The Canadian Premier League off-season is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down. Just this past week, there was a new coaching announcement, transfers, a number of key signings and some notable departures across the league. The biggest headlines this week came out of the nation’s capital, with Atlético Ottawa’s new coach unveiled and an exciting signing following. Here are the biggest stories from the past week across the league:
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Atlético Ottawa unveil new coach, make marquee signing
The biggest question of the off-season in the nation’s capital was answered this week with the announcement of Diego Mejía as the third head coach in club history. Mejía, 41, joins Atleti after four years with Juárez in Liga MX, serving as head coach during the 2023-24 campaigns. As a player, Mejía spent his 15-year career in his home country, including stints at Querétaro and León. He is expected to be a more attack-minded head coach than his predecessor Carlos González and perhaps bring a new style of football to the nation’s capital. With their new manager confirmed, Atleti also ended the week with a significant signing, that of Atlético San Luis veteran midfielder Juan Castro. The 33-year-old is San Luis’ all-time record appearance holder, having played 289 matches for the club — scoring 19 times. A box-to-box midfielder, he will bring technical ability and experience to an already solid Atleti midfield that includes the likes of Manny Aparicio, Aboubacar Sissoko, Gabriel Antinoro, Noah Verhoeven and Alberto Zapater.
Forge FC re-sign a pair of club legends, announce the departure of nine players
While this week confirmed Forge FC is going to look a little bit different next season, it also saw the club bring back two foundational players. On Monday, Forge announced the return of captain Kyle Bekker on a multi-year deal. Then on Wednesday, Forge signed a multi-year contract with CPL Player of the Year Tristan Borges. The Hamilton club also confirmed they had exercised the loan option on full-back Daniel Parra. The 25-year-old from CF Monterrey looks set to face his parent club in the first round of the Concacaf Champions Cup. But there will also be a lot of turnover for Forge this off-season, as the club confirmed on Friday the departure of nine players, including Player of the Year nominee Alessandro Hojabrpour, CPL all-time leading goalscorer Terran Campbell, Garven Metusala, Malcolm Duncan, Jordan Hamilton, Victor Klonaridis, Matteo Schiavoni, Dominic Samuel and Sebastian Castello. Hojabrpour’s departure, in particular, will leave a big hole and potentially mean the restructuring of Forge’s midfield. The club does still have an elite-level holding midfielder in Swede Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson, but after another season where he was nominated for the league’s Defender of the Year award, he has generally been preferred as a central defender over the past three seasons.
York United add Gaby Bitar, sign Cameron Da Silva
The Nine Stripes have been on the hunt for experienced CPL talent this off-season, and brought in yet another strong piece with the acquisition of attacker Gaby Bitar from Vancouver FC. Following time spent with Cavalry FC and FC Edmonton, Bitar played 53 matches for the Eagles in their first two seasons scoring 10 times and adding eight assists. The 26-year-old was acquired in exchange for York’s first-round selection in the 2026 CPL-U SPORTS Draft. He will look to bounce back after a somewhat disappointing 2024 campaign where he was limited to four goals and two assists. The Nine Stripes also announced the signing of 22-year-old Canadian central defender Cameron DaSilva. The former Simcoe County Rover in League1 Ontario standout will add another young option to the club’s backline.
Valour FC add to backline with Rocco Romeo’s return
The Winnipeg club brought back a fan favourite after putting pen to paper with central defender Rocco Romeo on Tuesday. The 24-year-old returns to Valour after two seasons with Vancouver FC, where he developed into a central figure in their team. His return to Winnipeg is an instant boost for the club’s backline as Romeo brings 87 matches of CPL experience with him, and 92 in all competitions with CPL clubs. Another boost is confirmation that Valour have exercised their option on Defender of the Year nominee Themi Antonoglou. The club also revealed on Thursday that goalkeeper Darlington Murasiranwa, defender Tass Mourdoukoutas, midfielders Juan Pablo Sanchez and Zachary Sukunda, plus striker Jordan Swibel will not return for 2025. Valour did not exercise options on Abdul Binate and Loïc Kwemi.
Isaiah Johnston returns to the CPL with the Halifax Wanderers
After two seasons spent in the United States, Isaiah Johnston confirmed his return to the Canadian Premier League this week with Halifax Wanderers. Johnston, who was drafted by York United out of Cape Breton University in 2020 spent three seasons with the Nine Stripes. The talented box-to-box midfield is looking to bring his experience with Huntsville City SC (where he was the first-ever signing) in MLS Next Pro and Loudoun United in the USL Championship back to the CPL. Halifax also** announced a new member of their coaching staff** as Giovanni Petraglia joins the club, with over a decade of experience coaching the Thunder Bay Chill in USL League Two.
Cavalry sign Jay Herman, retain several core members
Make that 21 members of Cavalry FC’s 2024 North Star Cup-winning roster who are now under contract with the club for the 2025 season. On Tuesday, Cavalry FC announced the return of Jay Herdman. The 20-year-old New Zealand international was outstanding for Cavalry on loan last season and now signed a permanent deal where he will continue to provide the club with quality down the left flank. Later in the week, they unveiled the rest of their business, including that contact options had been exercised on Ali Musse, Shamit Shome, Michael Harms and Joseph Holliday. The club also announced new deals for Bradley Kamdem, Callum Montgomery, Tom Field, Jesse Daley, Niko Myroniuk and Maël Henry. The only players confirmed to not be returning are Malcolm Shaw, whose option was declined, and William Akio, whose contract was mutually terminated earlier in the off-season. The status of back-to-back CPL Defender of the Year, and 2023 Player of the Year, Daan Klomp remains unknown as he is out of contract.
Vancouver FC say goodbye to nine players; Ben Fisk retires
After a disappointing second half of the 2024 Canadian Premier League season, it appears the rebuild has begun in Langley as Vancouver FC announced nine players will not return for next season this week. On Monday, the club unveiled that options had been declined on the contracts of defenders Kadin Chung and Anthony White, as well as midfielders Renan Garcia, Olivier Rommens and Zach Verhoven. Rocco Romeo and Austin Ricci were also confirmed as not returning for 2025, while Gabriel Bitar was transferred to York United in exchange for York’s first-round pick in the 2026 CPL-U SPORTS Draft. Then, on Thursday, after 14 seasons in the professional game, a CPL original hung up his boots with Ben Fisk announcing his retirement. He spent the final season with Vancouver FC, also having joined the league for its inaugural season with Pacific FC, was the first signing in Atlético Ottawa history and won a CPL Shield with Cavalry FC in 2023. It wasn’t all departures for the Eagles, however, as they secured three members of their young core. Defender Tyler Crawford signed a new contract, while options were exercised on Matteo Campagna and James Cameron.