2025 Schedule Released: Key Dates and Must-See Match-Ups
From opening day to the final showdown, here’s what’s in store for Atlético Ottawa in the 2025 CPL season.
The schedule for the 2025 CPL season has just been released and fans are now able to start getting excited.
Each team will play 28 games this season: 14 home and 14 away. Like last season, each team will play each other 4 times: 2 home and 2 away.
The opening game of the 2025 season for Ottawa is on April 5th at 2pm against Halifax Wanderers. This will also be the club’s first home game this season.
The first away game for Ottawa is their second game of the season. They will go away to Vancouver FC on April 13th at 6pm (eastern time).
The final home game of the season for Ottawa will be on October 12th at 3pm vs Vancouver FC.
The final regular season game will be on October 18th vs Halifax Wanderers at 4pm.
All eight CPL teams will kick off at the same time on October 18th in what the league is calling The Outcome! If the upcoming season is anything like the 2024 season, teams will still be fighting for playoff and seeding places on that day.
The league is sticking to the same playoff format that is has for the past two seasons. The 2025 CPL Final will be played on Saturday, Nov. 8 or Sunday, Nov. 9, depending on which CPL club earns the right to host the League’s marquee championship match. The CPL Champions will also earn an automatic berth in the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup.
Games to Watch
The first game of the season on April 5th at 2pm against Halifax Wanderers, will be an important game to watch. This is where the team will be able to establish itself for the season and give the fans their first look at the team.
The first away day is another important one to watch, which just happens to be the second game of the season. Ottawa will face Vancouver FC on April 13th at 6pm. This game will be a good test to see how Ottawa will do on the road under a new coach and give fans a chance to see the team in its new onyx grey away kit.
Last season saw Forge and the League debut the “School Day Match” in 2024. Thankfully, Atlético didn’t opt to host one this season, but are still getting dragged into one for an away game vs Forge. Ottawa will face Forge at the second annual “School Day Match” on May 13 at 11am. Valour is also hosting one of these “School Day Matches” this year but thankfully Ottawa isn’t involved with that one.
Ottawa doesn’t face the 2024 League and North Star Cup champs at home until near the end of August. Ottawa will host Cavalry for the first time on August 23rd at 7pm. By this point, Ottawa will have already faced Cavalry twice away and with that game being so late into the season, it won’t hold much value facing the 2024 champs. It will just feel like another game, for the fans and the club.
The final match of the season will be a key one to watch out for. Ottawa will travel to the East coast to face Halifax in the final game of the regular season, which may or may not have playoff or seeding implications.
Trends in the Schedule
The club is on the road for a significant chunk of time this year, with their longest away stretch from May 13th- June 7th. That’s four games in a row on the road. The club then comes back for one game in the middle of June and then is on the road again for another two games.
The longest home stretch that the club gets this year is a three game stretch from August 23-September 6th. They will host three home games in a row during that stretch.
Last season, there was some complaining among fans that too many games were hosted in the middle of the summer heat instead of in the evenings. This appears to have been fixed in the later half of the season with only two games during the summer months being played earlier than 7pm.
Three games are kicked off at 1pm
Two games are kicked off at 2pm
Three games are kicked off at 3pm
One game is kicked off at 4pm
Five games are kicked off at 7pm
The latest kick off for Ottawa this year comes at 10pm, when they travel to Vancouver on May 30th.
Other than the one game against Forge on a Tuesday, all the games are played on either Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. No midweek games this year (with the exemption of a CanChamp game or two).
One Last Note
The team announced on Tuesday that they are inviting a number of youth players to the first part of their pre-season camp in Ottawa. A notable name in the list is Adam Ross who signed a development contract for Ottawa last season but didn’t make any appearances for the club.
Goalkeepers: Tristan Crampton (AS Gatineau/FC Gatineau/Development Program), Luka Palajsa (FC London), Zakaria Nakhly
Defenders: Josh Crete (Queen's University/Development Program), Jaden Manetta (Seattle University - USA)
Midfielders: Miguel Campos (AS Gatineau/Development Program), Gabriel Tardif (OSU Atlético/Development Program)
Forwards: Adam Ross (AS Gatineau/Development Program), Ralph Khoury (Ottawa South United/Development Program)
The club currently only has one goalkeeper signed for the upcoming season out of the required two. The inclusion of three goalkeepers to camp might signal that the club may look to its youth for the role of backup keeper.
Depending how these players do, a few might get invited to the second half of pre-season down in Mexico.