Be it ever so humble, there will be no place like home for Pacific FC to start the 2024 Canadian Premier League season. Much like last season, when the Tridents used it to get off to a fast start, PFC will commence with a preponderance of home dates.
The Tridents will play five of their first six games at Starlight Stadium in Langford and six of their first eight.
Added to that is the fact the two road games in the first eight games of the season aren’t too taxing for PFC, with visits to Calgary to meet Cavalry FC on April 28 and to Langley to play Vancouver FC on May 25.
The full CPL schedule was released on Tuesday. The opening home games for all eight teams were unveiled last week in a teaser that is common now when leagues in several sports begin rolling out the release of their schedules.
The HFX Wanderers of Halifax will travel 5,803 kilometres to play PFC in the Tridents’ season opener April 13 at Starlight Stadium.
The Wanderers will return on Sept. 7. The Tridents will make the marathon trip in the opposite direction to Nova Scotia also twice, on June 8 and July 11.
After the opening eight games, six of the next seven are on the road for PFC.
Three of the final five games are also away from the cosy confines of Starlight Stadium, but the season will end at home on Oct. 19 against four-time league playoff champion Forge FC of Hamilton.
Forge has dominated the first five seasons of the CPL, which was inaugurated in 2019 as a pre-requisite of Canada needing to have a domestic professional soccer league as a condition of co-hosting the 2026 World Cup.
The 14 PFC home dates are April 13 and Sept. 7 versus HFX, April 19 and July 28 against Valour FC of Winnipeg, May 4 and Aug. 2 versus York United of the Greater Toronto Area, May 11 and Oct. 19 against Forge FC, May 17 and Aug. 17 versus Atletico Ottawa, June 1 and Oct. 5 against Cavalry FC and June 27 and Sept. 14 against Vancouver FC.
