The 1986 National Soccer League season was the sixty-third season under the National Soccer League (NSL) name. The season began in late May 1986 and concluded in early October 1986 with the NSL Championship final where Toronto Italia defeated Toronto Blizzard. Though the Blizzard would still manage to secure a treble after finishing first in the standings to claim the regular-season title, and defeating

London Marconi London Marconi Soccer Club is a Canadian Association football, soccer club based in London, Ontario, that plays in the Western Ontario Soccer League. The club was founded in 1962 and originally competed in the London and District League. After s ...

for the NSL Ontario Cup. Toronto would earn the treble by defeating Vancouver Columbus Italia for the NSL Canadian Championship. The fourth piece of silverware was claimed by the Blizzard after defeating Luso Stars of the Quebec National Soccer League (LNSQ) for the NSL Canada Cup.

Overview

As the formation of the Canadian Soccer Association's (CSA) sanctioned national professional league was becoming more apparent, and with its policy of no ethnic associated clubs the National Soccer League (NSL) began organizing an alternative model to the CSA's version of a nationwide league. The newly appointed NSL commissioner and Toronto Italia owner Rocco Lofranco began the process of formalizing affiliated agreements with professional leagues throughout the country to implement a national model with a regional format. The regional format would consist of separate regional leagues with independent schedules with the regional champions qualifying for a postseason tournament, which would ultimately determine the national champion. The primary purpose of the regional format was to reduce the costly travel expenses associated with a national league employing an interlocking schedule. The NSL's presence was successfully established in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

through an affiliated agreement with the Pacific Rim Soccer League and in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

with the creation of the Quebec National Soccer League (LNSQ) in 1986. As the NSL expanded into British Columbia, and Quebec each league supplied their regional champions in a tournament for the NSL Canadian Championship intending to provide a Canadian representative to the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. The previous time a Canadian club competed in the Champions' Cup was in the 1976 CONCACAF Champions' Cup represented by Toronto Italia. Several proposals and changes to the league's infrastructure were approved at the annual general meeting with the acceptance of the Petro Canada Soccer League as the NSL's developmental league, and the renaming of Toronto Dinamo to the Toronto Blizzard. All teams from the previous season returned with Windsor AC Roma renaming themselves as Windsor Wheels in an attempt to appeal to a wider audience.

Teams

Coaching changes

Final standings

Playoffs

Semifinals

Finals

Cup

The cup tournament was a separate contest from the rest of the season, in which all eight teams took part. All the matches were separate from the regular season, and the teams were grouped into two separate divisions. The two winners in the group stage would advance to a singles match for the Cup. The winner of the league cup would face the Quebec National Soccer League (LNSQ), and Pacific Rim Soccer League cup titleholders for the NSL Canada Cup.

Finals

NSL Canadian Championship

Since the 1986 season, a joint effort was conducted between the Pacific Rim Soccer League of British Columbia, National Soccer League, and the Quebec National Soccer League to provide a national champion. The original intention of the national tournament was to provide a potential Canadian representative for the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. The previous time a Canadian club competed in the Champions' Cup was in the 1976 CONCACAF Champions' Cup represented by Toronto Italia. Their regional champions would face each other in a

single-elimination tournament A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

with a single match for the championship.

Semifinals

Finals

NSL Canada Cup

The NSL Canada Cup was a separate tournament intended to crown a national

league cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

champion. The participating teams were the league cup titleholders from the Pacific Rim Soccer League of British Columbia, the National Soccer League, and the Quebec National Soccer League. The format of the competition was a

with a single match for the national cup.

Semifinal

Final

References

External links

RSSSF CNSL pagethecnsl.com - 1986 season
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Soccer League 1986 Season 1986–87 domestic association football leagues National Soccer League

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...