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Canadian Premier League to provide update Wednesday on plans for 2020 soccer season

The game ball sits on a pedestal ahead of the inaugural soccer match of the Canadian Premier League between Forge FC of Hamilton and York 9 in Hamilton, Ont. Saturday, April 27, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Lynett

A Canadian professional soccer league hoping to kick off its second season since its inception says it plans to provide an update on those plans on Wednesday.

In a tweet on Tuesday, the Canadian Premier League said it plans to post an update on its website at 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

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With the CPL’s 2020 soccer season put on pause by COVID-19 before it could even begin, league executives have been coping with a state of uncertainty, like many other professional sports leagues.

The pandemic suddenly stopped teams’ training camps in March, and the CPL season, which was scheduled to kick off on April 11, has been on hold ever since.

In early June, the league, its clubs and players’ leaders agreed on a strategy for playing the 2020 season during a pandemic, however, the league did not reveal details of that plan.

“Our position since we began the journey of building the league from the ground up has been to work together,” David Clanachan, the commissioner of the CPL, said at the time.

“We started this process behind the scenes many weeks ago… on the many details and protocols required to safely return to the field of play, and potential opportunities that may emerge. This led to the next step of a collaborative discussion with the players.”

READ MORE: Canadian Premier League announces proposed strategy for revised 2020 season 

Within several days of that announcement, all eight CPL teams had been cleared to resume training, provided that players and staff adhered to public health protocols related to the novel coronavirus.

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Last month, The Canadian Press reported that the CPL was mulling over the idea of a tournament to kick off a revamped 2020 season, with Prince Edward Island and Vancouver Island being the leading candidates to host it.

READ MORE: All 8 CPL teams back training after FC Edmonton gets green light to practise 

Forge FC won the CPL championship title in the league’s inaugural season last year, defeating Cavalry FC over two legs in the finals.

–With files from Global News’ Rick Zamperin and The Canadian Press

Watch below: (From April 11, 2020) The Canadian Premier League was looking to build on a massive debut season last year but that has, of course, been put on hold due to COVID-19. FC Edmonton though is keeping its hopes up and is still in heavy preparation mode for a season. Quinn Phillips reports.

Click to play video: 'FC Edmonton finding ways to prepare to play'
FC Edmonton finding ways to prepare to play

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