The Canadian Premier League will be in Kelowna, B.C., later this month in a game that will pit Calgary against Vancouver.
The 2024 edition of the On Tour series will see Vancouver FC face Cavalry FC in Kelowna, B.C. in their second meeting of the regular season. The match will be played at Kelowna’s Apple Bowl on Sunday, June 16, starting at 2 p.m.. and will be featured as the TonyBet Match of the Week broadcast on OneSoccer, the dedicated home for Canadian soccer.
“Our new On Tour series is an innovative way to bring our League, Clubs and players to prospective new CPL markets, and we’re thrilled to be making Kelowna our first stop ‘On Tour’ this summer,” Mark Noonan, Canadian Premier League commissioner, said in a statement.
“We look forward to engaging with existing CPL supporters in the Okanagan Valley, attracting new fans to our game, meeting with Kelowna city officials and turning the On Tour series into a destination event for other potential CPL communities.”
Festival-goers will be invited to an official Kelowna 2024 kickoff event as well as a game day tailgate, among other activities to be staged for all ages in the days leading up to the match. More details about the festivities will be announced as they become available.
“We are thrilled to be the first stop of the Canadian Premier League’s On Tour series and showcase the passion and enthusiasm for soccer in the Okanagan,” Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas said.
“Kelowna is home to a continually growing soccer fan base, with almost 7,000 players throughout the region, of which more than 5,000 players are ages 18 years and under. We are also very interested in exploring the possibility of having a CPL franchise based in Kelowna in the future.”
Dyas said with the FIFA World Cup scheduled in Canada for 2026, this tour is a chance for Kelowna to test the waters and see how ready it is for this next step.
“I can only imagine the potential positive impact that today’s announcement will have on the future of soccer in our city,” he said.
Vancouver FC’s season members looking to purchase tickets for the match will have access to a pre-sale today, as supporters of the home club. Cavalry FC season ticket holders will gain pre-sale access on Thursday, May 9. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday, May 10.
Next month’s game marks the first time the league will stage a one-off competitive match at a neutral site venue. The Apple Bowl, home of the Okanagan Challenge of the Pacific Coast Soccer League, is a multi-purpose stadium in Kelowna’s Parkinson Recreation Park.
The match will mark a homecoming for Vancouver FC President and former Canadian Men’s National Team striker Rob Friend, who grew up in Kelowna. Friend was the first soccer player to be inducted into the Central Okanagan Sports Hall of Fame in 2022.
“I am thrilled to bring the inaugural edition of the On Tour Series to Kelowna,” said Rob Friend, president of Vancouver FC. “I know how passionate everyone in the Okanagan Valley is about community, and what an opportunity this will be for local soccer fans to rally around our game and our League.
“It makes sense for Kelowna to be the first stop in this series and I can’t wait to see the city set the standard for what the On Tour series can be going forward.”
Vancouver, the CPL’s most recent expansion club, will face one of the League’s most successful outfits in Cavalry FC. The Calgary-based club lifted the CPL Shield last fall as winners of the 2023 regular season.