Schedule for 2015 Amway Canadian Championship set

The five Canadian professional clubs are set to embark on another CONCACAF Champions League qualifying journey as the schedule for the 2015 Amway Canadian Championship is released.

In order to coexist with the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™ and the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition calendars established, the 2015 Amway Canadian Championship will begin play in April and May and conclude in August.

2015 Amway Canadian Championship (home team listed first)

22 April 2015
Preliminary round – first leg
Ottawa Fury FC v FC Edmonton

29 April 2015
Preliminary round – second leg
FC Edmonton v Ottawa Fury FC

6 May 2015
Semi Final 1 – first leg
Ottawa Fury FC/FC Edmonton v Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Semi Final 2 – first leg
Montreal Impact v Toronto FC

13 May 2015
Semi Final 1 – second leg
Vancouver Whitecaps FC v Ottawa Fury FC/FC Edmonton

Semi Final 2 – second leg
Toronto FC v Montreal Impact

12 August 2015
Final – first leg

26 August 2015
Final – second leg

As per last year, this eighth edition of the championship will see Ottawa Fury FC and FC Edmonton from NASL play a preliminary knock-out home and away round. The winner, the team that scores the greater aggregate of goals over the two matches, will secure the fourth semi-final place and join the three Canadian MLS clubs, Montreal Impact, Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the next round.

The three MLS clubs have been seeded according to their final position in league play for 2014, with the winner of the preliminary round entering the competition seeded in fourth place.

2015 Amway Canadian Championship seeding
1. Vancouver Whitecaps FC
2. Toronto FC
3. Montreal Impact
4. Winner of Ottawa Fury FC/FC Edmonton

As per previous years, the semi-final stage of the competition is played on a home and away knock-out format in which the highest ranked team will play at home in the second leg. The team which scores the greater aggregate of goals in the two matches qualifies for the final.

The final will also be played on a home and away basis (two legs). Once again, the team that comes on top on aggregate for the two matches is declared champion and earns the right to represent Canada in the 2016/2017 CONCACAF Champions League.

About the Amway Canadian Championship
This eighth edition of the Amway Canadian Championship features Canada’s five professional clubs: Ottawa Fury FC (NASL), FC Edmonton (NASL), Montreal Impact (MLS), Toronto FC (MLS) and Vancouver Whitecaps FC (MLS).

Through the past seven editions of the Amway Canadian Championship, Montreal Impact were inaugural champions (2008) followed by Toronto FC who won the Voyageurs Cup in four successive seasons (2009 to 2012), before Montreal Impact won the championship again in 2013 and 2014.

In CONCACAF Champions League, Impact Montréal (2008-09 & 2014-15) reached the quarter-final phase while Toronto FC (2011-12) has participated in the semi-final round of continental club championship. While Montreal continues its 2014/2015 CONCACAF Champions League competition as 2014 Amway Canadian Champion, Vancouver Whitecaps FC will represent Canada in the 2015/2016 edition of the tournament by virtue of their final MLS regular season ranking (see complete story). The winner of the 2015 Amway Canadian Championship will be our country’s representative in the 2016/2017 CONCACAF Champions League tournament.

Additional information on the competition format and the clubs’ rosters can be found on the Amway Canadian Championship official website at migmultidev-canada-soccer.pantheonsite.io/championship.

Fans are encourage to follow @CanadaSoccerEN on Twitter using #canChamp for tournament updates, but also to connect with the five Canadian professional clubs involved for live match coverage (@OttawaFuryFC, @FCEdmontonNow, @impactmontreal, @torontofc, @WhitecapsFC). Match highlights and reports will be available on migmultidev-canada-soccer.pantheonsite.io/championship as well as on CanadaSoccerTV.