After a lengthy period of silence, the Canadian Premier League seems ready to begin announcing some concrete information. Today the fledgling league revealed that its first-ever commissioner will be Burlington native David Clanachan.

Joining a CPL group that includes former Toronto FC business operations exec Paul Beirne, Clanachan will take charge of the league’s day-to-day operations. His professional background isn’t in sports, having worked in the restaurant industry for years. In 2014, he was President and COO of Tim Hortons Canada, having worked over 35 years at the company.

Clanachan does have experience in sports, though, as a backer of the Timbits minor sports programs in his time at Tim Hortons.

The CPL’s press release also confirms their intent to kick off the league in spring 2019. With about a year and a half to go, there’s plenty of work to do. Clanachan is likely already working on awarding teams to cities around Canada, with Hamilton and Winnipeg the only confirmed locations so far.

More teams are hopefully on the way soon, as the article from the CPL suggests some locations might be announced over the next few weeks.

This news may not be the earth-shattering, tell-all reveal some followers were hoping for, but it’s definitely an important step toward an actual league coming together. With a commissioner in place, the CPL looks like they’re taking some very concrete steps toward starting play.

If this is indeed just the first announcement of many this month, 2018 is off to a promising start for the CPL.