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Halifax has a booster at the top of the Canadian Premier League food chain.

CPL commissioner David Clanachan was visiting the city this week and raved about the soccer market and its fledgling CPL franchise, HFX Wanderers FC. Both team and league begin their first season in April.

“I cannot say enough times how impressed I am with the way that the city and the region has embraced the Wanderers and made it their own,” Clanachan said in an interview Tuesday evening.

“It doesn’t surprise me. The one thing about Maritimers, when you win them over, they remain on your side. You become like family. We want to make sure we put out an entertaining product on the field. We’re not building teams, we’re building clubs. And clubs are about the community. And you build clubs from the community on up. We’re building a movement.”

The league is on target for its April 27 kickoff when Hamilton’s Forge FC hosts north Toronto’s York 9 FC at Tim Hortons Field.

The Wanderers are still working on a date for their season opener but Clanachan expects an announcement “in the next week or so.”

The league is looking at 14 home and 14 away league games plus at least one Canadian Championship home contest for each of the league’s seven teams.

“Things were coming along quickly with lots happening and then on Jan. 1 it was like someone turned it into overdrive,” Clanachan said. “As we went through January, it was like the kid who spins the globe and just keeps spinning it to see how fast it can go. It’s been a whirlwind. But it’s all good.

“We’re building something that we know it’s a legacy. We have had so much support not only in Canada, but overseas as well. It’s a bit like a fraternity because it’s a global game. Everyone wants to see you succeed. You feel good about that.”

Joining Halifax, York and the Hamilton-based squad in the league’s inaugural season are: Valour FC (Winnipeg), FC Edmonton, Cavalry FC (Calgary) and Pacific FC (Victoria).

“When Pacific FC comes to town, I think that’ll be a big game out here, and when Halifax goes to Pacific FC,” Clanachan said. “The road trip for either of those teams will be the third longest road trip in the world for the game of soccer. Think about it, it’s closer to fly to Europe from here. That should be interesting.”

Clanachan — who spent more than 35 years with Tim Hortons, rising to chief operating officer — admitted travel expenditures will be costly but are “built in the business model.”

“If you want to be a league that claims to be coast to coast and for Canadians by Canadians, then you better be prepared to be on both the east and west coasts,” said the Scottish-born Clanachan, who hails from Burlington, Ont. “We have that covered off.”

As impressed as he was with the city, Clanachan was tickled pink with the Wanderers’ home pitch, the 6,000-seat pop-up stadium at the Wanderers Grounds.

“It’s such a beautiful spot to play. It might be one of the prettiest stadiums to play in,” he said.

“I grew up coming out here as part of Tim Hortons. I love this part of the world. I would love nothing better on a Saturday afternoon then spend time in downtown Halifax, go to the game and then spend more time in downtown Halifax afterwards. What a great place to be.”

While in Halifax, Clanachan visited with Soccer Nova Scotia officials to show his gratitude of a partnership between the organization and the Wanderers club.

Last week it was announced that SNS would ensure that none of its sanctioned Nova Scotia Soccer League games will clash with the Wanderers’ weekend home matches. This means no NSSL games will kickoff within two hours of a Wanderers’ match, allowing all soccer players and their families to be able to attend games without missing their own.

“I wanted to meet with the guys from Soccer Nova Scotia and thank them,” Clanachan said. “Nobody has done what Nova Scotia did which is to say, ‘We’re not going to play any games when the Wanderers are playing.’ What greater vote of confidence for your professional soccer team than to do something like that.

“I see a great partnership, not in the meaning of business, but in terms of working together between our league and Soccer Nova Scotia.”

It’s not the only partnership in which the league can boast about.

The CPL has developed a partnership with U Sports in which student-athletes will be able to play with a CPL club, while preserving their eligibility, in the spring and summer before returning to university competition.

The student-athlete, who will be paid through a CPL-U Sports developmental contract, will be released to return to their U Sports team on Aug. 15. Once their U Sports team has wrapped up their season, the student-athlete may re-join the CPL club.

Student-athletes who have graduated or whose eligibility has expired can declare themselves available for the general CPL draft.

If a U Sports player signs with a CPL team as a free agent, that player would lose their eligibility.

“The reaction that we’ve had from Canadians for doing this was unbelievable,” Clanachan said.

“I shouldn’t have been surprised. In a world where there are questions about a student-athlete, this is the type of thing where you respect the fact that it’s OK to play a sport and have an education at the same time. To respect the two and not have to give up one or the other, that takes the pressure off somebody going to school.”