The Challenge Trophy (french: Trophée Challenge) is a national amateur

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

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. It is run by 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 ( ...

History

An unofficial Dominion championship for a trophy donated by The People newspaper of London, named the Peoples Shield, was contested from 1906–1912. Teams from all provinces did not enter the competition in each year, and it was contested by Western Canada in its last years. On May 24, 1912, the Amateur Athletic Union met in Toronto to determine a competition to crown a Canadian national champion. That year, the executive of the Dominion of Canada Football Association invited the

Duke of Connaught Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that was granted on 24 May 1874 by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to her third son, Prince Arthur. At the same time, he was also ...

to become the Patron of the Association. The Duke donated the Connaught Cup to the FA, which became the championship of Canadian soccer. In 1926, the English FA donated a new trophy to replace it as the national championship named the Challenge Trophy."The Challenge Trophy"
The inaugural competition in 1913 and the 1914 edition both featured four teams in a league format; both were won by Manitoba side Norwood Wanderers. From 1915 to 1955, the final was generally played as a best-of-three series between the champions of the west and the champions of the east."National Challenge Trophy"
The single-game final used today was first implemented in 1956. In 1927, the previously amateur-only tournament opened to professional teams. Prior to 1940, fifteen finals were played at Carruthers Park in Winnipeg (1923–1939), (roughly halfway across the country) five in Toronto and one each in Vancouver and Montreal. From 1954 to 1961, the trophy was replaced by the Carling Cup. The original Challenge Trophy is now retired and on display at Canada Soccer House in Ottawa, Ontario. The tournament acted as a men's national championship at the highest level in Canadian soccer in its early years, however, professional and semi-professional tournaments have taken on more importance in recent decades, including the Canadian Championship.

Qualifying competitions and participants

Provincial championships determine the teams competing in The Challenge Trophy: *

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, ...

: B.C. Provincial Championship winners *

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

: Alberta Cup winners *

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

: Saskatchewan Open Cup winners *

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

: Manitoba Cup winners *

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 ...

Ontario Cup The Ontario Cup is a soccer tournament for clubs based in the province of Ontario in Canada. It began play in 1901 under the Ontario Football Association League, now known as the Ontario Soccer Association, and is the oldest association football ...

winners *

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 ...

: LSEQ winners *

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

: Winner by acclamation *

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

: Winner by acclamation *

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

: Nova Scotia Cup winners *

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

Newfoundland and Labrador Challenge Cup The Newfoundland and Labrador Challenge Cup, known as the Johnson Insurance Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the premier senior men's soccer league in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The competition is held annually f ...

Newfoundland and Labrador Soccer Association (Development)
winners *

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

: Winner by acclamation *Northwest Territories: Winner by acclamation

Winners

Titles

By provincial association

By club

References

General
Canada Soccer Past WinnersThe Connaught SeriesCanada Soccer Records & Results
More {{Soccer in Canada Soccer cup competitions in Canada 1912 establishments in Canada Recurring sporting events established in 1912