CPL decides on two expansion locations, with clubs looking to join for 2026 season
The CPL has earmarked its two expansion locations for 2026.
Presenting at a City of Kingston council meeting in January, league executive vice-president Marni Dicker spoke about the merits and economic spinoffs of CPL clubs in their respective communities. However, when asked by a councillor about the long-term viability of a stadium, and by extension the league, she revealed part of their future plans.
"I have a strategic plan and the motto goes like this: eight in eight. We will be expanding to eight further teams in the next eight years," Dicker told council. "We have selected two of the eight municipalities and there are six other municipalities that are up for grabs."
According to multiple sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, one expansion club is bound for British Columbia while the other will be in Ontario, should all conditions be met. Sources also said the league is exploring the idea of creating Eastern and Western conferences, with five clubs in each, geography permitting.
And as mentioned at the City of Kingston council meeting by Dicker, the league is open to more clubs joining for 2026 should they meet all conditions for expansion.
“If that stadium plan meets all of our requirements, I expect we would be able to see a team in Kingston as early as 2026 if a stadium can be accommodated quickly," she said.
The fact that the league has officially selected their expansion locations, even if there's no known timeline to publicly announce them, is critical. Recent years have been punctuated by expansion aspirations, including from Commissioner Mark Noonan himself, who said he hoped to have two new clubs announced for 2025, only to walk back the comments months later.
Now, it appears the CPL will achieve its goal of expanding to a 10-club league in time for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will have matches on Canadian soil.
When contacted for official comment, Laura Armstrong, the CPL's senior director for communications, said the league looks forward to making formal announcements once their conditions for expansion are fully met.
"We continue our exhaustive process of vetting numerous prospective markets for CPL expansion in 2026 and beyond. We look forward to making any formal announcements regarding this subject when we are satisfied that our required conditions for expansion, including but not limited to proper a stadium and facilities, capital to invest, and buy-in from the community, can and will be met," she wrote in an emailed response.
Windsor, Saskatoon, Québec City, Laval, Kitchener-Waterloo, Kelowna, Edmonton and several other locations in the Greater Toronto Area were all listed as expansion frontrunners during Noonan's end of season media availability in November, 2024.
The City of Kelowna could be one strong possibility. Following a successful turnout for CPL on Tour, city staff have been working with the league to put together a report to map out next steps for landing a club.
“(The CPL) has reported back to us: the board decided they’d like to proceed and see if there’s the possibility of putting something together and potentially up and operational in the next couple of years for the CPL in Kelowna,” Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas told The Wanderers Notebook in July. “There is a buzz — there’s a true buzz — and excitement around this, not only at city hall but within the community.”
Dyas also alluded to the fact that Rob Friend, who is from Kelowna and owns both Vancouver FC and Pacific FC, could be a potential investor.
“He has a love of this community and also a love for the game of soccer. Those two parallel each other very well potentially into the future,” said Dyas.
The City of Kelowna was contacted for comment regarding news that the CPL had decided on its expansion locations; a spokesperson said the city had no further updates to share at this time.
The City of Windsor is another possibility, with a report circulating in early December from the Windsor CanPL Podcast that the CPL were planning to formally announce Windsor as an expansion location early in 2025.
“There’s no news here,” said Vancho Cirovski, president of Windsor City FC and Clanachan’s CPL project partner, when contacted in December. “Unless we have a committed stadium build project in place, we cannot announce anything meaningful. (It’s) still a work in progress.”
The City of Windsor had been contacted for comment but did not reply in time for publication.
Previously, a spokesperson for the city confirmed to The Wanderers Notebook that talks were ongoing between the league and council.
“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 Alena Sleziak, the city's senior manager of communications.
The Province of Québec, of course, has long been one of the league's top priorities. But despite conversations with multiple potential ownership groups spanning from Laval to Québec City, including last year's Canadian Championship fairytale side CS Saint-Laurent, it remains to be seen if the league will expand into French Canada. Professional grade infrastructure has remained the biggest hurdle to expansion. Sources noted the league is still in discussions with stakeholders in Québec.
“We’re only going to expand when we have the conditions to be successful and those conditions are challenging in Canada, to be blunt,” Noonan told The Wanderers Notebook in April.
Multiple sources also confirmed that the CPL has set the expansion fee for prospective ownership groups above $10 million.
Further reading:
- 8 CPL Thoughts: Windsor expansion, CanChamp, Valour’s busy week, Mexico for CanPL and more
- City of Kelowna exploring next stages of CPL expansion
- CS Saint-Laurent, CPL discussing promotion from Ligue1 Québec
Cover Photo Credit: Canadian Premier League
