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Concacaf president Victor Montagliani: CPL surpassed exceptions in inaugural season
Canadian Premier League

Concacaf President Victor Montagliani’s expectations for the inaugural season of the Canadian Premier League were surpassed.

The former head of Canada Soccer helped oversee the creation of the CPL in the lead-up to its inaugural 2019 season. Adding he was “heavily involved” in the CPL’s development, the Vancouver native admitted the league exceeded his goals last year.

“My expectations for the first season of the Canadian Premier League were high, but they were surpassed,” Montagliani is quoted as saying in the debut edition of FIFA’s Professional Football Journey e-magazine. “Put simply, to deliver a first season like they did, with the great games and strong crowd numbers, was outstanding.

“The Canadian Premier League has shown that soccer is an important part of the fabric of Canadian culture and that, now given the opportunity, this is a league that Canadians can be proud of as their own.”

Montagliani also credited OneSoccer, the CPL’s official broadcast partner, with “excellent marketing and presentation” of the league in Year 1, as well as Club de Atlético de Madrid’s involvement in the creation of Atlético Ottawa.

“Once the pandemic is over and our sport safely returns, the Canadian Premier League has a great future ahead of it. The inclusion of the new team Atlético Ottawa, part of the Atlético group of clubs, has added another exciting talking point as well as an injection of serious football culture and I can’t wait to see the league continue to grow on the field,” Montagliani said.

Montagliani also addressed 2026 World Cup preparations, Major League Soccer’s growth, and the creation of the Concacaf Nations League.

To read in the interview in full, click here.