April 8, 2024 – Canadian Premier League (CPL)
Atletico Ottawa News Release
The 2024 Canadian Premier League season kicks off the weekend of April 13, when all eight clubs will begin their quest to hoist the CPL Shield and vie for the North Star Cup.
Here at CanPL.ca, we’re celebrating the start of April by previewing each individual club ahead of 2024. To check out all eight team previews, click here. To see all of our season preview coverage ahead of the sixth year of the CPL, click here.
After going from the bottom of the table in 2021 to winning the regular season and making the CPL Final in 2022, Atlético Ottawa entered 2023 with lofty expectations. Winning the regular season and playoff double was a target for the club, but on the pitch things didn’t go to plan.
The club failed to replace some of its big departures in the 2022-23 offseason, particularly those of attacker Ballou Tabla and midfielder Abdoul Sissoko, and ended up sliding down into sixth place – two points back of the final playoff spot – after a seven-game winless run late in the season.
A big off-season this year, where they’ve managed to pick up some of the Canadian Premier League’s biggest stars from around the league, as well as bringing back Tabla, is a statement of intent from the capital city club – they don’t want that feeling of missing out on the playoffs again in 2024, and are aiming for the top of the table once again in their fifth season.
STORY OF 2023
2023 CPL regular season record (W-D-L): 10-6-12 (36 pts, 6th place)
Goals scored: 38
Goals against: 34
Goal difference: +4
Top scorer: Ollie Bassett (11)
Canadian Championship: Lost on penalties in quarter-finals to Forge FC
Atlético Ottawa took a step back from their 2022 regular season-winning campaign, finishing sixth in the table after a late-season collapse. The club will be keen on putting the 2023 season behind them, while also perhaps using it as motivation to get back to the level they believe they’re capable of.
Another strong individual season from Golden Boot co-winner Ollie Bassett was one of the highlights of a year where they failed to meet collective expectations.
ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES
Players in:
Players out:
GK – Rayane Yesli GK – Sean Melvin
DF – Jonathan Grant DF – Miguel Acosta
DF – Luke Singh (on loan from Toronto FC) DF – Diego Espejo
DF – Amer Didić DF – Karl Ouimette
MF – Manny Aparicio DF – Macdonald Niba
MF – Aboubacar Sissoko MF – Carl Haworth
MF – Liberman Torres (on loan from Villarreal CF B) MF – Noah Verhoeven…
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