TORONTO — The Canadian Premier League is partnering with Electronic Arts on an eCanadian Premier League (eCPL) tournament.

Registration for the EA Sports FIFA 20 tournament opens Saturday. Players, using PlayStation 4, will compete across eight online club qualification weekends and eight live qualifiers in CPL cities.

The 16 competitors who survive will come to Toronto to compete in the May 9 eCPL Final, to be broadcast live by OneSoccer.ca. Each CPL club will be represented at the final by two competitors.

It marks the first Canadian league to be added to the EA Sports FIFA 20 Global Series.

"Partnering with EA for the first all-Canadian eCPL league is another proud moment for us," CPL commissioner David Clanachan said in a statement. "Reaching the global audience through FIFA gamers and the esports competition is an incredible opportunity for us and in-line with our mission to develop good young Canadian players and open the doors of opportunities in the world of professional football. We see this competition as an extension of that and can't wait to kick off on Feb. 29."

The Canadian Premier League is not yet in the FIFA game. In tournament play, competitors choose players from available leagues around the globe.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 14, 2020.