7 March 2025
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The Championship returns with divisional debuts
Matches have been confirmed for the Championship Division opening week as new and returning teams begin their quests for promotion.
The League1 Ontario Championship Divisions are back for their second season with silverware, promotion, and relegation all on the line.
Check out our breakdown of the opening matchups in the second tier.
Championship debuts
Two newcomers to the Men’s Championship will meet in the division’s opening week when Sudbury Cyclones visit York United, with the latter taking to the field for the first time since their launch announcement in the offseason.
The Borough were elevated to the Championship in the offseason with Sudbury, and they will be up against Whitby in their first game in the second tier.
North Mississauga will open their campaign at home against Hamilton United, and last year’s bottom-side Pickering are set to welcome Guelph United who are looking to return to the Premier Division at the first time of asking.
Windsor City take on the visiting Unionville Milliken, and Masters’ FA will host Waterloo United to complete an exciting lineup in Matchweek One.
Four of these Men’s Championship matches are set to take place on Friday, April 18 – the first day of men’s divisional action in 2025.
Tough tests
Rush Canada were the Women’s Championship’s bottom team last season, and they are taking on the 2024 runners-up Scrosoppi in the opening week of the second tier. While Rush will aim to kick off the season with a statement result, Scrosoppi will no doubt have eyes for the title after coming so close last year.
Third-place finishers Hamilton United could also be in the championship hunt this year and they might provide a tough Matchweek One test for Whitby, who ended the 2024 campaign just above Rush.
Blue Devils were relegated from the Women’s Premier last season, and they will begin their rebuilding project as Oakville Soccer Club in the Championship after the two clubs merged in the offseason. Unionville Milliken are their first divisional opponents.
Tecumseh United and Pickering will also meet each other, after finishing eighth and fifth respectively in the last year’s standings.