CPL Shield
League | Canadian Premier League |
---|---|
Awarded for | Finishing the regular season with the best record |
History | |
First award | 2023, 2019 (retroactively) |
Most wins | Cavalry FC (2 shields) |
Most recent | Cavalry FC (2023, 2nd shield) |
The Canadian Premier League Shield or CPL Shield is a trophy awarded annually to the Canadian Premier League (CPL) club with the best regular season finish. Although this award does not signify a league championship, as that is decided during the Canadian Premier League Finals, the winning team is awarded an equal monetary prize to the eventual playoff champions, and a berth in the next season’s CONCACAF Champions Cup.[1]
History
At the end of the
Design
The trophy is a silver shield measuring about 46 centimetres (18 in) in diameter and weighing 9 kilograms (20 lb). The CPL Shield has 13 edges to represent each of the provinces and territories of Canada and features a gold CPL logo (which is a stylized maple leaf) in the centre.[3] The trophy sits on a removable wooden base.
Winners
† – Trophy awarded retroactively
Season | Teams | Winner | Record | Playoff result | Coach | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pld | W | D | L | Pts | +/- | PPG | |||||
2019 † | 7 | Cavalry FC | 28 | 19 | 5 | 4 | 62 | 6 | 2.21 | Runner-up | Tommy Wheeldon Jr. |
2020 | 8 | Not awarded | |||||||||
2021 † | 8 | Forge FC | 28 | 16 | 2 | 10 | 50 | 0[a] | 1.79 | Runner-up | Bobby Smyrniotis |
2022 † | 8 | Atlético Ottawa | 28 | 13 | 10 | 5 | 49 | 2 | 1.75 | Runner-up | Carlos González |
2023 | 8 | Cavalry FC (2) | 28 | 16 | 7 | 5 | 55 | 13 | 1.96 | Runner-up | Tommy Wheeldon Jr. (2) |
- ^ 1st tiebreaker: total wins
Records
Shield wins by club
Team | Winners | Runners-up | Year(s) won | Year(s) runners-up |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cavalry FC | 2 | 1 | 2019, 2023 | 2021 |
Forge FC | 1 | 3 | 2021 | 2019, 2022, 2023 |
Atlético Ottawa | 1 | 0 | 2022 |
Shield wins by province
Province | Winners | Runners-up |
---|---|---|
Ontario | 2 | 3 |
Alberta | 2 | 1 |
Winner's records in the CONCACAF Champions Cup
Starting in 2023, the CPL Shield winner earned Canada's berth in the following year's CONCACAF Champions Cup.[4]
Year | Club | Starting round | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2022 | Forge FC[a] | Round of 16 | Round of 16 |
2024 | Cavalry FC | Round one | Round one |
See also
- Maurice Podoloff Trophy, an NBA trophy having the same function as the CPL Shield.
- NWSL Shield, an NWSL trophy with the having function as the CPL Shield.
- Presidents' Trophy, an NHL trophy having the same function as the CPL Shield.
- Supporters' Shield, an MLS trophy having the same function as the CPL Shield.
- Wooden Spoon awards, an award given to a team with the worst regular season record.
References
- Notes
- ^ Although Forge was the regular season champion in 2021, they qualified to the Champions League due to their placement in the 2021 CONCACAF League, as the CPL Shield berth was only first awarded in 2023.[6]
- Sources
- ^ John Jacques (September 18, 2022). "Prize Pool: CPL Regular Season Champion To Get Money, Trophy". Northern Tribune. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
- ^ Charlie O’Connor-Clarke (September 18, 2022). "Canadian Premier League announces plans to recognize regular season champions". Canadian Premier League. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
- ^ a b "Canadian Premier League revamps trophy case with new hardware up for grabs". CTV News. September 21, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
- ^ a b "Canadian Premier League announces new trophies". Canadian Premier League. September 21, 2023. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
- ^ "Canadian Premier League's Island Games: Everything you need to know". Sportsnet.ca. August 12, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
- ^ Benedict Rhodes (February 14, 2022). "Forge become first CPL team to play in the Concacaf Champions League: How did they get here?". Canadian Premier League. Retrieved October 22, 2023.