As I’m sure you’ve heard the news, Ottawa is getting a Canadian Premier League for 2020, making it an exciting time to be a soccer fan in the capital region. The club, which is expected to be named Club Atletico de Ottawa, or simply Atletico Ottawa, is backed and owned by Spanish giants Atletico Madrid. The buzz around the soccer community is certainly growing at an accelerated pace, leaving many fans itching for ways to find out more about the club, the league and how to support it. Here is a quick guideline of who, what, when, where and, most importantly, how to get involved with the Canadian Premier League in Ottawa.



A Quick 101

For those who may be new to the the Canadian Premier League, the CPL is the top division of soccer playing under the Canadian Soccer Association, and is preparing to kick off its second season after launching in 2019. With the addition of Ottawa, the league will now consist of 8 teams, with a steady expansion expected. There are currently teams located in Halifax, Hamilton, York region, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary and on Vancouver Island.



Canadian Premier League matches are streamed live on OneSoccer, a Canadian specialized streaming service that broadcasts games, as well as other panel programming and in depth CPL analysis. The streaming service is available on most devices, and contains both a 24hr channel, as well as programs on demand. Season ticket holders for every CPL side will receive a free subscription to this service, otherwise it is available from $5.99/day, $9.99/month or a single payment of $74.99 for 12 months.

Meet The Club

Now that you know about the league and how to watch games, it’s time to get involved with the new club! The official announcement will be taking place this Tuesday February 11th at 12pm during a media event at TD Place. This event is only open to media and members of the supporters groups, however it will be streamed live by OneSoccer, with updates rolling out across the social media platforms. At this event supporters and media will get their first look at the new club, its name, colours and logo.

At 6pm, also on February 11th, supporters and fans of the new club are invited to the Craft Beer Market at Lansdowne for a meet and greet with club officials, as well as a Q&A hosted by OneSoccer. This event is open to the public, however due to an increasing interest in the club, this event will remain first-come first-served, and is a 19+ event, so get there early to ensure you get a space. You can also sign up as a founding member with a $50 deposit on a season ticket, with OneSoccer and a free Ottawa jersey included with a season ticket.

Join the Supporters

Photo: Steve Kingsman/FreeStyle Photography

The BEST way to get involved with the club and soccer community is to join/follow two of the cities well-established supporters groups, Bytown Boys Supporters Club and Stony Monday Riot. These two groups, as well as other vocal supporters, bring the passion and noise to Lansdowne Park, and both groups are open to new members from all walks of life. There is no fee required to be involved, you just need to be passionate about soccer and join them at matches.

Perhaps joining these groups and singing song’s isn’t necessarily for you, and that is fine, everyone is encouraged to support the club in their own way, but it is still worth following these groups on their social media platforms as they both share important information about the club, news and events. These groups also help organize viewing parties for away matches, and , when possible, they organize road trips to attend away games.

See you there!

Now you know who, what, when, where and how Ottawa soccer is evolving, what’s to stop you from getting involved? Following the events on February 11th, there will be a quick succession of news stories and media attention around the club as they quickly sign players and build their roster ahead of a March training camp and the season kicking off in April. At this point the clubs website and social media should be running full tilt. There will be plenty of occasions to get meet new people and help build the soccer community in Ottawa this summer, and we hope you find a way to get involved and support CPL in Ottawa.

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Stuart Mactaggart Stuart has covered Ottawa soccer for six years, most recently covering Atletico Ottawa.

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