The Amway Canadian Championship is back. This Wednesday, Canada’s only path to the CONCACAF Champions League opens.
The tournament schedule changed somewhat last summer, due to the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 – the Canadian Champion now enters CCL play a year later than in previous editions. Get the low-down on the ACC with this summary of the tournament format.
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The ACC preliminary round kicks off on May 11, with the first leg between both Canadian NASL clubs, FC Edmonton and Ottawa Fury FC. After the second leg, on 18 May, we’ll know which of the two teams advances to a semi-final against Vancouver Whitecaps FC, the Canadian MLS team with the best regular-season record in 2015.
This semi-final and the one pitting the Impact against Toronto FC happen on June 1. The Bleu-blanc-noir travels to BMO Field for the first leg, scheduled for 7:30pm EDT (RDS, TSN, 98,5fm & TSN Radio 690). The second legs are played on June 8 – the Impact’s starts at 7:30pm at Stade Saputo (RDS, TSN, 98,5fm & CJAD.com – TICKETS).
The winning teams of both semis then face off, once more over two legs – first leg on June 21 or 22, second leg on June 28 or 29.
The Canadian champion lifts the Voyageurs Cup – the Impact has won a record nine Cups. That team also qualifies for the 2017-2018 CONCACAF Champions League group stage, which will likely begin in August 2017. Winning the ACC is the only way for Canadian clubs to take part in the Champions League; should the Impact win MLS cup, it still would have to win its national cup to play continental soccer.
The Champions League winner then advances to the FIFA Club World Cup, in December 2018.
