CPL–U Sports Draft

The CPL–U Sports Draft is an annual event in which Canadian Premier League clubs select players from U Sports, Canada's governing body for university sports. The inaugural draft took place on November 12, 2018.[1]

Logo of the CPL–U Sports Draft

Developmental contract

Drafted players will get an invitation to the team's preseason camp, with the opportunity to earn a developmental contract. The developmental contract allows players to be paid to play in the CPL in the spring and summer, before returning to their university team in August for the U Sports men's soccer season.[2] Players who signed development contracts can be retained by their CPL clubs as long as they have U Sports eligibility. Previously drafted players who do not sign and remain draft-eligible will re-enter the draft in subsequent years.[3]

Drafted players can remain with their CPL club until the end of the season in early November by extending their developmental contract. These players would be ineligible to participate in U Sports the same season as their contract but would regain eligibility the following year.[4]

Rules and procedure

The league standings determine the draft order for the first round. The format is a "snake draft", with the order reversing after each round. Clubs have a window of time in which they must submit their pick, and failure to do so results in a pass. There is a break between each round, as well as one timeout per club. However, timeouts can not be used in back-to-back picks.[5]

List of drafts
Draft Date Rds Picks City First selection Team Ref.
2018 November 12, 2018 3 21 Vancouver, British Columbia Gabriel Bitar Cavalry FC [6]
2019 November 11, 2019 2 14 Montreal, Quebec Cory Bent HFX Wanderers [7]
2021 January 29, 2021 2 16 N/A Thomas Gardner FC Edmonton [8]

References
  1. Dheenshaw, Cleve (October 17, 2018). "New Canadian Premier League to hold draft for university soccer players". Times Colonist. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  2. "CPL to partner with U Sports on sharing talent". Sportsnet. The Canadian Press. October 17, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  3. "2021 CPL-U Sports Draft to take place on January 29". Canadian Premier League. 22 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  4. "2019 CPL-U Sports Draft announced, rules released". Canadian Premier League. October 30, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  5. "CPL-U SPORTS Draft 101: Detailing the process of the CPL's inaugural university draft". canpl.ca. November 2, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  6. Bedakian, Armen (November 12, 2018). "Draft order revealed: Cavalry FC gets 1st pick in inaugural CPL-U SPORTS Draft". canpl.ca. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  7. "HFX selects Cape Breton's Cory Bent 1st overall in CPL-U SPORTS Draft". Canadian Premier League. November 11, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  8. "FC Edmonton take UBC's Thomas Gardner 1st overall in CPL-U SPORTS Draft". Canadian Premier League. January 29, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
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