This tournament was notable for the TSS FC Rovers' performance, as they made the quarter-finals in their debut appearance by upsettingValour FC in the first round. In doing so, they became the first non-professional team in the history of the competition to advance past a fully professional opponent.
Format
The winner of the 2022 Canadian Championship, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, and runner-up Toronto FC, both received byes to the quarter-finals. The remaining 12 teams began the competition from the first round in April.[1] Qualification to the Canadian Championship for 2023 was automatic for Canadian teams within Major League Soccer and for all teams within the Canadian Premier League, Canada's tier-one national league. The 2022 champions from the three regional pro-am leagues of League1 Canada (League1 Ontario, PLSQ, and League1 British Columbia) also qualified.[2]
The 2023 Canadian Championship determined a place in the continental 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup tournament.[3][4] If the winner had already qualified for the Champions Cup via berths in the 2023 Major League Soccer, 2023 Leagues Cup or 2023 Canadian Premier League, the place would have gone to the runners-up in the final, and then to the "higher-ranked" semi-finalist based on league points totals,[5] if the runners-up had also already qualified.[4]
Matches in the 2023 tournament were each played as a single 90-minute match with additional time. If a match ended in a draw, no extra time was played, and the match went straight to a penalty shoot-out to decide the winner.[6] Each team competing in the tournament could select up to 30 players to their tournament roster. If a player already nominated to a team's tournament roster was transferred to a competing team during the tournament, they were disqualified from further play in the tournament.[6] For each match, teams could select up to 18 players for a match roster, while their starting lineup had to include at least three Canadian players. Both teams could make up to five substitutions and two concussion substitutions throughout the match at up to three stoppages of play, excluding half-time.[6]
On January 17, 2023, Canada Soccer announced that the draw for the championship would be held on January 31 at 8:00 pm ET. The draw details and pots were announced on January 24.[1] Due to the early start of the tournament, only 5 of 12 teams were able to host to host a match in the first round.[7] Teams were assigned into pots based on geography (east or west) and hosting ability.[7]
Prior to the commencement of the draw, one club from Pot B1 was moved into Pot A1, then one club from Pot B2 was moved to B1, and then both clubs from Pot C were moved to Pot B2, resulting in an even distribution of three teams in each of the first round pots.[8]Atlético Ottawa and the HFX Wanderers were placed in Pot B2 prior to the draw as the eastern teams that did not commit to hosting a match in the first round. The Wanderers were eventually drawn from Pot A1 as the designated home team for their first round match against Ottawa, and Canada Soccer determined a neutral venue for the match.[7]
^Becherano, Lizzy (June 3, 2022). "Concacaf reveals new format for Champions League starting in 2024". 90min. Archived from the original on June 3, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2023. Canadian teams will only be assured three places, with the champions, regular-season winner and Canadian Championship winner slated for the competition.
^ abc"Final draw procedures confirmed for the Canadian Championship Draw". Canadian Soccer Association. January 31, 2023. Retrieved February 5, 2023. From the 12 clubs in the Preliminary Round, five clubs have committed to hosting a Canadian Championship match at their home venue in April [...] The club drawn from Pot B2 into Pot B1 (either Ottawa or Halifax) will serve as a Home team at a neutral venue to be determined by Canada Soccer...
^Jacques, John (February 7, 2023). "Ottawa, Halifax To Play Cup Match In Toronto". Northern Tribune. Retrieved April 21, 2023. Atletico Ottawa has also released a club statement confirming that it made an administrative error in opting out as a host club for this year's iteration of the tournament when it only meant to opt out of the opening round.
