Atletico Madrid land franchise in Canadian Premier League

(Reuters) - The Canadian Premier League said on Wednesday it has awarded an expansion franchise to La Liga's Atletico Madrid that will be based in Ottawa and take the field for the 2020 season starting in April.

The addition of the club in the Canadian capital gives the CPL eight teams in its second season and brings the number of clubs in the province of Ontario to three, along with Toronto and Hamilton.

Atletico Madrid said in a CPL news release that the club looked forward to bringing their expertise to the league and that they hoped to play a role in contributing to the growth of Canadian soccer.

"We would like to bring our expertise to a very strong and structured league and will work together with the CPL and the rest of the clubs to contribute to the growth of Canadian soccer," said Atletico's Chief Executive Miguel Angel Gil Marin.

"We want Ottawa soccer fans to be able to feel proud of belonging to the Atletico de Madrid family so we can start sharing our values with them."

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Ian Chadband)