Crews clean snow off the field before a World Cup qualifying soccer match between Canada and Mexico, in Edmonton, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Forge FC coach Bobby Smyrniotis has one thought when it comes to hosting Mexico’s Chivas Guadalajara in February at Hamilton’s Tim Hortons Field.
“To be honest, the colder the better,” he said cheerfully.
The Canadian Premier League champion was paired with Chivas in Wednesday night’s draw for the first round of the 27-team CONCACAF Champions Cup, the revamped elite men’s club competition in North and Central America and the Caribbean.
Wednesday’s draw also paired Cavalry FC, the CPL’s regular-season winner, against Orlando City SC while the MLS Vancouver Whitecaps, the Canadian Championship title-holder, will face Mexico’s Tigres UANL.
The two-legged first-round series will be played in February.
And while that is not a problem for the Whitecaps, thanks to B.C. Place Stadium’s roof and B.C.’s more temperate climate, February in Calgary and Hamilton is hardly soccer-friendly.
The average temperature in Hamilton then is -3 C, according to Weather Spark. That compares to 16 C in Guadalajara.
In Calgary, it’s -5.
“It’s going to be a very interesting one for all of us,” said Cavalry coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr.
“Wonderful logistics to be going through, especially in our young history,” he added, seeing the glass half-full if a bit frosty.
CPL commissioner Mark Noonan says discussions on how to host a game in Calgary in February are already under way.
“Needless to say it would be a great spectacle to have a team from Florida playing in Calgary in February,” he said.
“It is the northernmost club in that competition – in February. So we have to make sure we can play there,” he added. “That’s up for discussion right now with CONCACAF.”
In a worst-case scenario, the game may have to be moved out of Calgary.
But playing in cold Canadian temperatures has been done before.
The Canadian men famously beat Mexico 2-1 a World Cup qualifying game in frigid conditions at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium in November 2021. According to Environment Canada, game-time temperature was -9 C, with a wind chill of -14.
While a February home fixture is new to Cavalry, Forge has had experience having hosting Mexico’s Cruz Azul on Feb. 17, 2022, in the opening leg of round-of-16 play in the CONCACAF Champions League. It proved to be a wet and windy evening rather than a frigid one.
“It was freezing coming up to (the game). And somehow on that day it got to plus-8 (Celsius),” said Smyrniotis. “I think it helped out friends at Cruz Azul a bit better than being in the minuses.”
Forge lost 1-0 on the night. And Cruz Azul, which has won competition six times and finished runner-up twice, won the rematch 3-1 a week later at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.
While there is no underground heating at Tim Hortons field – or at Calgary’s ATCO Field – Smyrniotis said the stadium crew “did a great job of just making sure that everything was prepared.”
“But if it’s cold, snowy and icy, it’s going to be a tough (artificial) turf, that’s for sure” he added. “Hopefully that plays into our hands a little bit better than our opponents.”
Forge became the first CPL side to qualify for CONCACAF’s flagship CONCACAF Champions League by making to the 2021 CONCACAF League semifinals. The two tournaments have since merged into the Champions Cup.
The February start means the CPL teams will open training camp earlier than usual. Forge, which usually opens camp mid-February, is waiting to get the exact dates in February from CONCACAF but expects to get its player together Jan. 5 or 12.
They will open camp at home indoors but will head down to Central America for the bulk of their preparation.
The Forge-Chivas winner will meet either Mexican powerhouse Club America or Nicaragua’s Real Esteli FC in the round of 16, which is scheduled for March. The Whitecaps-Tigres winner will face the Cavalry-Orlando victor in the round of 16 with newly crowned MLS champion Columbus possibly awaiting in the quarterfinal.
The quarterfinals and semifinals are slated for April with the single-game final on June 2.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 14, 2023
