PICTURE: Scarborough SC, including the combination of GM Kiril Dimitrov (right) and head coach Zoran Rajovic who share congratulations, will be playing in an abbreviated 2020 season to defend the team’s CSL Championship victory of 2019.
While professional soccer in North America continues to struggle back to normalcy, the Canadian Soccer League is no exception while faced with a diminishing calendar now shifting quickly into the second half of 2020.
With local conditions dealing with COVID 19 in team sports in Canada now showing some signs of being relaxed during the July – August period, the CSL has announced the kickoff of an abbreviated schedule for games to begin on Saturday. August 8.
It will be a First Division schedule to be followed by playoffs leading to the CSL Championship Final in October.
Seven teams will take part with all games played at 3 pm on Saturdays at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke on the western edge of Toronto. The league winner will gain a bye to the semifinals while six teams play quarterfinal deciders from the regular season league final standings of positions 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6 and 4 vs 7. The team gaining the bye and the winning teams advancing from the quarterfinals will also be drawn with the higher placed teams meeting the lowest placed teams in the semifinals.
Most teams in the CSL sign import players from various countries in Europe and its expected that du to the travel restrictions there will be a depleted number of imports compared to recent years, which provides an increased opportunity for more Canadian players on the team’s rosters to take part in what is expected to be a competitive series of matches to decide the league champion and the CSL Championship winner.
The teams taking part are Brantford Galaxy, CSC Mississauga, Hamilton City 1, Real Mississauga, Scarborough SC and Serbian White Eagles, FC Vorkuta
Scarborough SC are the current CSL champions.
