In its announcement on Wednesday, Major League Soccer (MLS) specified that three matches are currently scheduled to take place on Canadian soil, one for Montreal and two for the Torontonians. The league did not specify the rest of the schedule.
Thus, Montreal’s eleven players will be able to welcome FC Cincinnati at Saputo Stadium on Saturday in front of a maximum of 5,000 spectators, according to Quebec’s public health guidelines for outdoor activities and events.
The last CF Montreal game in its complex dates back to September 9, 2020. Since then it has played its home games in Florida and New Jersey.
The team boss said that after all this time away, we are very happy to finally be able to play at home.
Kevin Gilmore. The past few months have been very difficult for our players and staff who have had to go into exile, but they have shown extraordinary resilience.
We can’t wait to see our fans at Saputo Stadium on Saturday, they also showed fantastic patience.
We have been working closely with the league, the other two Canadian teams and various government authorities for several months so that we can play in Montreal. Hopefully this is another step towards a full comeback.
Two games in Toronto
Toronto FC has the green light for its matches on Saturday (against Orlando City) and Wednesday (against New York Red Bulls) at BMO Field. About 7,000 spectators will be able to attend Saturday’s game. The spectator limit will be reduced to 15,000 for next Wednesday’s meeting.
For their part, the Vancouver Whitecaps will play their next two games at their temporary home ground, Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah.
MLS said it is continuing discussions with the Canadian government about more home matches in Canada.
CF Montreal and Toronto FC went home last week, after easing COVID-19 border restrictions for fully vaccinated travelers.
Thus, only fully vaccinated players and coaches will be exempt from quarantine upon entering Canada. Screening tests will also be conducted before departure and upon the arrival of the teams involved in the three matches scheduled on Canadian soil.
In the first version of this transcript, we announced, in light of a statement made to Radio Canada by Federal Minister of Immigration spokesperson Marco Mendicino, that Ottawa is still negotiating with MLS to allow access to US teams in Canada. By that time, the Montreal team could not play at Saputo Stadium.
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