The 1967 National Soccer League season was the forty-fourth season under the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its d ...

(NSL) name. The season began in early May and concluded in early November with Windsor Teutonia successfully defending the O’Keefe Trophy (NSL Championship) against

Hamilton Primos Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

. The regular-season title was clinched by Hamilton Primos by finishing first throughout the regular season. The NSL merged with its competitor the

Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League The Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League was a soccer league in Canada. The league operated for six seasons from 1961 to 1966 across four cities in two Canadian provinces and one American state. In the 1960s, the Eastern Canada Professional ...

(ECPSL) in December 1966, which elevated the status of the NSL in the Canadian soccer landscape to a secondary league behind the American-based National Professional Soccer League, and the

United Soccer Association The United Soccer Association was a professional soccer league featuring teams based in the United States and Canada. The league survived only one season before merging with the National Professional Soccer League to form the North American S ...

Overview

The financial instability of the

was becoming more apparent as key club members

Toronto City Toronto City was a Canadian soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario. Between 1961 and 1967, teams using this name competed in both the Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League and the United Soccer Association. History ECPSL In 1961, along with ...

, and Toronto Italia-Falcons departed to soccer leagues based in the United States ( National Professional Soccer League, and

). In late December 1966, the ECPSL merged with the

with their remaining active clubs

, and Toronto Inter-Roma joining the Ontario-based circuit. The acquisition of the ECPSL clubs along with the return of Toronto Olympia, and an expansion club increased the membership to 12 clubs. The twelfth member known as the

Serbian White Eagles Serbian White Eagles Football Club ( sr, Фудбалски клуб Српски бели орлови / ''Fudbalski klub Srpski beli orlovi'') is a Canadian soccer team. The team is a member of the Canadian Soccer League, an unsanctioned socce ...

was the expansion club that represented the Serbian community in Toronto. Several reforms were presented at the annual owners meeting with the proposal of a promotion and relegation system, and a partitioning of the league into two separate divisions. The league also received an inquiry from American interests in attempts of acquiring an NSL franchise. Throughout the season a dispute emerged over Toronto Roma's usage of illegal players. The dispute centered around the usage of

Carlos Metidieri Jose Carlos Metidieri (born December 18, 1942, in Votorantim (SP), Brazil) is a retired Brazilian-born American soccer forward. He played professionally in Canada with Toronto Italia. In an exhibition game between Torino of Italy and a German s ...

, and

Jorge Piotti Jorge Piotti or Georgio Piotti (born 1940) is an Argentine football manager and former footballer who played as a midfielder. Career Piotti played with Club Atlético Platense, and with Calcio Catania. In 1964, he played in the Eastern Canada ...

, as both were signed to

Boston Rovers Boston Shamrock Rovers (also known as Boston Rovers) were an American soccer team that competed in the United Soccer Association (USA) league in 1967. The team was based in Lynn, Massachusetts and played their home games at the Manning Bowl. T ...

of the

, and failed to receive permission from the Canadian Soccer Football Association in the usage of these contracted players. The league in response issued a fine and suspension to both players, and an additional fine to the Toronto Roma. Roma's defense was that the club received permission from Boston in the usage of both players. Toronto challenged the ruling and threatened to withdraw from the league. The league had a slight increase in match attendance since their initial decrease in the early 1960s.

Teams

Coaching changes

Standings

Playoffs

The preliminary round of the playoffs was contested in a round-robin style with two separate groups where the two group winners would qualify for the final. Sudbury Italia, Toronto Roma, and Windsor Teutonia were placed in the first group, while Hamilton Primos, Toronto Hellas, and Toronto Hungaria were placed in the second group. Toronto Roma would withdraw from the playoffs. Windsor and Hamilton finished as their respective group champions, and as a result, qualified for the O’Keefe Trophy final. The championship final was contested in a

best-of-three series There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly kn ...

Finals

References

External links

RSSSF CNSL pagethecnsl.com - 1967 season
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Soccer League 1967 Season 1967–68 domestic association football leagues

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...