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Soccer-CPL delays season due to COVID-19, eyes mid-year start

(Reuters) - The Canadian Premier League (CPL) said on Friday it would delay the start of its 2021 season until mid-June to early July and have all eight clubs play in one location and without fans in the stands to mitigate the chances of COVID-19 cases.

The CPL, which had already pushed back its May 22 start date due to the pandemic, said it is working with several locations to create options on where to begin a campaign in which each club will play 28 regular season games.

"We remain adaptable to change because of the COVID-19 pandemic across the country and are focused on working with the public health authorities, along with their protocols that will help govern our 2021 season," CPL Commissioner David Clanachan said in a statement.

The CPL's COVID-19-delayed 2020 season was dubbed the Island Games after a decision was made to play games without fans in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Christian Radnedge)