By Canadian Press

Twelve teams from four leagues to contest 2020 Canadian Championship

Dec 18, 2019 | 11:42 AM

TORONTO — Twelve teams from four different leagues will contest the 2020 Canadian Championship across four rounds.

The soccer tournament will open June 17 and conclude Sept. 23 with the Voyageurs Cup and a berth in the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League on the line. The Montreal Impact won the 2019 Canadian Championship, defeating Toronto FC in a penalty shootout for their fourth national title.

The 2019 tournament was the largest and longest to date, with 13 teams from five leagues competing in five rounds, setting a total attendance record of 154,398 spectators. The competition is one team smaller in 2020 with Ottawa Fury FC of the USL suspending operations.

Eight teams will take part in Qualifying Round 1, playing a home-and-away series June 16-18 and 23-25.

Quebec champion AS Blainville (Premier Ligue du Quebec) will face HFX Wanderers FC of the Canadian Premier League while League 1 Ontario champion Masters Futbol Academy faces York 9 FC of the CPL.

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FC Edmonton takes on Pacific FC while Valour FC plays Forge FC in the other qualifying round matchups featuring CPL sides.

Cavalry FC, the CPL team that went deepest in the 2019 tournament by reaching the semifinals, starts play in the quarterfinal round along with MLS’s Vancouver Whitecaps, Toronto FC and Montreal Impact.

Toronto and Montreal could meet again in 2020, this time in the semifinals.

2020 Canadian Championship Schedule

Qualifying Round 1 (June 16-25)

Match 1: FC Edmonton (CPL) v Pacific FC (CPL)

Match 2: Valour FC (CPL) v Forge FC (CPL)

Match 3: AS Blainville (PLSQ) v HFX Wanderers (CPL)

Match 4: Masters Futbol Academy (League 1 Ontario) v York 9 FC (CPL)

Quarterfinal Round (July 7-16)

Match 5 – Winner Match 1 v Vancouver Whitecaps FC (MLS)

Match 6 – Winner Match 2 v Cavalry FC (CPL)

Match 7 – Winner Match 3 v Montreal Impact (MLS)

Match 8 – Winner Match 4 v Toronto FC (MLS)

Semifinal Round (Aug. 11-20)

Match 9 – Winner Match 5 v Winner Match 6

Match 10 – Winner Match 7 v Winner Match 8

Final Round (15-24 September 2020)

Match 11 – Winner Match 9 v Winner Match 10

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 18, 2019.

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Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter

The Canadian Press