Fury FC to play in club tournament

Ottawa Fury FC is hoping for another crack at Toronto FC in The Battle of the North, the Canadian men’s club soccer championship that returns in June with two additional teams and an extra qualifying round.

With Fury FC facing the winner of a two-game series between PLSO champions AC Blainville and League 1 Ontario champions Oakville Blue Devils (June 20 and 27), a victory in the second round of qualifying would set Ottawa up with home-and-home dates in July with Toronto FC, defending Canadian and Major League Soccer champion.

The Battle of the North will kick off June 6 in Laval and conclude Aug. 15, when the 11th Canadian Championship winner receives the Voyageurs Cup, earning a place in the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League and an opportunity to play in the FIFA Club World Cup.

“I love this competition,” Fury FC GM Julian de Guzman said. “I’ve played in the Canadian Championship, I’ve won the Canadian Championship and I’ve coached in the Canadian Championship. The Battle of the North crowns the best team in our country and I know our players and our fans will once again embrace the challenge of this competition.”

Adding teams from the highest levels of competition in Ontario and Quebec builds on Canadian content regulations instituted in 2017, with all teams required to start at least three Canadian players per match.

After falling to FC Edmonton in the qualifying round in its first two years in the competition (2014, 2015), Fury FC has reached the semifinal round in back-to-back years, winning both fixtures at TD Place against MLS counterparts only to fall on aggregate in the return leg.

Last year, Ottawa defeated Toronto FC 2-1 before falling 4-0 in Toronto. In 2016, Fury FC blanked the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-0 on home turf before losing 3-0 at B.C. Place.