The 1971 National Soccer League season was the forty-eighth 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 October with the Canadian Open Cup final where

Toronto Croatia Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

defeated

Challenge Trophy The Challenge Trophy (french: Trophée Challenge) is a national amateur soccer cup in Canada contested by the champions of individual provincial soccer competitions. It is one of the oldest soccer competitions in Canada, being held since 1913. ...

champions Vancouver Eintracht. The Croatians would secure a

treble Treble may refer to: In music: *Treble (sound), tones of high frequency or range, the counterpart of bass *Treble voice, a choirboy or choirgirl singing in the soprano range *Treble (musical group), a three-piece girl group from the Netherlands *T ...

by successfully defending their regular-season title, and defeating Toronto First Portuguese for the NSL Championship. The NSL Cup was successfully defended by Toronto First Portuguese who defeated Sudbury City. The Canadian Open Cup was created by the NSL to determine a national champion through an annual knock-out cup competition where all professional and amateur Canadian clubs were invited to participate.

Overview

The

became centered once more within the boundaries of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

after the departure of Soccer Portugais du Quebec of Montreal.

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Provi ...

was added to the circuit once again as Sudbury Italia returned under the name Sudbury City. The league expanded into the

Niagara region The Regional Municipality of Niagara, also colloquially known as the Niagara Region or Region of Niagara, is a regional municipality comprising twelve municipalities of Southern Ontario, Canada. The regional seat is in Thorold. It is the southern ...

for the first time as

St. Catharines Heidelberg St. Catharines Heidelberg was a Canadian soccer club based in St. Catharines, Ontario. The club was founded in 1960 and originally competed in the International Soccer League (later renamed Inter-City Soccer League). In 1971, the club joined the ...

was granted a franchise. Heidelberg previously competed in the Inter-City Soccer League. Ottawa Sons of Italy began a process of Canadianizing their organization by renaming the team Ottawa Tigers. The NSL experienced competition from the American-based

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

as it expanded into Ontario with the creation of the

Toronto Metros Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

. The league's match attendance continued to surge and surpassed the previous season's gate earnings at Stanley Park Stadium. The Toronto-based teams averaged around 1100 fans at Stanley Park. The league ownership also approved the creation of an under-23 division.

Teams

Standings

Playoffs

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

Cup

The cup tournament was a separate contest from the rest of the season, in which all fourteen teams took part. The tournament would conclude in a final match for the Cup.

Semifinals

Finals

Canadian Open Cup

The Canadian Open Cup was a tournament organized by the

in 1971 where the NSL champion would face the

winners to determine the best team throughout the country. The tournament intended to form an annual knock-out cup competition open to all Canadian professional and amateur clubs to determine a national champion. The championship was initially sponsored by the

Macdonald Tobacco Company The Macdonald Tobacco Company (initially called McDonald Brothers and Co.), founded in 1858 by William Christopher Macdonald and his brother Augustine, converted tobacco leaf from southern U.S. suppliers to pipe and chewing tobacco in Montreal. A ...

and was named the Export Trophy.

as the NSL champions was selected as the league's representative while their opponents were Vancouver Eintracht of the

Pacific Coast Soccer League The Pacific Coast Soccer League is an amateur soccer league, currently featuring teams from British Columbia. In the past clubs from Washington and Oregon have competed. PCSL is considered to be British Columbia's premier summer league. The ...

, who were the Challenge Trophy titleholders.

Individual awards

The NSL awards were given to recipients from St. Catharines Heidelberg, Sudbury City, and Toronto Croatia. The most gentlemanly team award was given to St. Catharines, and league official John Parfect received the most dedicated official award.

Željko Bilecki Željko Bilecki (April 28, 1950 – April 26, 2023) was a Canadian soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. Club career Bilecki played at the youth level with Toronto Croatia's junior team in 1969. In 1970, he played in the National Socc ...

of Toronto Croatia was named the goalkeeper of the year, and would later represent the Canada national team and play in the

. The league's top goal scorer was Sudbury's Ferruccio Deni, and he later returned to the NSL to play with the Sudbury Cyclones. The final award went to Hugh Morrow as the top referee throughout the season.

References

External links

RSSSF CNSL pagethecnsl.com - 1971 season
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Soccer League 1971 Season 1971–72 domestic association football leagues

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...