2026 Forge FC season
| 2026 season | |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Bob Young |
| Head coach | Bobby Smyrniotis |
| Stadium | Hamilton Stadium |
| Canadian Premier League | Matchday 1 |
| Canadian Championship | TBA |
| CONCACAF Champions Cup | Round one |
The 2026 Forge FC season will be the eighth season in the history of Forge FC and the club's eighth season in the Canadian Premier League (CPL), the top flight in Canadian soccer. Forge are the two-time defending CPL Shield winners, having finished first in the 2024 and 2025 CPL seasons.
In addition to the Canadian Premier League, the club will compete in the Canadian Championship and the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Review
Background
Forge FC will enter the 2026 Canadian Premier League season as the two-time reigning regular season winners after having finished first and claiming the CPL Shield in both the 2024 and 2025 CPL seasons.[1] The 2025 shield was the club's third regular season title and seventh trophy in seven years.[2] In the CPL playoffs, Forge were eliminated in the semifinals, making the 2025 CPL final the first in league history not to feature Forge.[3]
The Hammers will also compete in the 2026 Canadian Championship, a domestic cup organized by the Canadian Soccer Association. In the 2025 edition, Forge advanced to the semifinal, defeating MLS side CF Montréal in the quarterfinal for the second year in a row,[4] before being knocked out by the eventual champion Vancouver Whitecaps FC.[5]
Forge qualified for the 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup as 2025 CPL regular season winners.[1][6] This will be Forge's fourth appearance in the competition and third appearance in a row. In the 2025 edition, Forge faced Mexican side Monterrey in round one, losing 5–0 on aggregate.[7]
Head coach and sporting director Bobby Smyrniotis is contracted to return for his eighth season with the club after signing a four-year contract extension in 2023.[8][9]
Current squad
As of December 18, 2025[10][11][12][13]
| No. | Name | Nationality | Position(s) | Date of birth (age) | Previous club | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | |||||||||
| 36 | Dino Bontis | GK | August 3, 2004 | Western Mustangs | U21 | ||||
| Defenders | |||||||||
| 3 | Marko Jevremović | DF | February 23, 1996 | Athens Kallithea F.C. | INT | ||||
| 5 | Daniel Nimick | DF | September 22, 2000 | HFX Wanderers FC | |||||
| 6 | Ben Paton | DF | May 5, 2000 | Ross County | |||||
| 24 | Rezart Rama | DF | December 4, 2000 | KF Egnatia | INT | ||||
| Midfielders | |||||||||
| 10 | Kyle Bekker | MF | September 2, 1990 | North Carolina FC | |||||
| 16 | Khadim Kane | MF | May 17, 2005 | CF Montréal U23 | U21 | ||||
| 21 | Alessandro Hojabrpour | MF | January 10, 2000 | Pacific FC | |||||
| 22 | Noah Jensen | MF | July 20, 1999 | Oakland University | |||||
| 28 | Keito Lipovschek | MF | April 3, 2005 | Fleetwood United | U21 | ||||
| 32 | Zayne Bruno | MF | January 23, 2007 | Sigma FC | U21, EYT | ||||
| 99 | Christos Liatifis | MF | June 18, 2005 | Panathinaikos F.C. | INT | ||||
| Forwards | |||||||||
| 9 | Brian Wright | FW | March 24, 1995 | York United FC | |||||
| 12 | Maxime Filion | FW | April 13, 2003 | Montreal Carabins | U Sports | ||||
| 17 | Hoce Massunda | FW | June 19, 2005 | Sigma FC | U21 | ||||
| 18 | Molham Babouli | FW | January 2, 1993 | York United FC | |||||
| 19 | Tristan Borges | FW | August 26, 1998 | OH Leuven | |||||
| 41 | Amadou Koné | FW | January 28, 2005 | Carleton Ravens | U21, U Sports | ||||
Contracts and transfers
In
Draft picks
Forge FC made two selections in the 2026 CPL–U Sports Draft on November 28, 2025.[14][15] Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster; only those who are signed to a contract will be listed as transfers in.
| Round | Selection | Pos. | Player | Nationality | University |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | DF | Noah Bickford | Canada | TMU |
| 2 | 15 | MF | Maxime Bourgeois | Canada | Sherbrooke |
Out
| No. | Pos. | Player | To club | Fee/notes | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 81 | DF | Malik Owolabi-Belewu | Chesterfield F.C. | Contract expired | January 1, 2026 | [16][17] |
| 7 | FW | David Choinière | FC Supra | Contract expired | January 1, 2026 | [17][18] |
Club
Prior to the season, the Hamilton Sports Group welcomed businessman and investor Angelo Paletta as a minority owner.[19][20]
Kits
Canadian Soccer Business announced a multi-year partnership with Hummel to be the CPL's kit and apparel partner starting with the 2026 season,[21] replacing Macron.[22]
Competitions
Matches are listed in Hamilton local time: Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4) from March 8 until November 1, and Eastern Standard Time (UTC−5) otherwise.
Overview
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
| Canadian Premier League | April | Matchday 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | — | |
| Canadian Championship | Preliminary round | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | — | ||
| CONCACAF Champions Cup | February 3 | Round one | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | — | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | — | |||
Source: Competitions
Canadian Premier League
The CPL season will kickoff in April 2026.[23][24]
Canadian Championship
CONCACAF Champions Cup
The CONCACAF Champions Cup draw was held on December 9, 2025, with Forge drawing Liga MX side Tigres UANL in round one.[25][26] Having qualified as CPL regular season winners, Forge will enter the competition in round one and will begin play in February 2026.[6]
Round one
The round one schedule was announced on December 12, 2025.[27]
| February 3 Leg 1 | Forge FC | v | Tigres UANL | Hamilton, Ontario |
| 7:00 pm | Stadium: Hamilton Stadium |
| February 10 Leg 2 | Tigres UANL | v | Forge FC | San Nicolás de los Garza, Mexico |
| 10:00 pm | Stadium: Estadio Universitario |
References
- ^ a b O'Connor-Clarke, Charlie (October 18, 2025). "Forge FC lift 2025 CPL Shield as regular season winners". Canadian Premier League. Archived from the original on October 19, 2025. Retrieved October 19, 2025.
- ^ Radley, Scott (October 25, 2025). "They're regular season champs. Now, can Forge FC win in playoffs to finally achieve elusive double?". The Hamilton Spectator. Archived from the original on October 25, 2025. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
- ^ Saelhof, Todd (November 2, 2025). "Cavalry FC upends host Forge in bid to defend CPL playoff title". Calgary Herald. Archived from the original on November 3, 2025. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
- ^ Grigoriadis, Elias (July 10, 2025). "Hamilton's Forge FC eliminates CF Montreal from Canadian Championship for 2nd consecutive year". CBC News. The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on July 12, 2025. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
- ^ Karstens-Smith, Gemma (September 17, 2025). "Whitecaps beat Forge FC to book spot in Canadian Championship final". TSN. The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on September 17, 2025. Retrieved September 17, 2025.
- ^ a b "2026 Champions Cup Key Details and Qualified Teams" (Press release). Miami, FL: CONCACAF. October 20, 2025. Archived from the original on October 29, 2025. Retrieved October 29, 2025.
- ^ "Monterrey cruises to win over Canada's Forge FC, advances in CONCACAF Champions Cup". TSN. Guadalupe, Mexico. The Canadian Press. February 11, 2025. Archived from the original on February 12, 2025. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
- ^ "Forge FC Announce Extension and Expanded Role For Bobby Smyrniotis" (Press release). Forge FC. May 1, 2023. Archived from the original on November 12, 2024. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
- ^ Milton, Steve (May 1, 2023). "Forge FC locks in coach Bobby Smyrniotis for four more years". The Hamilton Spectator. Archived from the original on May 15, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
- ^ "Forge FC announce 2026 roster updates" (Press release). Hamilton, ON: Forge FC. December 10, 2025. Archived from the original on December 10, 2025. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
- ^ "Forge FC executes options on Dino Bontis and Khadim Kane". Canadian Premier League. December 15, 2025. Archived from the original on December 15, 2025. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
- ^ "Forge FC Executes Option on Defender Marko Jevremović" (Press release). Hamilton, ON: Forge FC. December 17, 2025. Archived from the original on December 17, 2025. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
- ^ "Forge FC Executes Option on Midfielder Noah Jensen" (Press release). Hamilton, ON: Forge FC. December 18, 2025. Archived from the original on December 18, 2025. Retrieved December 18, 2025.
- ^ "Forge FC Select Bickford and Bourgeois in 2026 CPL–U Sports Draft" (Press release). Hamilton, ON: Forge FC. November 28, 2025. Archived from the original on November 28, 2025. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
- ^ Davidson, Neil (November 28, 2025). "Expansion FC Supra du Quebec adds to its roster with top two picks in U Sports draft". Yahoo Sports. The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on November 28, 2025. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
- ^ "Spireites agree deal for defender Owolabi-Belewu". BBC Sport. August 7, 2025. Archived from the original on September 16, 2025. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
- ^ a b "Veteran winger David Choiniere leaves Forge after seven seasons with CPL powerhouse". Yahoo Sports. The Canadian Press. December 8, 2025. Archived from the original on December 9, 2025. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
- ^ Massoud, Raphaël (December 10, 2025). "« Un retour à la maison » : Le FC Supra dévoile ses trois premiers joueurs" ["A homecoming": FC Supra unveils its first three players]. Radio-Canada (in French). Archived from the original on December 11, 2025. Retrieved December 11, 2025.
- ^ "Hamilton Sports Group Welcomes Local Business Leader and Philanthropist Angelo Paletta to its Ownership Group" (Press release). Hamilton, ON: Hamilton Tiger-Cats. December 8, 2025. Archived from the original on December 8, 2025. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
- ^ "Angelo Paletta joins Hamilton Sports Group as minority owner". 3DownNation. Harvard Media. December 8, 2025. Archived from the original on December 8, 2025. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
- ^ "Canadian Soccer Business Expands Partnership with hummel as Official Kit and Apparel Partner of the Canadian Premier League" (Press release). Canadian Premier League. November 6, 2025. Archived from the original on November 6, 2025. Retrieved November 13, 2025.
- ^ Jacques, John (November 6, 2025). "Canadian Premier League Brings In Hummel As New Kit Partner". Northern Tribune. Archived from the original on November 13, 2025. Retrieved November 13, 2025.
- ^ "Canadian Premier League set to kick off in Quebec in 2026". Canadian Premier League. September 24, 2025. Archived from the original on November 13, 2025. Retrieved November 13, 2025.
- ^ "Canadian Premier League expanding to Montreal in 2026". Sportsnet. September 24, 2025. Archived from the original on November 13, 2025. Retrieved November 13, 2025.
- ^ "Vancouver FC drawn against Cruz Azul in Concacaf Champions Cup". Sportsnet. The Canadian Press. December 9, 2025. Archived from the original on December 10, 2025. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
- ^ "2026 Concacaf Champions Cup Round One Matchups Revealed Following Draw" (Press release). Miami, FL: CONCACAF. December 9, 2025. Archived from the original on December 10, 2025. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
- ^ "2026 Concacaf Champions Cup Round One and Round of 16 Schedule Released" (Press release). Miami, FL: CONCACAF. December 12, 2025. Archived from the original on December 12, 2025. Retrieved December 12, 2025.