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By the numbers: Facts and figures breaking down the 2019 CPL season

The Canadian Premier League is set to kick off on April 27, with Forge FC hosting York9 FC in the inaugural league match at Tim Hortons Field.

Following this historic occasion, Halifax’s HFX Wanderers FC heads all the way across Canada to take on Vancouver-Island based Pacific FC on April 28, concluding the opening weekend of action.

After that? We’re in full swing, folks. Hundreds of thousands of kilometres of cumulative travel await the seven founding clubs; goals will be scored, points amassed, and through it all, one club will emerge triumphant at the very last.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the more interesting facts and figures from the 2019 Canadian Premier League season:

205,593 — Total kilometres travelled by all seven clubs

It’s enough to fly around the Earth five times, travel across Canada 46 times, etc.

As you can imagine, HFX Wanderers lead the pack with a whopping 36,588 km of travel over seven months of the season. July is particularly rough for the Wanderers, who will put up nearly a third (11,000 km) of that total, travelling to Victoria, Hamilton, York and Edmonton … twice.

Second on that list is Cavalry, who will make 34,993 km worth of flights.

For the “lightest” flight schedule, we look to the heart of the continent – Valour FC’s 25,495 km of travel distance is just a few hundred kilometres short of what two southern Ontario clubs, Forge FC (25,803 km) and York9 FC (25,589 km), will have to face on the road in 2019.

As for Pacific FC over on the west coast? Middle of the pack, at 30,736 km travelled.

Wanderers Grounds. (Handout)
Wanderers Grounds. (Handout)

29 — Longest stretch of days between Cavalry home matches

Tommy Wheeldon Jr. and co. will be hitting the road for quite some time this summer to make way for showjumping events at Spruce Meadows.

After its Saturday, June 22 tilt against Forge FC at Spruce Meadows, Cavalry will steer clear of its home for 29 days.

Meadows on the Green, Cavalry’s pitch on the grounds, will be used for a marquee showjumping event held from July 3-7. Ground staff are reportedly giving two weeks between showjumping and matchdays to give the turf time to recover.

The Cavs will return to Spruce Meadows when they welcome York9 FC to town on Sunday, July 21.

4,950 — Consecutive minutes of weekend CPL matches

Keep your weekends open.

Save for the two-season ending matchdays, no weekend CPL fixtures will overlap in 2019. This means fans from coast-to-coast won’t have to choose between matches or clubs on Saturdays and Sundays — they can watch all of the action as it happens.

If you have the time, you could watch nearly 5,000 minutes of live CPL action on weekends. That’s more than 80 hours of football on Saturday and Sunday.

2 — Season-ending, simultaneous kickoff matchdays

Two exceptions to the above rule: July 1 and Oct. 19.

The final matchdays of the Spring and Fall seasons will have three matches kickoff simultaneously, giving clubs the chance to fight for a championship berth with other results still in the air.

Canada Day has FC Edmonton vs. HFX Wanderers, Pacific vs. Cavalry and Valour vs. York all kicking off at 6 p.m. EST to wrap up the Spring.

Cavalry vs. FC Edmonton, Pacific vs. Valour and York9 vs HFX Wanderers will close the Fall on Saturday, Oct. 19.

Will two or three teams be in reach of the championship on the final day? Will a Spring or Fall winner be crowned in the final moments?

FC Edmonton's Allan Zebie and Cavalry's Sergio Camargo battle for the ball in last year's prospects game.
FC Edmonton’s Allan Zebie and Cavalry’s Sergio Camargo battle for the ball in last year’s Al Classico prospects game.

5 — Al Classico, 905 Derby matches each

Two rivalries will have at least five editions in 2019.

Forge will host three out of the five matches against York9, including the league’s inaugural match. Al Classico will wrap up on the last day of the season, Oct. 19, when FC Edmonton travels to Spruce Meadows.

The best-of-fives will surely help supporters settle who is the best, and maybe decide who deserves a trophy at the end of it.

98 — Total matches in 2019 CPL season

Each of the seven clubs will play 28 matches, with two chances to earn a berth in the 2019 Canadian Premier League Championship.

Every point is valuable, as such – a perfect year would fetch a team 30 points in the 10-game Spring Season and 54 in the Fall Season.

It may be a stretch, but … you never know.

York 9 FC head coach Jimmy Brennan, watching from the sidelines.
York9 FC head coach Jimmy Brennan, watching from the sidelines.

29 — Days until York9’s home opener arrives

York9 FC will have to wait almost a month after the season begins to open their home account.

York University will host its first York9 match on Wednesday, May 22 in the second leg of its Round 1 Canadian Championship tie with A.S. Blainville.

The CPL opener will come just a few days later when Jimmy Brennan and co. welcome 905 Derby rivals Forge FC to York Region for the first time.

176 — Number of days season runs

The first regular season runs 176 days, with an average of 6.2 days between matches for each club.

The season kicks off on April 27 and ends on October 19. But, the season is cut into two halves – Spring and Fall, the former ending on Canada Day (July 1) and the latter kicking off on July 6.

After that? The 2019 Canadian Premier League Championship, which wraps up the entirety of the year in CPL action.