All was right in the Canadian Premier League on Canada Day, 2019.

Exactly one year ago, the first half of the CPL’s inaugural season officially came to an end with a tripleheader of games, and even though Cavalry FC had already sewn up the Spring title, Canada Day provided plenty of highlights and entertainment for soccer fans across the country.

The league put its best foot forward last July 1, with three exciting matches that produced no less than 10 goals between them, including Pacific FC’s upset 3-1 home win over Cavalry.

Fast forward 12 months, and Canada Day 2020 was supposed to be even better than last year’s festivities. All eight CPL teams were originally scheduled to be in action on Wednesday, with the league hosting its first quadruple-header.

The day was to feature back-to-back-to-back-to-back games in four provinces in a true coast-to-coast affair, beginning with HFX Wanderers FC hosting York9 FC and concluding with Pacific FC welcoming Atlético Ottawa to Westhills Stadium. Sandwiched in between were supposed to be Valour FC vs. Forge FC, and the second Al Classico of the season between Cavalry FC and FC Edmonton at ATCO Field at Spruce Meadows.

Instead, the eight CPL stadiums will remain empty and eerily quiet on Wednesday, with the league still in lockdown mode due to COVID-19 pandemic.

As a result, CPL fans such as James Covey, a member of the HFX Wanderers supporters group Privateers 1882, won’t get a chance to watch his hometown club play in person, and instead is left to wonder what might have been on Canada Day.

“I love the idea of a CPL quadruple-header on Canada Day and I hope we get to see that next year,” Covey told CanPL.ca.

“It’s well accepted that Halifax has the best matchday fan experience (in the CPL), and it just would have felt good to be kicking that event off in the right way.”

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Covey hasn’t been able to sit in his usual spot in the East stands of Wanderers Grounds, affectionately dubbed “the Kitchen,” since last October for the club’s final home game of the CPL season. Covey and other members of Privateers 1882 hold out hope that a 2020 CPL campaign will take place, and are buoyed by Commissioner David Clanachan’s recent comments that games could take place as early as this summer at a neutral site.

Still, Covey and his cohorts miss their gameday rituals and being together at Wanderers Grounds, especially on what would have been a special Canada Day celebration.

“As supporters we’re really missing hanging out with each other and singing, chanting, and doing ‘the bouncy’ in the Kitchen. Nothing can really replace the excitement of a home matchday and so we’re just hoping for a return to normal in the months to come,” Covey said.

“If it doesn’t happen this year, we’ll be okay, and if we only get a single-site tournament, it will be great to see our boys back in action, and see what this radically rebuilt Wanderers squad is capable of. But it won’t be the full real deal until we’re all back together at the Grounds.”

Fans aren’t the only ones saddened that there isn’t any CPL soccer on Canada Day. Coaches and players are also left wondering how the day might have played out.

Valour FC coach Rob Gale viewed the CPL’s scheduled Canada Day quadruple-header as a “chance for us to celebrate the fact that we have a football league.”

“Those occasions are above football for me, when the sun is shining at IG Field, ‘the Trench’ is bouncing… I think we had 10,000 at the Canada Day game last year and I would imagine we would have had up to 15,000 this year. It’s Manitoba’s 150th anniversary and it’s a special year in Winnipeg and this province,” Gale told CanPL.ca.

“I’ve said it time and time again that it’s an absolute privilege to lead this team out on any occasion in my own community. But when it’s Canada Day… there’s that extra hair on your neck that stands up or an extra lump in your throat when you are singing the national anthem and you’re taking it in with your family, your friends, your club. Regardless of the result, those memories stay with you.”

Tommy Wheeldon Jr. was looking forward to what he called “a symbolic day in the lives of every Canadian.”

“This year we would have celebrated the day facing our Al Classico rival FC Edmonton, and for 90-plus minutes friends would become foes. Alas, we find ourselves in unprecedented times, dealing with new situations and challenging circumstances,” the Cavalry FC coach told CanPL.ca.

“However, I’m certain that the resilient Canadian spirit will come shining through and we will return once again with a greater appreciation for things that were taken away from us. Our passions for the game we love will be stronger and our unspoken bond with our clubs will become unbreakable.”

Like Wheeldon Jr., FC Edmonton coach Jeff Paulus had Canada Day circled on his calendar, but he remains hopeful that the CPL will be back on the pitch in 2020.

“Canada Day is a special day to play for any Canadian sports team. For us in particular we would have been heading to Calgary to compete in our provincial derby with Cavalry. With our supporters, the River Valley Vanguard, making the trip down south it would have been a nice moment. That being said, with the current health crisis these games are put into perspective for me and I am happy to wait this out to ensure everyone’s safety,” Paulus told CanPL.ca.

It’s a sentiment echoed by Gale.

“It’s obviously a shame (that there are no games this year) because everyone in sport would love to have it again. But it’s about health and safety first and foremost and let’s hope we can celebrate double next Canada Day,” Gale stated.