CPL–U Sports Draft


The CPL–U Sports Draft is an annual event in which Canadian Premier League clubs select players from U Sports, Canada's governing body for university sports. The inaugural draft took place on November 12, 2018.

Developmental contract

Drafted players will get an invitation to the team's preseason camp, with the opportunity to earn a developmental contract. The developmental contract allows players to be paid to play in the CPL in the spring and summer, before returning to their university team in August for the U Sports men's soccer season. Players who remain draft-eligible will re-enter the draft in subsequent years.
Drafted players can remain with their CPL club until the end of the season in early November by extending their developmental contract. These players would be ineligible to participate in U Sports the same season as their contract but would regain eligibility the following year.

Rules and procedure

The league standings determine the draft order for the first round. The format is a "snake draft", with the order reversing after each round. Clubs have a window of time in which they must submit their pick, and failure to do so results in a pass. There is a break between each round, as well as one timeout per club. However, timeouts can not be used in back-to-back picks.

List of drafts