We’re entering a new generation of Canadian soccer.

A generation that – bear with me – is set to influence many different generations of supporters, players, coaches and anyone else associated with the game in this country.

The impact on the top-level men’s game is the most tangible influence the CPL will make — players previously overlooked making the jump to the upper reaches of the game. It’s a story told by many.

But from the top looking down, Saturday’s inaugural match between Forge FC and York9 FC at Tim Hortons Field (1 p.m. ET, CBC) will set in motion a new culture of the game in this country.

“I think Forge FC has the potential to be, if it’s not already, the best thing to happen to soccer in Hamilton in a long time,” Brent Wallace, Vice President of the Hamilton and District Soccer Association told CanPL.ca ahead of Saturday’s match.

Hamilton, placed easily in the Canadian ‘mid-sized city’ category, has produced a handful of talented mens players. Canadian international Alex Bunbury comes to mind.

For Wallace, Forge FC presents “an end goal” for the thousands of youth players in his organization, while also installing a culture of football in his community.

“If I asked any kids at that age how they could play in MLS, I know they would look at me and say, ‘I have no idea,'” Wallace continued.

“A lot of 14, 15, 16 or 17-year-old kids from our area see going to academies or see Oakville and Toronto as a potential path. When you get there, they all see the competition is huge. For a lot of kids, instead of that inspiring them, it tells them they have no chance whatsoever.

“There’s a real clear path kids will be able to see (with Forge FC).”

The presence of an “end goal” and a “clear path” are terms that might as well read as “drive” and “work ethic” for teens looking to make a career out of soccer.

“The nice thing about CPL is it reaches right down to the grassroots,” Wallace said. “It really inspires the young kids.”

North Mississauga Soccer Club’s under-10s side is about as young as you can get in the competitive levels of the game. They’ll be at Tim Hortons Field on Saturday, 100 players and parents in Section 115, to witness Canadian soccer history being made.

“It’s hard for kids at that age to grasp the importance of why this is such a milestone in Canadian soccer,” the team’s head coach Izzy Hegazy said. “But we’re amping them up, why we’re going, why they are privileged to go.”

Hegazy has seen first-hand how top-level men’s football has influenced even the youngest of age groups having seen North Miss. join League1 Ontario in 2016.

“We took the kids to a League1 game last year, they walked out on the field with the team and they all felt, ‘Wow, there’s a men’s team I could be on one day’.

“I’ve already heard from some kids that their goal is to make it to the League1 team.”

There’s also the practicality of it all, Hegazy points out, as he’s set to introduce his players to live, premier soccer for the first time.

“We don’t watch enough soccer to learn visually here. When you’re 10, tactics and how you move on the field are very foreign to you.

“I’ll be giving them a piece of paper, a diagram, a space to draw and a place to ask questions. They are nine and 10-year-old boys. The maximum they’ve seen would be games on TV.”

Regardless if they are on-hand on Saturday or not, players, coaches and supporters in this country are entering the new generation.

It brings with it everything from the opportunity to play at the highest level to, well, just being able to see it being played.

“Seeing a full house at Tim Hortons Field, professionals competing in the Canadian Premier League,” Hegazy said. “To them, this is the beginning. They will piece it together when they get older.”

“We want kids to feel like it’s part of their community, part of who they are,” Wallace said mere hours before Hamilton hosts the first match in Canada’s new professional soccer league.

“You start with that passion in your heart, when you’re very young, and that passion just grows. That’s what we’ll see.”

Check out the OneSoccer platform by MEDIAPRO Canada, the Official Broadcast Partner of the Canadian Premier League.