Despite each receiving

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

-affiliated status in 1913, both the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

have lacked a consistent, multi-division soccer system until recently. Consequently, the determination of champions has been problematic at times. The United States did not have a truly national top flight league until the FIFA-sanctioned

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 ...

and the "outlaw" National Professional Soccer League, which had a network television contract, merged in November 1967 to form the

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 ...

(NASL). The NASL considered the two pre-merge forerunner leagues as part of its history. Before 1967, there were several regional and city leagues of various levels of quality. For example, the first and second incarnations of the American Soccer League constituted the premier level of professional soccer in the Northeastern United States, but they and teams from the

St. Louis Soccer League The St. Louis Soccer League was based in St. Louis, Missouri and existed from 1915 to 1938. At its founding, it was the only fully professional soccer league in the United States. The league was founded from two teams from the St. Louis Soccer F ...

would regularly defeat the best the other had to offer. These are only two of the most notable leagues of the regional era, as there were professional and amateur competitions in Chicago, California, the greater Western United States, Ontario, and Western Canada, among several other regions. While the creation of the NASL in 1968 brought bonafide top-flight competition to the U.S. and Canada, its collapse in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

saw a temporary return to the fragmented regional structure. The merger of the

Western Soccer League Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer Alli ...

and third iteration of the American Soccer League created a national second division in the U.S. known as the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

(APSL) in 1990. The APSL later absorbed the

Canadian Soccer League The Canadian Soccer League (CSL; french: Ligue canadienne de soccer — LCS) is a semi-professional league for Canadian soccer clubs primarily located in the province of Ontario, and claims the history of the Canadian National Soccer League (C ...

, which at the time was an attempt at a wholly first division within Canada. It was not until the establishment of

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

(MLS) in

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

as part of FIFA's agreement to award the United States the

1994 World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football, soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the countr ...

that there was again a truly national, sanctioned first division in either country. Top Canadian teams resided at the second division until MLS expanded to Canada in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

. Given the tumultuous history of professional soccer in the United States and Canada, there is a broad history of champions of various kinds in both countries, both in leagues that comprised both nations and cups that were held in only one. This article takes into account all these competitions to compile an accurate listing of American and Canadian soccer champions with an eye towards maintaining continuity.

Background

For teams in the United States and Canada, there are three major domestic trophies.Marketing the US Soccer Majors
/ref> The primary focus is the league championship, a postseason knockout tournament held between the best teams from the regular season. This is presently determined via the

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conference ...

. American and Canadian sports leagues typically have such playoff systems. These have their roots in long travel distances common in U.S. and Canadian sports; to cut down on travel, leagues are typically aligned in geographic divisions and feature unbalanced schedules with teams playing more matches against opponents in the same division. Due to the unbalanced schedule typical in U.S. and Canadian leagues, not all teams face the same opponents, and some teams may not meet an even number of times during a regular season, if at all. This results in teams with identical records that have faced different opponents differing numbers of times, making team records alone an imperfect measure of league supremacy. The playoffs allow for head-to-head elimination-style competition between teams to counterbalance this. Secondary is the recognition of the best regular season record (an accomplishment known as the league premiership in Australia and New Zealand, countries with similar league structure to the U.S. and Canada). The MLS team with the highest point total during the regular season is awarded the

Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 19 ...

. Thirdly, there are the two countries' respective domestic cup competitions: the

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

and the

Canadian Championship The Canadian Championship (french: Championnat canadien) 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. It is contest ...

. These tournaments are unique to soccer among professional sports in the U.S. and Canada, as no other major team sport conducts competition outside of regular league play. Additionally, American and Canadian clubs participate in the

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Ameri ...

, a continental club competition in which the United States is allocated four qualification spots and Canada one. For American clubs, the winners of the MLS Cup, Supporters' Shield, and U.S. Open Cup all qualify, along with the regular season conference champion that does not win the Shield. The lone Canadian berth is determined by the Canadian Championship. Finally, there is the world championship as determined by the

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...

, a berth to which is earned by winning the Champions League. American and Canadian soccer clubs exist in a franchise system, rather than a

promotion and relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

system. As a result, teams do not systematically move between levels each season. This is standard among American and Canadian major and minor sports leagues and is part of the franchise rights granted by the leagues. Recently, a trend has developed where a club from the lower divisions may be "promoted" via an

expansion franchise An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...

awarded by Major League Soccer. The results in this article come from the

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...

, the

Canadian Soccer Association The Canadian Soccer Association (Canada 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 ( ...

, the

Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF) is an international organization dedicated to collecting statistics about association football. The foundation aims to build an exhaustive archive of football-related information from around the ...

, and the American Soccer History Archives.

Major titles

American domestic competitions

At various times, Canadian clubs have competed in the top-tier of American soccer, either in place of or alongside a Canadian top-tier league. Currently, three Canadian clubs compete in Major League Soccer.

United Soccer Association (1967)

National Professional Soccer League (1967)

* Oakland also won the NPSL Commissioner's Cup nine days after winning the NPSL Finals.

North American Soccer League (1968–1984)

* – The 1969 season featured no playoffs; the league title was awarded to the team with the most points in the season. * ''# The

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independe ...

dropped "New York" from name for the 1977 and 1978 seasons, then returned to the full name in 1979 season.''

Major League Soccer (1996–present)

U.S. Open Cup (1914–present)

= Historical era

= Modern era

= * – Championship awarded to Paterson when Scullin were unable to field a team for the replay, due to injuries and players under baseball contracts beginning the baseball season * – Before the Spring 1931 season,

Fall River Marksmen Fall River Marksmen was an American soccer club based in Fall River, Massachusetts. They originally played as Fall River United before becoming known as the Marksmen after their owner, Sam Mark. During the 1920s and early 1930s they were one of t ...

moved to New York City and merged with

New York Soccer Club New York Soccer Club ( Youth Soccer Team ) was the name of a New York City, New York association football, soccer team that, in 1930, played briefly in the American Soccer League (1921-1933), American Soccer League. In 1923, New York fur merchant M ...

to become the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

. However, they began the 1931 tournament under the name Fall River, and as such were required to play as Fall River for the remainder of it, and won the Cup. Before the Fall 1931 season, the Yankees moved again, this time back north to

New Bedford, Massachusetts New Bedford (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. Up throug ...

. They merged with

Fall River F.C. Fall River Football Club, also referred to as Fall River Field Club, was the name used by two United States soccer clubs, based in Fall River, Massachusetts. Both played in the American Soccer League during the early 1930s. The name is often used ...

to become the

New Bedford Whalers New Bedford Whalers was the name of three American soccer teams based in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The first Whalers played in the Southern New England Soccer League between 1914 and 1918. The second Whalers played in the American Soccer League ...

, and again won the Cup in 1932. The USSF officially credits "Fall River Marksmen" with four championships in total, and "New Bedford Whalers" with one. * –

team names were determined by the club's respective corporate sponsor. The team known as Hellrungs from 1929 to 1931 was also known as Stix, Baer and Fuller F.C. from 1931 to 1934, St. Louis Central Breweries F.C. from 1934 to 1935, and St. Louis Shamrocks from 1935 to 1938. As the change was only cosmetic and no relocations or mergers with clubs resulting in new rosters were made, the club's title history continues with the name changes. * – Aggregate drawn 2–2, Championship shared when details for a third game could not be agreed upon. * – Brooklyn Dodgers S.C. returned to their original name of Brooklyn Italians before the 1990s (the club states the change was in 1974, though later U.S. Open Cup tournaments have them registered under the Dodgers name).

Canadian domestic competitions

Canadian Professional Soccer League (1983)

Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992)

Canadian Premier League (2019–present)

Canadian National Championship

Though there were various levels of professional leagues in Canada throughout the 20th century, there was no multi-division cup for professional franchises that stretched from coast to coast until 2002. Even then, it was not until 2008 that this trophy was awarded via competition that was separate from regular season play. From 1913 to 2001, the highest national cup in Canada was in fact the amateur

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. ...

, which still continues to this day after being replaced as the highest national cup competition in Canada by the professional Canadian Championship. The

Open Canada Cup The Open Canada Cup was an annual knock-out cup competition in Canadian Soccer. The competition was first held during the 1998 season as the CPSL League Cup. It was organized by the Canadian Soccer League (formerly the Canadian Professional So ...

existed from 1998 to 2007, but excluded the premier professional clubs and was largely limited to the Ontario area.

= Challenge Trophy

= Voyageurs Cup / Canadian Championship

= * – Match abandoned with Vancouver leading 1–0 in the 60th minute due to lightning and unplayable field conditions. Originally scheduled to be replayed on May 26, 11:00 EDT, but was rescheduled as weather conditions prevented the match from being played. The second leg was replayed on July 2, 12:30 EDT, in its entirety starting from 0–0 according to the rules of the tournament.

International competitions

Continental Championship

= Champions' Cup Era

= Champions League era

World Championship

Before the inception of the seven-team

, the Intercontinental Cup was held, beginning in 1960. As only the champions of UEFA and CONMEBOL were invited, it is not listed here.

= Summer Olympics

= * – Footbal at Summer Olympics was played between club teams in between 1896–1904.

= FIFA Club World Cup

Multiple Majors in one season

Trebles

In 2017, Toronto FC completed 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 ...

of Supporters' Shield, MLS Cup and Canadian Championship, the first treble of any kind achieved by either an American or Canadian club since the beginning of Major League Soccer in

Doubles

Listed here are the teams to achieve two major accomplishments in one season since

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

Overall totals

Defunct franchises: . * – If the full histories of the national championships were included, the table would be some 150 teams long and include dozens of defunct, historical, and strictly amateur (North American Division 4 or 5) squads. As North American Soccer League teams did not compete for the national championships, and for the sake of practicality, only the modern eras of the two national championship trophies (since 1995 for the U.S.'s

Dewar Cup {{Unreferenced, date=December 2020 The Sir Thomas Dewar Cup, more commonly known as the Dewar Cup, was the trophy awarded to the winner of the National Challenge Cup/Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup competition. It is named after Sir Thomas Dewar as a tr ...

and since the inception of Canada's

Voyageurs Cup The Voyageurs Cup (french: Coupe des Voyageurs) is the domestic trophy for professional soccer in Canada, awarded to the best men's and women's clubs in the country. The Cup was conceived and commissioned by fans of the Canada men's nationa ...

in 2002) are included in this particular chart. For full national championship histories and totals, see below. * – The current incarnation of the franchise is a namesake

phoenix club The Phoenix Building and Cincinnati Club are two historic buildings in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. The membership of these two clubs was chiefly Jewish. Located at 812 Race Street, the Phoenix Building was constructed in 1893, desi ...

that owns the rights to the club's name and history. * – Team currently exists as a professional franchise in a Division II or Division III league, and as such are prevented from competing for two of the three domestic majors due to a lack of promotion and relegation. * – The current incarnation of the franchise rebranded but owns the rights to the club's name and history. * – Canadian soccer team.

Minor titles

Domestic competitions

Division 2 leagues

Before the 1976 season, the American Soccer League placed its first teams on the west coast, going national. For the first time, the United States and Canada had a national-level second-division league. For 2017 the USSF granted provisional D2 status for both the NASL and the USL. * – In 1989 the two largest U.S. leagues, the American Soccer League and the

, played a title game between their respective postseason champions as a precursor to the next season's merger.

Division 3 leagues

Canadian division 3 leagues

There are three division 3 leagues in Canada:

League1 British Columbia League1 British Columbia (L1BC) is a semi-professional men's and women's association football, soccer league in British Columbia, Canada, which began play in May 2022. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the British ...

(BC),

League1 Ontario League1 Ontario (L1O) is a semi-professional men's soccer league in Ontario, Canada. The league began play in 2014 and is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association as a pro-am league in the Canadian so ...

(ON), and the

Première ligue de soccer du Québec The Première ligue de soccer du Québec (PLSQ) is a semi-professional soccer league created in 2012. The Quebec Soccer Federation operates both men's and women's divisions at the pro-am tier of the Canadian soccer league system. The league is pa ...

(QC). The

(CSL) was also classified as a division 3 league, but was de-sanctioned in 2013. * – PLSQ has no playoffs; the league title was awarded to the team with the most points in the season. * –

has no playoffs at this season; the league title was awarded to the team with the most points in the season. * –

's 2020 season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.

International competitions

Minor CONCACAF competitions

= Cup Winners' Cup

= Pepsi Cup

= Professional Cup

= Giants Cup

= SuperLiga

= Campeones Cup

= Leagues Cup

= CONCACAF League

Inter-confederation competitions

= Copa Interamericana

= Copa de Puerto Rico

= Copa Merconorte

= Copa Sudamericana

Other titles

Domestic competitions

American Historical

= American Cup (1885–1924)

= National Association Football League (1895–1921)

= * – Clark and West Hudson finished tied and were declared co-champions.

= St. Louis Soccer League (1907–1939)

= Lewis Cup (1915–1963)

= The

Lewis Cup The Lewis Cup was an American soccer trophy established in 1914 as the championship trophy for the amateur Blue Mountain League, which was composed of clubs from the Lehigh Valley region of northeastern Pennsylvania. It was later awarded to the win ...

was an American soccer trophy originally given to the champion of the Blue Mountain League of northwestern Pennsylvania and later awarded to the winners of the American Soccer League's League Cup.

= American Soccer League I (1921–1933)

= The American Soccer League was the most prominent soccer league in the United States during the early 20th century. Some modern sources consider it to have been a major professional league.

= American Soccer League II (1933–1975)

= Western Soccer Alliance (1985–1989)/Lone Star Soccer Alliance (1987–1992)/American Soccer League III (1988–1989)

= * In 1985, several independent teams on the west coast formed the Western Soccer Alliance. Dedicated to fiscal austerity, it succeeded where the United Soccer League, founded the year before, failed. In 1987, the Lone Star Soccer Alliance imitated the success of the WSA in creating a viable regional league. In 1988, the third version of the American Soccer League, was established as a regional, east-coast league.

Canadian Historical

= Canadian National Soccer League (1926–1997)

=
thecnsl.com - Canadian National Soccer Leagu / Update: 6 June 2022

= Pacific Coast Soccer League (1939-1973)

= Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League (1961-1966)

= Western Canada Soccer League (1963-1970)

Women's D1 Leagues

= Women's United Soccer Association

= Women's Professional Soccer

= National Women's Soccer League

Women's National Championships

= Amateur era

= * 1980: Seattle Sharks * 1981: Romiosa F.C. * 1982: F.C. Lowenbrau * 1983: Michelob Ladies * 1984: Chapel Hill Kix * 1985: Michelob Ladies (2) * 1986: Fairfax Wildfire * 1987: Michelob Ladies (3) * 1988: California Tremors * 1989: Michelob Ladies (4) * 1990: Opus County S.C. * 1991: Texas Challenge * 1992: Ajax America * 1993: Ajax America (2) * 1994: Sacramento Storm * 1995: Sacramento Storm (2)

= Modern era

Indoor

= North American Soccer League (1971, 1975–76, 1978–84)

= Major Indoor Soccer League I/Major Soccer League (1978–1992)

= American Indoor Soccer Association/National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001)

= Continental Indoor Soccer League (1993–1997)

= World Indoor Soccer League (1998–2001)

= * League known as the Premier Soccer Alliance for the 1998 season.

= Major Indoor Soccer League II (2001–2008)

= Xtreme Soccer League (2008–2009)

= * League had no playoffs, regular season winner was champion.

= National Indoor Soccer League/Major Indoor Soccer League III (2008–2014)

= Professional Arena Soccer League/Major Arena Soccer League (2008–present)

References

{{Soccer in Canada Major League Soccer lists

National championships in the United States National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

North American Soccer League (1968–1984) Lists of association football clubs Lists of football champions