Hamilton soccer legend John McGrane views Thursday's international at Tim Hortons Field through this prism.

McGrane, who played in the old North American Soccer League with some of the biggest names in the history of the game and represented Canada at the 1976 Olympics, says, "It's important for fans to understand that it's the first big step in this evolution of Canadian soccer."

Forge FC, in its inaugural season with 17 Canadians and just four internationals on its roster, plays host Thursday to well-established Guatemalan side Antigua GFC, with 16 nationals and eight foreign players on its overall roster. It's the first leg of a home-and-home series in the final qualifying round of the CONCACAF League, a major championship for club teams from North and Central America and the Caribbean. Game 2 is in Guatemeala City next Thursday. Hamilton clinched the right to represent the brand-new Canadian Premier League in this tournament last month.

"It'll be a good test," McGrane says. "We get an opportunity to watch the highest-calibre team Hamilton will face this year."

And if Forge should prevail over Antigua, they'll play an even higher-calibre team, Olimpia of Honduras, in the round of 16.

Hamilton has played host to a number of international teams over the years. The old Steelers hosted some touring teams from the lower standings of Series A, Italy's top league, and many decades ago top British sides often stopped here for games. Tim Hortons Field has been the site of Canadian National Women's Team games against England and Germany, and the entire 2015 Pan Am Soccer tournament.

Thursday ranks right up there with those games, it says here, and maybe even a little higher because it features a local team, playing its new league's first international game, with the opportunity to earn more international games here.

"Being the first club to represent our league and our country in a league of continental scale is of great magnitude. I think it's on par with global competitions we've had in this city," says Forge FC president Matt Afinec.

"This is putting Hamilton on the continental map. The 6 p.m. kickoff time, which is not ideal from a local ticketing and marketing perspective, is entirely rooted in TV obligations in Central America and the Caribbean where the TV contracts are pretty lucrative for this product."

Although the coaching staff has been scouting Antigua through internet programs, Forge players and staff have been keeping a tight lid on their excitement because they've had such a compacted league and Canadian Championship schedule. The two CONCACAF games give Hamilton eight matches in August, with two more near the end of the month if they should prevail over Antigua. Only two of those games are at home.

"It's absolutely bonkers," Forge head coach Bobby Smyrniotis says of the schedule. "We're doing this in our first year, and not a lot of people know much about the competition. But in the soccer world, it's a really big deal and we're happy and proud to be the first to represent our league.

"On every club across the world, it doesn't matter if you're in England, Greece, South America, you always want to play in your continental competition. It's a challenge. But we're not going into this just to have fun and play a couple of games, we're going into it to advance to the next round."

Many of the Forge players haven't had big-time international experience, and Smyrniotis says it's a good opportunity for them to showcase their talents on a much larger stage. These international games, and any that might follow it, will also serve as advertising for the team and the CPL to players around the world, particularly to some Canadian diaspora who were hesitant to join the fledgling league from the USL or lower European leagues.

"Now you could have top Canadian players saying, 'Hey, maybe that's my road map to get to the next level," Smyrniotis suggests.

Forge and the CPL have already been getting wide exposure on international social media over the past few days because of Kadell Thomas's brilliant dribble-and-finish goal against Valour FC at Tim Hortons Field on July 20.

"I've seen it globally on Twitter feeds and websites," Afinec says. "One of the greatest goals I've ever seen. I think that reflects amazingly on not just Forge FC but the CPL and Canadian soccer."

Thursday's game is not part of Forge's 15-game season's ticket package - a scheduled CPL home game against York 9 FC on Friday (Aug. 2) also had to be reset for Sept. 8 - and because it wasn't known until late June whether Forge would be the CPL survivor, marketing couldn't be done well in advance. Accordingly, ticket prices have been lowered by about 25 per cent across the board. Co-Founders, the 2,700-or-so subscribers who account for the roughly 5,000 seasons tickets, will pay only $17. They'll also get to choose to sit in available seats anywhere in the stadium. Groups will pay $20, and general admission is $25.

smilton@thespec.com

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CONCACAF League qualifying round

Antigua GFC (Guatemala) vs. Forge FC (Hamilton)

Thursday, Aug. 1, 6 p.m., Tim Hortons Field

Tickets: Co-Founders $17; groups $20; casual tickets $25; at ticketmaster.ca, forgefootball.club, or 905-547-2287

•First game of two-leg elimination series. Game 2 Thursday, Aug. 8, in Guatemala City

•Winner advances to CONCACAF League round of 16 vs. Olimpia of Honduras in late August

