The 1978 National Soccer League season was the fifty-fifth 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 May 1978 and concluded in late September 1978 with the Toronto Falcons defeating Hamilton Italo-Canadians for the NSL Cup. The regular-season title and NSL Championship were successfully defended by the

Montreal Castors Montreal Castors was a Canadian Association football, soccer team, founded in 1975. The team played in the Canadian National Soccer League, National Soccer League, winning the championship in 1978 and 1979 before withdrawing from the league in 197 ...

by finishing first in the First Division. The Second Division title was won by

St. Catharines Roma St. Catharines Roma Wolves (also known as St. Catharines Wolves or simply Roma Wolves), are a Canadian soccer team, founded in 1967. The team currently plays in the semi-professional League1 Ontario in both the men's and women's divisions. The ...

by finishing first in the standings. The NSL was operative in Northern Ontario, Quebec, and had a franchise in the United States in Upstate New York. The season also marked the final time the league employed the promotion and relegation system as the Second Division was dissolved the following year.

Overview

The membership in the First Division increased to 11 teams with Buffalo Blazers, Ottawa Tigers, and Toronto Falcons receiving promotions. Ottawa was defeated in the previous season's promotion and relegation match series by Toronto Croatia but still was granted promotion to the First Division. The departing clubs were Toronto Macedonia, and 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 ...

were inactive for the season. Toronto Macedonia attempted to sell their franchise rights to Montreal Stars, but the move was declined by the league ownership. A league meeting occurred in early September where the league ownership decided to eliminate the

playoff format 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 ...

and conclude the season early after the completion of the NSL Cup tournament. The league champions

decided to withdraw from the competition, while the Windsor Stars forfeited after protesting the league's decision to change their opponent. The Second Division consisted of 7 teams with the Toronto Ukrainians returning to the NSL after a two-year absence. The Montreal Stars were absent for the season but returned for the 1979 season. Further changes occurred at the administrative level with John Fischer succeeding Joe Piccininni as the league's president.

Teams

Coaching changes

Standings

First Division

Second Division

References

External links

RSSSF CNSL pagethecnsl.com - 1978 season
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Soccer League 1978 Season 1978–79 domestic association football leagues

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...