient Finalists Ref
Golden Boot Canada Samuel Salter (Atlético Ottawa)
 N/A
Golden Glove Czech Republic Jassem Koleilat (Forge FC)

Canada Marco Carducci (Cavalry FC)
Canada Nathan Ingham (Atlético Ottawa)
Czech Republic Jassem Koleilat (Forge FC)

 [25]
Coach of the Year Canada Bobby Smyrniotis (Forge FC)

Canada Mauro Eustáquio (York United FC)
Mexico Diego Mejía (Atlético Ottawa)
Canada Bobby Smyrniotis (Forge FC)

 [26]
Player of the Year Canada Samuel Salter (Atlético Ottawa) –
Best Under 21 Canadian Player of the Year Canada Tiago Coimbra (Halifax Wanderers FC)

Canada Noah Abatneh (Atlético Ottawa)
Brazil Gabriel Antinoro (Atlético Ottawa)
Canada Thierno Bah (Vancouver FC)
Canada Tiago Coimbra (Halifax Wanderers FC)
Canada Hoce Massunda (Forge FC)

 [27]
Defender of the Year Canada Daniel Nimick (Forge FC)

Canada Noah Abatneh (Atlético Ottawa)
Canada Daniel Nimick (Forge FC)
Albania Rezart Rama (Forge FC)

 [28]
Players' Player of the Year Canada Samuel Salter (Atlético Ottawa)

Canada Julian Altobelli (York United FC)
Ghana Nana Ampomah (Forge FC)
Canada Manuel Aparicio (Alético Ottawa)
Canada Kyle Bekker (Forge FC)
Canada Tiago Coimbra (Halifax Wanderers FC)
Somalia Ali Musse (Cavalry FC)
Canada Daniel Nimick (Forge FC)
United States David Rodríguez (Atlético Ottawa)
Canada Samuel Salter (Atlético Ottawa)
Canada Ballou Tabla (Atlético Ottawa)

 [29]
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Monthly Awards

More information Month, Manager of the Month ...
Month Manager of the Month Player of the Month Goalkeeper of the Month References
Manager Club Player Club Goalkeeper Club
April Canada Patrice Gheisar Halifax Wanderers FC United States David Rodríguez Atlético Ottawa Algeria Rayane Yesli Halifax Wanderers FC [30][31][32]
May England Tommy Wheeldon Jr. Cavalry FC Canada Samuel Salter Atlético Ottawa Canada Marco Carducci Cavalry FC [33][34][35]
June Mexico Diego Mejía Atlético Ottawa Canada Daniel Nimick Forge FC Canada Nathan Ingham Atlético Ottawa [36][37][38]
July Canada Mauro Eustáquio York United FC Canada Kyle Bekker Forge FC Czech Republic Jassem Koleilat Forge FC [39][40][41]
August Canada Bobby Smyrniotis Forge FC Somalia Ali Musse Cavalry FC Canada Nathan Ingham Atlético Ottawa [42][43][44]
September Mexico Diego Mejía Atlético Ottawa Canada Ballou Tabla Atlético Ottawa Canada Nathan Ingham Atlético Ottawa [45][46][47]
October England Tommy Wheeldon Jr. Cavalry FC Canada Manuel Aparicio Atlético Ottawa Canada Callum Irving Vancouver FC [48][49][50]
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Team of the Week

The Gatorade Team of the Week are selected by the CPL's Kristian Jack and OneSoccer's Oliver Platt.

More information Team of the Week, Week ...
Team of the Week
Week Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards Ref
1
[51]
2
[52]
3
[53]
4
[54]
5
[55]
6
[56]
7
[57]
8
[58]
9
[59]
10
[60]
11
[61]
12
[62]
13
[63]
14
[64]
15
|Lebanon Bitar (York)|
[65]
16
[66]
17
[67]
18
[68]
19
[69]
20
[70]
21
[71]
22
[72]
23
[73]
24
[74]
25
[75]
26
[76]
27
[77]
28
[78]
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Player transfers

There were two transfer windows, the first open from January 31 to April 23 and the second from July 24 to August 21.[79]

CPL–U Sports Draft

The 2025 CPL–U Sports Draft took place on December 5, 2024.[80]

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.[2]

The following international players were signed for the 2025 season. To be considered domestic for CPL purposes, players must be Canadian citizens, permanent residents, refugees, or (new for 2025) foreign players with at least three seasons spent in the league. Note that these players may still represent other countries in international competitions.[81][82]

More information Club, Player 1 ...
Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Player 4 Player 5 Player 6 Player 7 Inactive players[c] Former players
Atlético Ottawa Spain Alberto Zapater Mexico Juan Castro United States David Rodríguez New Zealand Monty Patterson Mexico Kevin Ortega Mexico Antonio Álvarez Spain Roni Mbomio Mexico Iker Moreno
Cavalry Germany Nicolas Wähling England Levi Laing Netherlands Ayman Sellouf Australia Jesse Daley
Forge Belgium Béni Badibanga Ghana Nana Opoku Ampomah Albania Rezart Rama Serbia Marko Jevremović Greece Christos Liatifis Belgium Victor Klonaridis
HFX Wanderers France Lorenzo Callegari Brazil Vitor Dias France Yohan Baï Republic of the Congo Jason Bahamboula Italy Giorgio Probo
Pacific France Aly Ndom Brazil Daniel de Pauli Sweden Lukas Browning Lagerfeldt Mexico Emanuel Montejano Colombia Juan Quintana Portugal Pedro Machado
Valour England Kian Williams Portugal Diogo Ressurreição Portugal Xavier Venâncio Portugal Bruno Figueiredo Netherlands Diego Konincks New Zealand Oskar van Hattum
Vancouver Mexico José Navarro Uganda Allan Enyou Brazil Juan Batista Brazil Michel Cavalcante France Abdoulaye Ouattara Senegal Pathé Ndiaye Uruguay Nicolás Mezquida
York United Mexico Oswaldo León Mexico Orlando Botello Mexico Diego Urtiaga Mexico Leonel López Portugal Bryan Rosa
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Players in italic denote players who were new to their respective clubs for the 2025 season, sorted chronologically by their announcement. Players in bold indicate players who have represented their national teams at the senior level.

Notes

  1. [a]
    In the 109th minute, the match was suspended for 4 minutes due to lightning in the area. The match was suspended for another 31 minutes in the 112th minute for the same reason.
  2. [b]
    The match, originally scheduled for 5:00 pm, was delayed 20 minutes due to the need for snow removal.
  3. [c]
    Players who remain under contract but have suffered season-ending injury and may not return to play. They do not count towards roster or cap restrictions and as such can be replaced by another foreign player.

References

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