London Marconi Soccer Club is a Canadian

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 ...

club based in

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

, that plays in the Western Ontario Soccer League. The club was founded in 1962 and originally competed in the London and District League. After several notable achievements at the amateur level, the organization joined 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) in 1984. After competing in the NSL for five seasons they returned to the amateur level by joining the Western Ontario Soccer League. The club has won the national Challenge Trophy twice in 2014, and 2015, and the Ontario Cup four times in 1966, 1978, 2014, and 2015. In 1985, the club was the National Soccer League's regular season champion.

History

The club was formed in 1962 between a merger with Italo Canadian and Juventus and became known as London Italia Marconi. The parent company of London Marconi was the Marconi Club of London which originally was formed as a

social club A social club may be a group of people or the place where they meet, generally formed around a common interest, occupation, or activity. Examples include: book discussion clubs, chess clubs, anime clubs, country clubs, charity work, criminal ...

for the Italian Canadian community in

. The club would ordinally play in the London and District League, and in 1965 reached the finals of the Ontario Cup, but were defeated by Oshawa Italia. The following season the western Ontario club was once more finalists in the Ontario Cup tournament as the Oshawa Thistles originally defeated Marconi in a series of matches, but Oshawa was revoked of the title for using several illegal players and as result, the title was given to London. In 1978, London secured their second Ontario Cup by defeating Thorold City. Throughout the 1980s the parent company constructed a soccer field known as the London Marconi Soccer Field for its soccer programs. In 1984, the club entered the professional ranks by becoming a member of the

(NSL). London's most notable season in the NSL was in the 1985 season when the club secured the regular season championship. In the postseason for the NSL Championship London was eliminated in the second round to Windsor Roma. The following season Marconi reached the NSL league cup final but was defeated in a series of matches by

Toronto Blizzard Toronto Blizzard may refer to: *Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984), the original soccer club, a franchise of the North American Soccer League *Toronto Blizzard (1986–1993), the later club and franchise of the Canadian Soccer League *Toronto Azzurri B ...

. In the 1987 season, London faced

Toronto Italia The National Soccer League was a soccer league in Canada that existed from 1926 to 1997. Teams were primarily based in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The league was renamed to Canadian National Soccer League in 1993 following the folding ...

for the NSL Championship but failed in defeating the Toronto side. As a result of the early success the club experienced in the NSL the club ownership contemplated the idea of potentially securing a franchise in 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 ...

. Though the proposal was ultimately fruitless, London took a sabbatical for the 1989 season, eventually selling their franchise rights to former NSL member London City in 1990. London Marconi returned to the amateur level and after 36 years Marconi secured their third Ontario Cup in 2014 after defeating Vaughan Azzurri. The Ontario Cup victory qualified London for the

2014 Challenge Trophy The 2014 Challenge Trophy was hosted in Vaughan, Ontario from October 8–13, 2014. It is the Canadian national championship for men's amateur soccer teams on the 4th and 5th levels of the Canadian soccer league system. Teams * Croatia SC * Ca ...

, and under head coach

Tyler Hemming Tyler Hemming (born May 9, 1985) is a Canadian former soccer player who played in the Canadian Professional Soccer League, USL Premier Development League, Major League Soccer, Veikkausliiga, USL First Division, and the USSF Division 2. Career ...

the club secured their first national title after defeating

Calgary Callies The Calgary Caledonian Football Club, better known as the Calgary Callies, is a Canadian association football, soccer club which currently plays in the Alberta Major Soccer League. History This club was founded on April 26, 1904. Over the years ...

. The club repeated their success the following season by successfully defending both titles against Mississauga Portofino and

Edmonton Scottish The Edmonton Scottish Soccer Club, better known as Edmonton Scottish, is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta. Competing continuously in the Alberta Major Soccer League (AMSL) since 1992, the club also fields r ...

. Since their departure from the NSL the club has primarily competed in the Western Ontario Soccer League where they have won several titles throughout their tenure in the league.

Head Coach history

* Charlie Spence (1985) * Bill Gillis (1988) *

(2014–2015)

Honours

* Challenge Trophy:

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

* Ontario Cup: 1966, 1978, 2014, 2015 *

Regular Season Championship: 1985 *Western Ontario Soccer League: 2015, 2016, 2017

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:London Marconi 1962 establishments in Ontario Association football clubs established in 1962 Soccer clubs in Ontario Sports teams in London, Ontario Canadian National Soccer League teams Diaspora sports clubs in Canada