8 CPL Thoughts: Windsor expansion, CanChamp, Valour's busy week, Mexico for CanPL and more

It's the holidays and I'm told there's no better way to spread holiday cheer than to write copious amounts about the CPL off-season. If that's exactly what you wanted as The Wanderers Notebook's gift to you, you've come to the right place as I've tried to pack this last column of 2024 with as much league news as possible.

Although I'm sure things will soon wind down, the past week has been full-tilt with both the Canadian Championship and Champions Cup draws, several player announcements from clubs, potential news about Windsor's expansion and much more.

If you’re not already familiar, welcome to 8 CPL Thoughts, the column where I round up the news and tidbits I’m hearing across the league. Enjoy.

1. What's happening in Windsor?

Although a report came out this past week, things remain relatively quiet — at least publicly — around former league commissioner David Clanachan's bid to bring a CPL club to Windsor / Essex County.

On Sunday, Mike Whaley, who hosts the Windsor CanPL Podcast, said he'd been informed by sources that the CPL were planning to formally announce Windsor as an expansion team for early 2025. He added sources said the new club would play at McHugh Park in Windsor, with a permanent stadium to be built. Lastly, he said the ownership group would be using Windsor City FC, which plays in League1 Ontario, as a platform to build momentum around the project.

However, after reaching out to several parties, I was unable to confirm any details alleged by Whaley. This in itself is not surprising, especially given the league's desire to keep all expansion talk under wraps, but it may speak to what stage negotiations are at. It's common knowledge that Clanachan has long held the rights to an expansion club in Windsor. But any expansion is contingent upon delivering a football-specific stadium.

"There's no news here," said Vancho Cirovski, president of Windsor City FC and Clanachan's CPL project partner, when contacted. "Unless we have a committed stadium build project in place, we cannot announce anything meaningful. (It's) still a work in progress."

When contacted for comment, the City of Windsor echoed Cirovski's sentiments, stating that the conversation is ongoing.

"I can confirm that the City of Windsor has had some high level, productive talks with the CPL. As discussions remain ongoing, no further details are available at this time," wrote a spokesperson via an emailed statement.

The league, of course, again acknowledged Windsor as an expansion target during commissioner Mark Noonan's end of season availability in November, listing it amongst cities like Edmonton, Québec City and Kelowna, but stressed the difficulties of growing without proper facilities. He noted finding a place to play with professional grade infrastructure remains the biggest challenge for the league.

"We need all the right conditions to expand," said Noonan.

With the public goal of adding two expansion clubs to kickoff in 2026, it remains to be seen if and when Windsor — or some other city — will be announced. And when contacted for comment, as has been their stance, the CPL previously said they won't disclose any ongoing discussions as it relates to potential league expansion.

"As with any expansion discussion, our priority is finding the right conditions for an organization to be successful, including but not limited to a passionate fan base, committed ownership group and stadium solution,” said Laura Armstrong, the CPL’s senior director for communications.

But questions remain.

The City of Windsor announced in June it was spending $3 million to build an artificial turf football field at the McHugh Soccer Complex, the location cited by Whaley in his report. And there's little doubt Clanachan and his group have the clout and connections to potentially get a deal over the line.

As always, especially in the world of football, things aren't done until all parties have signed on the dotted line.

2. Setting the table for #CanChamp

The 2025 Canadian Championship draw was held on Thursday night, with 15 clubs set to battle it out for the Voyageurs Cup. I think that there are a couple of details which potentially make this the most entertaining CanChamp draw to date.

Firstly, there's the addition of League1 Alberta, who will be represented by Edmonton Scottish United SC. They're set to square off against Cavalry FC in the preliminary round, treating fans to the first Battle of Alberta since the untimely demise of FC Edmonton. Not only does the inclusion of League1 Alberta help grow the competition but it also sets the precedence for when League1 Atlantic — whose future I recently reported on here for The Chronicle Herald — potentially launches in 2026.

And when you include the fact that we have the first-ever Salish Sea Derby in CanChamp action between Vancouver FC and Pacific, a preliminary MLS heavyweight matchup with CF Montréal and Toronto FC and several League1 clubs looking to upset CPL sides, there's an endless amount of storylines to cover. For my money, this is the natural evolution of the growing football culture in Canada. There's cup magic in the air.

But one thing I'd like to see moving forward is the inclusion of more League1 teams. For example, last year's CanChamp darlings, CS Saint-Laurent, failed to win the Ligue1 Québec regular season title but were ultimately crowned playoff winners. That should merit, in my opinion, a ticket into the domestic cup competition. Some food for thought.

3. Next up: Champions Cup

Speaking of draws, this past week was packed with them, including for the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup. We now know that both of the CPL's representatives are Mexico-bound, with Cavalry set to take on Pumas UNAM and Forge facing CF Monterrey.

The importance of this continental competition for Canadian football cannot be overstated: it's something that Canadian coaches and players value dearly as both a platform and measuring stick against clubs across North America.

"These are the challenges Forge enjoys having," head coach Bobby Smyrniotis told CanPL.ca after the draw.

"First, you take the experiences of each one and you look and go back to the Cruz Azul series and say, you know, you're happy to be there, happy to participate in this tournament knowing the difficulty it brings with it. Last year, I think it was about performance (against Chivas) as we wanted to make sure we could go out and perform and play our football and I think we showed that over two legs, both at home and away.

"This one is about playing four games in this competition. Each year, the challenge needs to be different for the team and the group. You can't just think the same way, you can't be happy to be there, you can't just be part of a competition. It's about how we extend this, how we go a little bit further."

4. A busy week for Valour FC

Valour is getting the band back together, making several roster moves this week.

To kick things off, they announced they'd exercised options on both goalkeeper Jonathan Viscosi and Raphael Ohin, bringing them back for the 2025 season. They also signed promising defender Gianfranco Facchineri to a new contract through 2026. Although not announced by the club, sources told The Wanderers Notebook that midfielders Dante Campbell and Jordan Faria were also coming back.

Valour also holds options on several other players, including Themi Antonoglou, Jordan Swibel, Roberto Alarcón, Abdul Binate and Loic Kwemi, and means they've got the ability to run things back should they wish.

Now, given they've had the displeasure of being handed the Wooden Spoon two years in a row, many have raised an eyebrow at some of the club's moves, specifically the fact that — aside from a few players — it's likely they'll have a similar squad to 2024. Having had conversations with a number of people across the league, that's exactly what they want.

Last year, Valour started the season with a heinous eight match road trip due to work at Princess Auto Stadium. Their record over that stretch was one win, one draw and six losses. But once back at home, their form improved considerably, going on to win six, drawing six and losing nine through the rest of the season. I'm told the club is betting that the group that played in the latter half of the season and nearly overcame their horrendous start to push for the playoffs is the one we'll see in April.

During my interview with Facchineri, he echoed a similar sentiment.

“It was a rollercoaster of a season that left us wanting a lot more,” he said of 2024. “But the best part we can take from last year is the exponential growth we saw within the team.”

But there are still question marks around the Winnipeg-based club. Head coach Phil dos Santos' future remains up in the air. It's unknown if centre-back Tass Mourdoukoutas — their most steady defender — will re-sign. And the club still needs at least one or two more attacking threats to be dangerous in the final third.

5. Revisiting the CPL - U-Sports draft

A total of 16 players were drafted earlier this month in the 2025 CPL - U-Sports draft, with Valour selecting forward Jevontae Layne from Toronto Metropolitan University with the first overall selection.

There have been many CPL players who have parlayed their U-Sports contract into a pro deal, the latest being Facchineri for Valour. I asked him during our interview if he expects the draft to continue to be an attractive option for players seeking professional opportunities.

“Obviously, I’ve been very fortunate with how it worked out for me, it was my way back into the pro game and I certainly see more and more players coming out of the CPL – U-Sports draft turning it into their careers. We’ve seen it happen so many times before,” he said.

Interestingly, there were slightly fewer players who declared eligibility this year; a total of 184 players declared compared to 203 for the 2024 draft.

However, having asked around about some players, I got the sense that going to school and then declaring for the draft is becoming a pathway players plan for. For example, 20-year old Luca Accetolla had been part of Toronto FC's academy since 2015 but managed only 12 appearances for Toronto FC II between 2022 and 2024. Looking for a refresh, he headed to York University and established himself as a force, scoring seven goals and adding five assists through 16 matches. York United FC opted to pick him fifth overall or in other words, he got another shot at a pro environment.

But not getting drafted isn't the end of the world.

St. John's-native Owen Sheppard was picked first overall last year (also by Valour) but went unselected this time round. When I spoke to him this past summer, he stressed that he'll continue to look for opportunities within the CPL, regardless of what happened at the draft and I wouldn't be surprised to see him invited to a few training camps. He spent last season with the Wanderers' development squad.

6. Say hello to Halifax's new No. 9

It may be a symbolic gesture but there's a recognition in announcing striker Tiago Coimbra's number switch from 19 to 9, along with the new contract, that the Halifax Wanderers are all in on the 20-year old.

I wrote earlier this week that backing Coimbra is a good bet for the club when you consider his underlying numbers. Although a limited sample size due to injury, the young striker was incredibly dangerous when on the pitch, ranking third in the CPL last year in non-penalty goals per 90 minutes. Data from CPL By the Numbers shows he has a knack for getting shots off and is very good in the air. The eye test also confirms Coimbra's value, with fans appreciating his bulldozer mentality and aggression when out of possession.

What's interesting is that both the club and player mentioned in the press release their intention to see the Brazilian-Canadian move onto the next level sooner rather than later. Clearly, there's a belief in Coimbra's value and that he only needs to put together a season or two to earn a move like former-Forge striker Kwasi Poku. We'll see if Halifax's bet pays off as Coimbra has all the tools, if he can stay healthy, to potentially make a jump to a higher level.

(Just a little aside but the Wanderers have not had much luck with players wearing No. 9 in recent seasons. Sam Salter was sold to Atlético Ottawa, which can be construed as a win, but both Théo Collomb and Christian Volesky washed out after a season, the latter failing to record a single goal contribution before mutually terminating his contract.)

7. CPL clubs again heading to Mexico for pre-season

A quick note but Cavalry and Forge are obviously going to be heading down to Mexico again this year, having their away legs for the Champions Cup.

And Atlético Ottawa's assistant general manager J.D. Ulanowski recently told TSN's A.J. Jakubek that his club would also be heading south, joining with Atlético San Luis for their pre-season as they did last year.

Asking around, I'm told it's likely York United will also head to Mexico, meaning half of the league will have made the trek to warmer weather.

Last year, I reported for OneSoccer that the idea of a CPL, Liga MX pre-season invitational had been floated around, with CPL clubs trying to organize together. I wonder if those conversations are again happening this year.

8. Thank you, readers

Yes, yes, this may feel like a cop-out but I wanted to take the time — and more importantly as it's late on Friday night, the space — to thank anyone and everyone I've interacted with this past year in the Canadian football world. It's been a joy to continue to grow my coverage around Canadian football and it wouldn't be possible without fans eager to read, listen and consume news.

As mentioned, this will be my last column for 2024. I know there are one or two pieces of roster news still to come out between now and Christmas, which I'll cover, but otherwise will be taking a break over the holidays. Look forward to more columns in 2025.

Wishing you all the best this holiday season.

Further reading:

• 8 CPL Thoughts: Business Awards, growing Grady McDonnell interest, USL money, Ollie Bassett and more
• 8 CPL Thoughts: Cavalry FC emerge victorious and notes on Gazdov, Bassett, Dyer, Callegari and more
• End of season availability: Q&A with Halifax Wanderers head coach Patrice Gheisar

Cover Photo Credit: Canadian Premier League