Spanish soccer giants Atletico Madrid are creating a franchise in Ottawa to compete in the Canadian Premier League (CPL), according to Spanish media reports.

The project, part of Atletico’s push into North America, is reportedly set to announced in the coming weeks, with the new soccer club on course to make its CPL debut later this year.

Atletico will apparently look to Ottawa Fury FC as the basis for their new team. The Fury were founded in 2011, playing in second tier of North American soccer as part of the now defunct North American Soccer League (NASL), and then the United Soccer League (USL) Championship.

The club dissolved in 2019 after failing to receive sanctioning from the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) and Concacaf, the governing body for soccer in Central and North America and the Caribbean, to continue playing in the USL. The club subsequently sold its USL franchise rights to Miami FC.

Atletico, according to reports, are keen for their team to continue playing at the Fury’s original home, TD Place Stadium, which holds 24,000. It is not yet clear if the side will compete in the CPL under its original name or, more likely, switch to a new one more in line with the Atletico brand.

The La Liga club found itself in a similar situation in 2017 when they announced the purchase of a 61 per cent stake in Mexico’s San Luis team, who now compete in the country’s top-flight Liga MX competition as Atletico San Luis.