Atlético Ottawa's long-awaited home opener kicks off today
Soccer team's launch in early 2020 overshadowed by pandemic
After nearly two years of waiting, soccer fans in Ottawa will finally get a chance to cheer on their local team on their home turf.
Atlético Ottawa will host their first home game Saturday afternoon at TD Place. Ontario's current reopening plan allows outdoor venues with fixed seating to reopen at 75 per cent of their usual capacity, up to a maximum of 15,000 people.
For fan Thomas Stockting, Saturday's home opener feels like a long-awaited trip.
"It's not until you're packed and at the airport that you're like, 'Oh, I'm going on holiday,'" he said. "There'll be uncontrollable excitement. I'm going to be absolutely elated."
Difficult time for soccer fans
The past few years have been difficult for Ottawa soccer fans. In late 2019, Ottawa Fury FC announced the team was packing it in following a long-simmering disagreement with Canadian soccer officials over which league it would participate in.
The following January, Atlético Ottawa announced it would join the Canadian Premier League (CPL), and fans were excited to finally get the ball rolling again. Unfortunately, the pandemic got in the way.
The CPL was able to get a season started by bubbling teams on Prince Edward Island. Atlético's current season has so far taken place in Winnipeg.
Stockting said he was happy to watch the team on TV, but called the wait for live soccer "excruciating."
"Without fans in the stadium it's a fundamentally different experience. It's muted," he said. "Being in a supporters' section with hundreds of people bouncing up and down, chanting and singing for team ... it just feels like home."
Atlético midfielder Antoine Coupland of Chelsea, Que., is looking forward to his own homecoming. The 17-year-old made waves two years ago when he signed with the Fury as that team's youngest player. Now gearing up in Atlético's red and white stripes, he said he's excited to play in front of his family and friends again.
"It is going to be pretty loud," Coupland told CBC's Ottawa Morning. "I've reserved I think almost 50 tickets for family and friends."
Stockting, who also acts as the content manager for the Capital City Supporters Group, an Atlético fan club, said he and his fellow fans intend to make lots of noise for the home opener.
The group got together Friday to practise some chants, and plans to march down Bank Street with drums before the game on Saturday, Stocking said.
WATCH | Soccer fans 'very pumped' for Atlético Ottawa's first-ever home game
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The team has been off to a slow start this year, with only two wins after 10 games. Stockting said having fans in the stands is just the remedy to help turn the season around.
"The team is going through a bit of a rough patch at the moment in terms of results, and I think the best thing for the team and supporters is going to be able to have a packed TD Place."
In an effort to pack the stands, Saturday's game is pay-what-you-can. The home opener kicks off at 3 p.m.