When it comes to a possible switch from USL Championship to the Canadian Premier League, Ottawa Fury FC continues to take a wait-and-see approach.
Speculation about Ottawa’s future had run rampant as plans for the Canadian Premier League, which begins play in April, were being rolled out last year. Fury FC officials eventually revealed their plans late last summer, stating that although a future league change was not being ruled out, the club intended to continue competing in Division II USL Championship.
The Fury will be back in USL Championship as its lone Canadian team in 2019, while the new Canadian Premier League is approaching an inaugural season that will feature seven teams. Fury ownership Ottawa Sports & Entertainment Group maintains that it is content in USL Championship for now, but is leaving the door open for discussions of a potential shift down the road. More from the Ottawa Citizen:
OSEG’s stance on CPL is wait and see, and chief executive officer Mark Goudie says the door remains open to discussions at a later date.
“There is a sense of nationalistic pride around this new league that is joining, and that’s great,” Goudie says. “We endorse it and support it and love it and we want it to be successful, and there is a segment of our supporter base that, if it was their decision, would have chosen for us to be in the CPL in 2019.
“And I think there’s another segment that says, ‘We trust OSEG and we trust the Fury and, if they say (USL) is better for us for now, we’ll go with that …
“I think in market it was overwhelmingly positive. It changes when you get across Canada. I think there were teams that were looking forward in Canada to having an established franchise as part of their new league.”
Whether a potential Ottawa Fury league change ever materializes remains to be seen, but the club is sticking with its intent to stay put for now as the Canadian Premier League develops. The Fury has competed in Division II USL since 2017, initially joining the league as part of a transition from the NASL.
mage courtesy Ottawa Fury FC.
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