2025 Canadian Premier League season

The 2025 Canadian Premier League season is the seventh season of the Canadian Premier League, the top level of Canadian soccer. Cavalry FC are the defending champions, having defeated Forge FC in the 2024 final.^[1]

Canadian Premier League

Season	2025
Dates	April 5 – October 18 (regular season) October 22 – November 9 (playoffs)
Matches played	76
Goals scored	217 (2.86 per match)
Top goalscorer	Samuel Salter (12 goals)
Biggest home win	Forge 5–0 Valour (August 2)
Biggest away win	Valour 0–5 Forge (June 22)
Highest scoring	Cavalry 5–4 Vancouver (August 17)
Longest winning run	5 matches Atlético Ottawa (April 13 – May 10) Forge (July 18 – present)
Longest unbeaten run	19 matches Forge (April 5 – present)
Longest winless run	11 matches Vancouver (May 17 – July 25)
Longest losing run	5 matches Valour (June 15 – July 20)
Highest attendance	17,971 Forge 2–2 Atlético Ottawa (May 13)
Lowest attendance	1,278 Vancouver 1–4 Atlético Ottawa (April 13)
Total attendance	294,503
Average attendance	4,090
← 2024 2026 → All statistics correct as of August 17, 2025.

Rule changes

The CPL's total player compensation budget was increased by $69,500 to a total of $1,182,000 (or $1,282,000 for teams maximizing the U-21 salary incentive).^[2][3] Beginning in 2025, players who have three seasons of CPL experience or have lived in Canada for at least three years are considered domestic players for roster purposes.^[2]

Teams

The same eight teams that competed in the 2024 season are competing in the 2025 season, though this is expected to be the last season with eight teams, with expansion anticipated for 2026.^[4]

Stadiums and locations

Forge

Cavalry

Pacific

Wanderers

York

Valour

Vancouver

Ottawa

Location of the 2025 Canadian Premier League teams

Club	Results	Location	Stadium	Capacity
Atlético Ottawa	details	Ottawa, Ontario	TD Place Stadium	24,000
Cavalry FC	details	Foothills County, Alberta	ATCO Field	6,000
Forge FC	details	Hamilton, Ontario	Hamilton Stadium	23,218
HFX Wanderers FC	details	Halifax, Nova Scotia	Wanderers Grounds	7,500
Pacific FC	details	Langford, British Columbia	Starlight Stadium	6,000
Valour FC	details	Winnipeg, Manitoba	Princess Auto Stadium	32,343
Vancouver FC	details	Langley, British Columbia	Willoughby Community Park	6,560
York United FC	details	Toronto, Ontario	York Lions Stadium	4,000

Personnel and sponsorship

Team	Head coach	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
Atlético Ottawa	Diego Mejía	Nathan Ingham	Macron	Maple Lodge Farms[5]
Cavalry	Tommy Wheeldon Jr.	Marco Carducci		WestJet
Forge	Bobby Smyrniotis	Kyle Bekker		WeatherTech[6]
HFX Wanderers	Patrice Gheisar	Andre Rampersad		Volkswagen
Pacific	James Merriman	Josh Heard		Telus[7]
Valour	Phillip Dos Santos	Raphael Ohin		OneSoccer
Vancouver	Martin Nash (interim)	Callum Irving		Caffè Artigiano[8]
York United	Mauro Eustáquio	Elijah Adekugbe		Carlsberg 0.0%[9]

Coaching changes

Team	Outgoing coach	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming coach	Date of appointment
York United	Benjamín Mora[10]	End of contract	November 10, 2024	Pre-season	Mauro Eustáquio[11]	November 21, 2024
Atlético Ottawa	Carlos González[12]	Mutual consent	November 21, 2024		Diego Mejía[13]	January 15, 2025
Vancouver	Afshin Ghotbi[14]	Mutual consent	July 23, 2025	8th	Martin Nash (interim)[14]	July 24, 2025

Regular season

Format

The regular season is played as a quadruple round-robin, with each team playing the other seven teams twice at home and twice away between April and October. The regular season winner (the team ranked first after all 28 games) will qualify for the 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup and the top five teams will qualify for the playoffs; the top two will get byes to the first semifinal. If the regular season winner also wins the 2025 CPL Final, then the second-highest seeded regular season team will qualify for the 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup.^[15]

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Playoff qualification
1	Forge	19	12	7	0	37	13	+24	43	First semifinal and 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup
2	Atlético Ottawa	19	11	6	2	37	19	+18	39	First semifinal
3	Cavalry	19	8	5	6	28	20	+8	29	Quarterfinal
4	York United	19	7	5	7	28	22	+6	26	Play-in round
5	HFX Wanderers	19	7	5	7	24	24	0	26
6	Pacific	19	5	4	10	21	34	−13	19
7	Valour	19	4	3	12	19	43	−24	15
8	Vancouver	19	2	5	12	23	42	−19	11

Updated to match(es) played on August 17, 2025. Source: CanPL
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Total number of wins; 3) Head-to-head; 4) Goal differential; 5) Goals for; 6) Away goals differential; 7) Away goals for; 8) Home goals differential; 9) Home goals for; 10) Fewest disciplinary points (Yellow cards count for one point and red cards [direct or accumulation of two yellow cards] count as three points); 11) Most under-21 domestic player minutes; 12) Coin toss (tie between two (2) clubs) or drawing of lots (tie between three (3) or more clubs).^[16]

Results

Home \ Away	ATO	CAV	FOR	HFX	PAC	VAL	VFC	YRK
Atlético Ottawa		Aug 23	1–1	2–2	3–1	5–2	Aug 30	3–2
	Sep 27	Sep 21	2–0	Sep 6	3–0	Oct 12	0–0
Cavalry	1–3		Aug 30	0–0	4–0	4–0	1–1	2–1
0–2		Oct 10	Sep 13	1–0	Sep 20	5–4	0–1
Forge	2–2	1–0		2–1	2–0	1–1	2–1	2–2
2–0	1–1		Sep 6	Sep 27	5–0	Oct 4	Oct 18
HFX Wanderers	2–0	0–3	0–0		3–1	3–1	1–0	Sep 1
Oct 18	1–1	1–2		Sep 20	Aug 22	1–2	Oct 4
Pacific	0–1	1–0	0–2	3–2		2–0	4–4	2–1
0–2	Oct 5	0–1	2–2		Oct 18	Sep 13	1–3
Valour	1–2	1–2	0–5	0–1	0–0		1–3	2–1
Oct 5	2–1	Sep 12	Oct 11	Aug 31		3–1	0–0
Vancouver	1–4	0–0	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–3		0–2
2–2	Oct 18	Aug 22	Sep 28	2–3	Sep 5		Sep 21
York United	0–0	1–2	2–2	1–2	Aug 24	3–2	1–0
Sep 14	Sep 5	1–2	2–0	Oct 9	Sep 28	4–0

Updated to match(es) played on August 17, 2025. Source: CanPL.ca
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Positions by matchweek

Team ╲ Week	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28
Atlético Ottawa	5	2	1	1	1	1	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2
Cavalry	6	6	6	7	5	4	3	3	3	2	3	3	4	4	4	3	3	3
Forge	3	1	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1
HFX Wanderers	4	3	2	2	2	2	2	1	2	3	4	4	3	3	3	4	5	5
Pacific	2	5	5	5	7	5	5	5	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6
Valour	8	7	7	8	8	8	7	8	8	7	7	7	7	8	8	7	7	7
Vancouver	7	8	8	6	4	6	6	7	7	8	8	8	8	7	7	8	8	8
York United	1	4	4	4	6	7	8	6	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	4	4

Updated to match(es) played on August 10, 2025. Source: CanPL As It Stands articles, CanPL standings
  = First semifinal;   = Quarterfinal;   = Play-in round

Playoffs

The 2025 season will use the same Page playoff system as the past two seasons. The team who finishes first in the regular season table will play the team who finishes second, with the winner hosting the final. The fourth- and fifth-placed teams will play in a play-in round, and the winner will then play the third-placed team in a quarterfinal. The quarterfinal winner will then play the loser of the game between the first- and second-placed teams for the other spot in the final.^[16]

In playoffs, if the scores are equal at the end of normal time, extra time will be played for two periods of 15 minutes each. If still tied, the winner will be decided by a penalty shoot-out.^[16]

The winner of the final will qualify for the 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup.

Bracket

Play-in round

First semifinal

Second semifinal

Final

October 25 or 26

November 8 or 9

1

2

November 1 or 2

Quarterfinal

October 25 or 26

October 22

3

4

5

Statistical leaders

See also: Canadian Premier League records and statistics § Career player records

As of August 17, 2025

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals[17]
1	Samuel Salter	Atlético Ottawa	12
2	Julian Altobelli	York United	9
3	Tiago Coimbra	HFX Wanderers	8
	Brian Wright	Forge
5	David Rodríguez	Atlético Ottawa	7
6	Ballou Tabla	Atlético Ottawa	6
	Tobias Warschewski	Cavalry
8	Nana Ampomah	Forge	5
	Gabriel Bitar	York United
	Sergio Camargo	Cavalry
	Ali Musse	Cavalry

Hat-tricks

Player	For	Against	Result	Date	Ref
Samuel Salter4	Atlético Ottawa	Valour	5–2 (H)	May 10	[18]
Brian Wright	Forge	Valour	5–0 (A)	June 22	[19]
Yann Toualy	Pacific	HFX Wanderers	3–2 (H)	July 12	[20]

Top assists

Rank	Player	Club	Assists[21]
1	Sergio Camargo	Cavalry	5
	David Rodríguez	Atlético Ottawa
3	Themi Antonoglou	Valour	4
	Elage Bah	Vancouver
	Juan Castro	Atlético Ottawa
	Ali Musse	Cavalry
	Tobias Warschewski	Cavalry
8	Manny Aparicio	Atlético Ottawa	3
	Marco Bustos	Pacific
	Max Ferrari	York United
	Bruno Figueiredo	Valour
	Hoce Massunda	Forge
	Daniel Nimick	Forge
	Giorgio Probo	HFX Wanderers
	Samuel Salter	Atlético Ottawa

Clean sheets

Rank	Player	Club	Clean sheets[22]
1	Jassem Koleilat	Forge	9
2	Nathan Ingham	Atlético Ottawa	7
3	Marco Carducci	Cavalry	6
	Diego Urtiaga	York United
	Rayane Yesli	HFX Wanderers

Attendance

As of August 13, 2025

Pos	Team	Total	High	Low	Average	Change
1	Forge FC	66,725	17,971	4,371	7,414	+40.4%†
2	HFX Wanderers	57,630	7,143	5,044	6,403	+5.7%†
3	Atlético Ottawa	37,206	6,068	3,337	4,651	−15.2%†
4	Cavalry FC	36,921	5,114	3,669	4,102	−2.9%†
5	Valour FC	34,615	11,390	1,591	3,846	+23.8%†
6	Pacific FC	27,885	3,420	2,281	2,789	−8.3%†
7	York United	20,289	7,218	1,342	2,254	+50.4%†
8	Vancouver FC	13,232	2,006	1,278	1,470	−53.5%†
	League total	294,503	17,971	1,278	4,090	+2.7%†

Source: CanPL, FotMob

Awards

Team of the Week

The Gatorade Team of the Week are selected by the CPL's Kristian Jack and OneSoccer's Oliver Platt.

Team of the Week
Week	Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards	Ref
1	Koleilat (Forge)	Jevremović (Forge) Quintana (Pacific) Nimick (Forge) Chung (Pacific)	Rea (HFX) Rodríguez (Ottawa) Adekugbe (York) Kratt (Pacific)	Babouli (Forge) Altobelli (York)	[23]
2	Ingham (Ottawa)	Sow (HFX) Achinioti-Jönsson (Forge) Kane (Forge)	dos Santos (Ottawa) Bekker (Forge) Aparicio (Ottawa) Ampomah (Forge)	Rodríguez (Ottawa) Coimbra (HFX) Probo (HFX)	[24]
3	Carducci (Cavalry)	Timoteo (HFX) Enyou (Vancouver) Abatneh (Ottawa) Fernandez (Valour)	Aparicio (Ottawa) Mezquida (Vancouver) Fotsing (Vancouver)	Rea (HFX) Warschewski (Cavalry) Probo (HFX)	[25]
4	Ingham (Ottawa)	Ndom (Pacific) Meilleur-Giguère (HFX) Pearlman (HFX)	Ferrazzo (York) Hojabrpour (Forge) Castro (Ottawa) Ferrari (York)	Tabla (Ottawa) Altobelli (York) Dias (HFX)	[26]
5	Ingham (Ottawa)	dos Santos (Ottawa) Meilleur-Giguère (HFX) O'Connor (Vancouver) Aird (Cavalry)	Camargo (Cavalry) Shome (Cavalry) Bekker (Forge)	Salter (Ottawa) Díaz (Vancouver) Warschewski (Cavalry)	[27]
6	Ingham (Ottawa)	Lajeunesse (Pacific) Ndom (Pacific) Laing (Cavalry) Antinoro (Ottawa)	Rodríguez (Ottawa) Musse (Cavalry) Bustos (Pacific) Shome (Cavalry)	Salter (Ottawa) Warschewski (Cavalry)	[28]
7	Yesli (HFX)	Timoteo (HFX) Montgomery (Cavalry) Egwu (Valour) Aird (Cavalry)	Ampomah (Forge) Musse (Cavalry) Twardek (Valour) Aparicio (Ottawa) Callegari (HFX)	Warschewski (Cavalry)	[29]
8	Carducci (Cavalry)	Timoteo (HFX) Meilleur-Giguère (HFX) Nimick (Forge) Pearlman (HFX)	Camargo (Cavalry) Musse (Cavalry) Johnston (HFX) Callegari (HFX)	Warschewski (Cavalry) Altobelli (York)	[30]
9	Carducci (Cavalry)	Botello (York) Owolabi-Belewu (Forge) Adekugbe (York) dos Santos (Ottawa)	Kibato (York) Yeates (York) Fotsing (Vancouver) Ampomah (Forge)	Salter (Ottawa) Altobelli (York)	[31]
10	Ingham (Ottawa)	Montgomery (Cavalry) Nimick (Forge) Cloutier (Ottawa)	dos Santos (Ottawa) Figueiredo (Valour) Camargo (Cavalry) Twardek (Valour)	Herdman (Cavalry) Wright (Forge) Massunda (Forge)	[32]
11	Ingham (Ottawa)	Botello (York) Nimick (Forge) Pearlman (Halifax) Antinoro (Ottawa)	Kibato (York) Aparicio (Ottawa) Bekker (Forge) Accettola (York)	Rodríguez (Ottawa) Coimbra (Halifax)	[33]
12	Pavela (York)	Gherasimencov (Cavalry) Nimick (Forge) Meilleur-Giguère (Halifax) Pearlman (Halifax)	Ampomah (Forge) Camargo (Cavalry) Musse (Cavalry) Kibato (York) Hojabrpour (Forge)	Wright (Forge)	[34]
13	Ingham (Ottawa)	dos Santos (Ottawa) Ndom (Pacific) Duhaney-Walker (Ottawa) Rama (Forge)	Rea (Halifax) Fry (Vancouver) Aparicio (Ottawa) Reid (York)	Coimbra (Halifax) Wright (Forge)	[35]
14	Koleilat (Forge)	Botello (York) Ndom (Pacific) Cloutier (Ottawa) Kunle Dada-Luke (Vancouver)	Toualy (Pacific) Bustos (Pacific) Reid (York) Kibato (York) Bekker (Forge)	Coimbra (Halifax)	[36]
15	Ingham (Ottawa)	Ferrari (York) Nimick (Forge) Sturing (York) Aird (Cavalry)	Ampomah (Forge)| Bitar (York)| Rodríguez (Ottawa) Castro (Ottawa) Bekker (Forge)	Salter (Ottawa)	[37]
16	Urtiaga (York)	Botello (York) Cloutier (Ottawa) Sturing (York) Fernandez (Valour)	Froese (Valour) Rodríguez (Ottawa) Paton (Forge) Callegari (HFX) Bekker (Forge)	Salter (Ottawa)	[38]
17	Irving (Vancouver)	Botello (York) O'Connor (Vancouver) Sturing (York) Rama (Forge)	Fry (Vancouver) Young (Pacific) Bekker (Forge) Chung (Pacific)	Babouli (Forge) Ampomah (Forge)	[39]
18	Carducci (Cavalry)	Kozlovskiy (Ottawa) Sow (HFX) Chung (Pacific)	Zanatta (Pacific) Hojabrpour (Forge) Aparicio (Ottawa) Borges (Forge)	Salter (Ottawa) Díaz (Vancouver) Rodríguez (Ottawa)	[40]

Player transfers

According to FIFA, the Canadian Soccer Association's (CSA's) 2025 transfer windows for men's professional teams are open from January 31 to April 23 and from July 24 to August 21.^[41]

CPL–U Sports Draft

The 2025 CPL–U Sports Draft took place on December 5, 2024.^[42]

Foreign players

Main article: List of foreign CPL players

Canadian Premier League teams can sign a maximum of seven international players, out of which only five can be in the starting line-up for each match.^[3]

The following international players were signed for the 2025 season. To be considered domestic for CPL purposes, players must be Canadian citizens, permanent residents, refugees, or (new for 2025) foreign players with at least three seasons spent in the league. Note that these players may still represent other countries in international competitions.^[43][44]

Club	Player 1	Player 2	Player 3	Player 4	Player 5	Player 6	Player 7	Inactive players[A]	Former players
Atlético Ottawa	Alberto Zapater	Juan Castro	David Rodríguez	Monty Patterson	Kevin Ortega	Antonio Álvarez			Iker Moreno
Cavalry	Nicolas Wähling	Levi Laing	Ayman Sellouf						Jesse Daley
Forge	Béni Badibanga	Nana Opoku Ampomah	Rezart Rama	Marko Jevremović	Christos Liatifis
HFX Wanderers	Lorenzo Callegari	Vitor Dias	Yohan Baï	Jason Bahamboula					Giorgio Probo
Pacific	Aly Ndom	Daniel de Pauli	Lukas Browning Lagerfeldt	Pedro Machado	Emanuel Montejano			Juan Quintana
Valour	Kian Williams	Diogo Ressurreição	Xavier Venâncio	Bruno Figueiredo
Vancouver	José Navarro	Allan Enyou	Juan Batista	Michel Cavalcante	Abdoulaye Ouattara	Pathé Ndiaye	Nicolás Mezquida
York United	Oswaldo León	Orlando Botello	Diego Urtiaga	Leonel López					Bryan Rosa

Players in italic denote players who were new to their respective clubs for the 2025 season, sorted chronologically by their announcement. Players in bold indicate players who have represented their national teams at the senior level.

Notes

1. Players who remain under contract but have suffered season-ending injury and may not return to play. They do not count towards roster or cap restrictions and as such can be replaced by another foreign player.