Canadian Soccer Association

The Canadian Soccer Association (Canada Soccer) (French: Association canadienne de soccer) is the governing body of soccer in Canada. It is a national organization that oversees the Canadian men's and women's national teams for international play, as well as the respective junior sides (U-20 and U-17 for men and women). Within Canada, it oversees national professional and amateur club championships.

Canadian Soccer Association
CONCACAF
Founded1912
HeadquartersOttawa
FIFA affiliation1912
CONCACAF affiliation1961[1]
PresidentSteve Reed
Websitewww.canadasoccer.com

Organization and Governance

Canada Soccer's objectives, as described in its by-laws, are to:[2]

  1. promote, regulate and control the game of soccer throughout Canada, particularly through youth and development programs;
  2. organize competitions in Association Football in all its forms at a national level, by defining the areas of authority conceded to the various leagues of which it is composed;
  3. draw up Association Football regulations and provisions, and ensure their enforcement;
  4. protect the interests of its Members;
  5. respect and prevent any infringement of the statutes, regulations, directives and decisions of FIFA, CONCACAF and The CSA, as well as the Laws of the Game;
  6. prevent all methods or practices that jeopardize the integrity of matches or competitions or give rise to abuse of Association Football;
  7. control and supervise all friendly Association Football matches played throughout Canada;
  8. manage international sporting relations connected with Association Football;
  9. host competitions at international and other levels.

Canada Soccer is governed by a board of directors consisting of 14 directors: a President, Vice President, six elected directors, and six appointed or independent directors.[2][3] Each of the six elected directors is elected from one of six geographic regions. The board must include at least three men and three women. The president of the board is Victor Montagliani and the vice president is Steven Reed.

Canada Soccer is administered by the General Secretariat, which is led by general secretary Peter Montopoli and deputy general secretary Earl Cochrane.[4] The general secretary is the chief executive of Soccer Canada, and is appointed by the board of directors.[2] The head office is located in Ottawa, Ontario.

Canada Soccer is a member of FIFA and of CONCACAF.

History
See also: History of Soccer in Canada

The Dominion of Canada Football Association, today known as the Canadian Soccer Association, was founded in Winnipeg, Manitoba in July 1912. "At the meeting, the Manitoba Football Association joined with the provincial associations of Ontario, New Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Alberta to form the national association."[5][6] The organization joined FIFA on December 31, 1912. On June 21, 1926, the DCFA resigned from FIFA, only to rejoin on June 20, 1948. The governing body of the game retained that name until it was changed to The Football Association of Canada on June 6, 1952. The association later changed its name to the Canadian Soccer Football Association in 1958 and then at last to the Canadian Soccer Association in 1971.

National teams

The association's national teams have won nine confederation championships. Canada won the 1985 CONCACAF Men's Championship and the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup; Canada's women's "A" team won the 1998 and 2010 CONCACAF women's championships. The men's youth team won the 1986 and 1996 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship while the women's youth team won the 2004 and 2008 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship along with the 2010 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship.

Men
Main article: Canada men's national soccer team

The Canada men's national soccer team represents Canada in international soccer competitions at the senior men's level. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association and compete in the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF). Their most significant achievements are winning the 1985 CONCACAF Championship to qualify for the 1986 FIFA World Cup and winning the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup to qualify for the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup. Canada also won a gold medal in the 1904 Summer Olympics. Canada with Mexico and United States will jointly host the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the first ever 48 team event.

Women
Main article: Canada women's national soccer team

The Canada women's national soccer team represents Canada in international women's soccer and is directed by the Canadian Soccer Association. Canada hosted the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup and reached the quarterfinals. The team reached international prominence at the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, losing in the third place match to the United States. Canada qualified for its first Olympic women's soccer tournament in 2008, making it to the quarterfinals. Canada are two-time CONCACAF women's champions as well as Olympic bronze medallists from London 2012 where they defeated France 1–0 and the 2016 Olympics in Brazil. Canadian women's soccer fans are also closely linked to the U-20 team (U-19 prior to 2006), partly due to Canada hosting the inaugural FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship in 2002 and winning silver in front of 47,784 fans at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta.

International tournaments hosted

The association has hosted several FIFA tournaments: the FIFA U-16 World Championship (1987), the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup (2002, 2014), the FIFA U-20 World Cup (2007), the FIFA Women's World Cup (2015), and will co-host the FIFA World Cup (2026) along with Mexico and United States.

Professional leagues and cups
See also: Canadian soccer league system

Canada has three professional teams competing in Major League Soccer (Division I, USSF), eight professional teams in the Canadian Premier League (Division I, CSA), and one professional team competing in USL League One (Division III, USSF).

At the professional level, Canada's domestic cup is the Canadian Championship. The Canadian Championship is an annual soccer tournament contested by premier Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and Canada's berth in the CONCACAF Champions League[7] In 2008, the Montreal Impact won the inaugural competition ahead of Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC. By finishing first, the Impact won the Voyageurs Cup and qualified for the 2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League. Canada's best performance in the CONCACAF Champions League came in the 2014-15 competition, when Montreal Impact reached the finals.[8] Toronto FC also reached the final in the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League where the fell in penalties to C.D. Guadalajara.[9] Starting in 2019, the winner of the Canadian Premier League has qualified for the CONCACAF League.[10]

Joining inaugural Canadian Championship participants Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, FC Edmonton entered the competition in 2011, and the Ottawa Fury entered in 2014. Starting in 2018, the winners of both League1 Ontario and Première Ligue de soccer du Québec, both enter in the first qualifying round of the competition.[11][12] With the launch of the Canadian Premier League in 2019, all CPL teams now play in the Canadian Championship.[13] It is organized by the Canadian Soccer Association.[14]

Amateur and youth

At the amateur level, Canada's club competitions fall under the National Championships. The senior champions are awarded the Challenge Trophy (men) and Jubilee Trophy (women). Club championships are also organized at the U-17, and U-15 levels.

Associations affiliated with Canada Soccer

Senior level
  1. Canada men's national soccer team
  2. Canada women's national soccer team
  3. Canada men's national beach soccer team
  4. Canada men's national cerebral palsy soccer team
  5. Canada men's national futsal team

Youth sides
  1. Canada men's national under-23 (Olympic) soccer team
  2. Canada men's national under-20 soccer team
  3. Canada women's national under-20 soccer team
  4. Canada men's national under-17 soccer team
  5. Canada women's national under-17 soccer team

Leagues and organizations
  1. Canadian Premier League (CPL)
  2. League1 Ontario (L1O)
  3. Première Ligue de soccer du Québec (PLSQ)

In addition, Canada Soccer is a financial backer of the U.S. National Women's Soccer League, which launched in 2013 as that country's third attempt at a women's professional league. Specifically, Canada Soccer is paying the NWSL salaries of 16 national team players.[15]

List of presidents
As of November 14, 2017[16]
No.NameTenure
1Fred Barter1912
2Tom Watson1913
3Edward Bailey Fisher1914
4Hugh Craig Cambell1915–1919
5Tom Guthrie1919
6Dan McNeil1920–1921
7John Easton1922–1925
8John Russell1925–1931
9Tom Holland1931–1932
10Charles Smail1932–1934
11Len Peto1935–1938
12Tom Elliot1939–1940
13Fred Crumblehulme1946–1947
14Robert Walker1947
15Otis Todd1947–1949
16Charles Pinnell1949–1953
17Ernest Campbell1953
18Jock Hendry1954–1956
19Arthur Arnold1957
20Victor Hagen1958–1960
21Patrick Nolan1961–1962
22Dave Fryatt1963–1964
23Bill Simpson1965–1968
24Aubrey Sanford1969–1971
25John Barnes1972–1973
26Bill Stirling1973–1981
27Jim Fleming1982–1985
28Fred Stambrook1986–1991
29Terry Quinn1992–1997
30Andy Sharpe2001–2005
31Colin Linford2006–2007
32Dominic Maestracci2008–2012
33Victor Montagliani2012–2017
34Steve Reed2017–present
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See also

References
  1. "Ramón Coll, electo Presidente de la Confederación de Futbol de América del Norte, América Central y el Caribe". La Nación (Google News Archive). September 23, 1961.
  2. Canadian Soccer Association by-laws 2013. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  3. Canada Soccer Governance, CanadaSoccer.com. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  4. Canada Soccer staff. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  5. Jose, Colin. "Manitoba: The Early Years". Canadian Soccer History. Canadian Soccer History. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  6. "Manitoba". Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum. Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  7. "Canadian teams set to do battle". The Globe and Mail. Canada. March 27, 2008. Retrieved March 28, 2008.
  8. The Canadian Press More The Canadian Press. "Montreal Impact become first Canadian team to advance to CONCACAF final". The Gazette. Montreal. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  9. Laura Armstrong. "Toronto FC loses CONCACAF Champions League final in dramatic shootout". Toronto Star. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  10. "Inaugural CPL Champion to gain 2020 Concacaf League berth". Canadian Premier League. October 25, 2019. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  11. "Oakville Blue Devils qualifies for Canadian Championship". www.canadasoccer.com. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  12. "AS Blainville qualifies for Canadian Championship". www.canadasoccer.com. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  13. "Everything you need to know about the Canadian Championship". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. May 15, 2019. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  14. "2012 Amway Canadian Championship". Retrieved January 27, 2012.
  15. "U.S. Soccer Unveils Name of New Women's Soccer League" (Press release). United States Soccer Federation. December 15, 2012. Archived from the original on April 3, 2013. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  16. "Board of Directors". canadasoccer.com.
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