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 to ...

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 ...

is the most popular sport in terms of participation rate. According to FIFA's Big Count, almost 2.7 million people played in Canada in 2006. Professional

in Canada is played in the Canadian Premier League and

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 Cana ...

. Canada also has many semi-professional and amateur soccer leagues. Canada's men's and

women's A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardle ...

national soccer teams are ranked 33rd and 6th respectively in the FIFA World Rankings, as of February 10, 2022.

Terminology

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 ...

is played in Canada according to the rules of association football. What is called soccer in Canada today was generally known as football in Canada in the early days of the sport, as it is known in much of the rest of the world today. The British Columbia Football Association was the first provincial football association formed in Canada in 1891. This was followed by the Manitoba Football Association in 1896, the Ontario Football Association in 1901, the Saskatchewan Football Association in 1906, the Alberta Football Association in 1909 and the Province of Quebec Football Association in 1911. The Dominion of Canada Football Association was formed in 1912. The game's governing body retained that name until it was changed to The Football Association of Canada on June 6, 1952. The Association later changed its name to the Canadian Soccer Football Association in 1958 and then to the Canadian Soccer Association in 1971.

History

Early history

Football in canada hamilton v toronto 1874

One of the earliest soccer games was played in Toronto in 1859 between the St. George's Society and a team of Irishmen. Games were played in New Westminster in 1862 and in Victoria in 1865. The first game played under modern rules took place in Toronto in 1876, after which the Dominion Football Association, the first recorded

football association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...

outside the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isl ...

, was formed in Toronto in 1877 to foster competition between local sides. In 1880, the Western Football Association was formed in Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario and played a major role in the subsequent development of the sport throughout southern Ontario. In the time around 1900, the WFA had teams throughout

Western Ontario Southwestern Ontario is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It occupies most of the Ontario Peninsula bounded by Lake Huron, including Georgian Bay, to the north and northwest; the St. Clair River, Lake St. ...

in various municipalities including Seaforth, Mildmay, Listowel,

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...

, Ingersoll,

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Dundas Dundas may refer to: Places Australia * Dundas, New South Wales * Dundas, Queensland, a locality in the Somerset Region * Dundas, Tasmania * Dundas, Western Australia * Fort Dundas, a settlement in the Northern Territory 1824–1828 * Shire ...

, Aylmer,

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...

, Tavistock,

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

, Galt and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

. In 1885 and 1886, the Western Football Association sent teams to

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

to play both indoor and outdoor matches against teams representing the American Football Association, then the unofficial governing body of soccer in the United States. In the first unofficial international between the two countries in 1885

defeated 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

1–0 in East Newark,

. A year later the American side won 3–2 on the same field. Teams from the two organizations played one another on both sides of the border regularly in the years that followed. In 1896, the Newfoundland Football League was founded on March 15 in St. John's. The Manitoba Football Association was formed that same year on March 19 in Brandon. Ontario cup

In 1901 the Ontario Football Association was formed in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

and competition for the Ontario Cup began. Galt F.C. won the first edition of the tournament that is still running. They represented the WFA at the

1904 Olympic Games The 1904 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the III Olympiad and also known as St. Louis 1904) were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 29 August to 3 September 1904, as part of an extended ...

in St. Louis, Missouri, winning the gold medal. Only two other teams participated, both American clubs. In 1905, the Saskatchewan Football Association was formed in the province of

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 ...

, and by 1911 the Province of Quebec Football Association was formed in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

with Frank Calder, first president of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

, playing a leading role in the PQFA's formation. The Alberta Football Association was incorporated in the same year. The first ever professional game was played in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

between the Callies and Rovers in 1910. The "Dominion of Canada Football Association", today known as 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 ...

was founded in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

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 ...

in July 1912. "At the meeting, the Manitoba Football Association joined with the provincial associations of Ontario, New Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Alberta to form the national association." The organization became a member of

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 ...

December 31, 1912. In 1926, 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 ...

was formed with teams in Ontario and Quebec. On June 21, 1926, the DCFA resigned from FIFA and remained outside the world governing body, following the example of British associations in a dispute over broken time payments to amateurs. Hamilton's Whitey McDonald was signed by Scottish club Rangers in the 1920s, who spotted him while on tour in North America. Westminster royals 1928

The

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

of the 1930s meant that the DCFA struggled financially and could not afford to hold annual meetings in 1932 and 1933 and from 1935 to 1940. In those years, business was conducted by mail. At one point, president Len Peto of Montreal loaned the DFA a considerable sum of money to stave off bankruptcy. The money was later repaid in full. Despite the hard times,

-born goalkeeper

Joe Kennaway James T. Kennaway (25 January 1907 – 7 March 1969), commonly known as Joe Kennaway, was a dual international (Canada and Scotland) football goalkeeper. He began his career in Canada, spent four years in the American Soccer League before finish ...

signed for Scottish giants Glasgow Celtic in 1931 and was an immediate success.

Toronto Scottish 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 ...

won a North American club championship in 1933 by beating holders and US champions Stix, Baer and Fuller F.C. at Chicago's

Soldier Field Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) since ...

by a score of 2–1.

1945–1979

In July 1946, the Dominion of Canada Football Association held reorganizational meetings in Winnipeg, Manitoba. On July 24, 1948, the Association again became a member of FIFA. On June 6, 1952, the Association officially changed its name to the Football Association of Canada. In 1958, the Association again changed its name, this time to the Canadian Soccer Football Association. It would change its name one more time in 1971, at that time becoming the Canadian Soccer Association. In 1957, Canada entered qualifying for the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...

for the first time and met the

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

in qualifying for the finals in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

in 1958. Canada won its first World Cup qualifying game 5–1 against the U.S. in Toronto, but played Mexico twice in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

and lost 2–0 and 3–0. In the final group game, Canada beat the U.S. 3–2 in St. Louis, but group winners Mexico advanced to the Finals. From the 1940s through 1960s, Canada's four major leagues were the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Ba ...

(re-established in 1939–40), the National League of Ontario/Quebec (re-established in 1947), the Eastern Canada Professional League (established in 1961), and the

Western Canada League The Western Canada League was the name of three different baseball circuits in Minor League Baseball that operated between 1907 and 1921. The first instance of the league was a Class D circuit that played only in 1907 with four teams sponsored b ...

(established in 1963). Canadian teams also played in the American-based North American Soccer Football League in the late 1940s. The Western Canada League was the first-ever league to feature teams across three and then four provinces, although the league folded in 1971. During the 1960s there was a concerted effort to push professional soccer in Canada. The Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League was formed in 1961 and featured teams in Toronto, Montreal, Hamilton, and (for one season) Buffalo, New York. One club, Toronto City, even featured some very prominent British soccer stars during its inaugural season, including

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

international Danny Blanchflower,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

internationals Stanley Matthews and Johnny Haynes and Scottish internationals

Jackie Mudie John Knight Mudie (10 April 1930 – 2 March 1992) was a Scottish international footballer who played as a forward. He won seventeen caps for his country, helping the Scotland national team to qualify for the 1958 FIFA World Cup. Starti ...

and Tommy Younger. This is also notable as the last time that the England, Scotland and Northern Ireland captains all played on the same side together. Following a rise in the popularity of the game after the global broadcasting of the 1966 World Cup, 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 ba ...

was formed in 1968. The league primarily based in the United States also had clubs in Canada and used many European professionals brought in to supplement domestic talent. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Canada was represented by professional teams playing in

and

with short-lived teams in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

and

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city an ...

. The NASL had a stormy relationship with FIFA and the USSF and their clubs did not compete in the

CONCACAF Champions' Cup 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 Amer ...

. The Olympic Summer Games were held in Montreal in 1976, but the soccer tournament featured only 13 teams instead of the normal 16 after the African nations boycotted the games in protest against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

policies. Canada opened against the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

in the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

, losing 2–1. Canada lost its second game in Toronto against

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

and was eliminated from the tournament. The same year,

Toronto Metros-Croatia Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

won the Soccer Bowl, the

championship. The final was held in Seattle, where the Toronto side defeated Minnesota 3–0 with a squad featuring Eusébio, striker Ivan Lukačević, Canadian defender

Robert Iarusci Robert Iarusci (born November 8, 1954) is a former star NASL player and member of the Canadian national soccer team. In 2012 as part of the Canadian Soccer Association's centennial celebration, he was named to the all-time Canada XI men's team. ...

and goaltender

Željko Bilecki Željko Bilecki (April 28, 1950 – April 26, 2023) was a Canadian soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. Club career Bilecki played at the youth level with Toronto Croatia's junior team in 1969. In 1970, he played in the National Soccer ...

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March ...

won the 1979 Soccer Bowl, beating Tampa Bay Rowdies 2–1 in the final at

Giants Stadium Giants Stadium (sometimes referred to as Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands or The Swamp) was a stadium located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The venue was open from 1976 to 2010, and it primarily hosted spo ...

in New Jersey.

1980–1999

In 1983,

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 ...

reached the final at

B.C. Place Stadium BC Place is a multi-purpose stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Located at the north side of False Creek, it is owned and operated by the BC Pavilion Corporation (PavCo), a crown corporation of the province. The venue is current ...

but lost 2–0 to the

Tulsa Roughnecks Tulsa Roughnecks may refer to any of four distinct professional soccer teams: *Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984), the original top-flight team that played in the North American Soccer League from 1978 to 1984. *Tulsa Roughnecks (1993–2000), the team ...

. Also in 1983 the Canadian Professional Soccer League played one shortened season after two years of aborted attempts to find enough clubs to play. Canada also lost the bid to host the 1986 World Cup in 1983 when Mexico was awarded the World Cup. Toronto Blizzard returned to the NASL Finals in 1984, but in losing to the Chicago Sting, came up short for the second consecutive year. The league folded prior to the 1985 season. Canada qualified for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics soccer tournament played throughout the United States. In the first round, they drew with

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, lost to

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

and beat

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the ...

to qualify for the quarter finals. After taking an early lead against

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, Canada were defeated on penalty kicks. The 1985 CONCACAF Championship was the fourth edition that doubled as qualification for the

. Canada secured qualification for the 1986 World Cup after beating

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

2–1 in

St John's, Newfoundland St. John's is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. The city spans and is the easternmost city in North America ...

on September 14, 1985 at King George V Park in front of over 13,000 people. Canada had bid to host the final tournament, but their application was rejected in favour of

, who qualified automatically as hosts, with Canada earning the remaining

CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,, ; french: Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, . Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; types ...

spot and winning the

CONCACAF Championship The CONCACAF Championship was an association football tournament that took place between 1963 and 1989. The competition is sometimes referred to as CONCACAF Campeonato de Naciones. The first Championship took place in 1963 and was CONCACAF's fi ...

(now the Gold Cup) for the first time. At the World Cup, Canada were drawn in group C and lost 1–0 to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and 2–0 to both

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

and the

. Also in 1986, four Canadian national team players were guilty of taking bribes in a match-fixing scandal at the Merlion Cup in Singapore. The Canadian Soccer Association suspended Chris Cheuden,

Hector Marinaro Hector Luis Marinaro Jr (born December 6, 1964) is a Canadian soccer coach and former player who is the men's soccer coach at John Carroll University. As a player he was the all-time leader in points and goals in professional indoor soccer, an ...

, David Norman and

Igor Vrablic Igor Vrablic (born 19 July 1965) is a Canadian former soccer player who played at both professional and international levels, as a striker. Early and personal life Vrablic was born in Bratislava and raised in Waterloo, Ontario. Career Club ...

for one year each. Marinaro and Norman were reinstated and resumed play for Canada. In the wake of Canada's World Cup appearance, the Canadian Soccer League began operations in 1987 with teams in eight Canadian cities. In 1989 the Canadian Soccer Referees' Association was founded. The Vancouver 86ers of the CSL won the

1990 North American Club Championship The 1990 North American Club Championship, also known as the Pepsi Cup for sponsorship reasons, was a post-season association football, soccer competition contested by the winners from the Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992), Canadian Soccer Leag ...

, beating Maryland Bays 3–2 in the final in Burnaby, British Columbia. The same year, Canada's national side took part in the

North American Nations Cup The North American Nations Cup and NAFC Championship were association football tournaments for teams in the area of North America. In 1947 and 1949, the NAFC Championship was organized by the North American Football Confederation. Cuba, Mexico, ...

, hosting the three-team tournament. Canada won the tournament after a 1–0 win over the

on May 6 and a 2–1 win over

on May 13, all three goals scored by John Catliff, the tournament's top scorer. In 1991, Canada took part in the championship for the second time as defending champions. Mexico won the 1991 North American Nations Cup with Canada finishing in third place. After the 1992 season, the CSL was forced to end operations with Vancouver 86ers and Montreal Impact joining the United States' APSL. In January 1993, the

also joined the APSL. The Winnipeg Fury, not meeting USSF Division 1 market size standards, and

North York Rockets The North York Rockets were a professional soccer team based in North York, Toronto, Ontario that competed in the original Canadian Soccer League. They were one of four teams to participate in every season of the CSL. Upon the demise of the CSL, th ...

joined the National Soccer League, which changed its name to the Canadian National Soccer League in 1993. The Canadian women's national team benefited from a surge in youth participation throughout the 1980s, and in 1995 Canada qualified for the FIFA Women's World Cup for the first time. Canada lost to

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

and drew with

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

at the tournament played in

. Canada again qualified for

FIFA Women's World Cup 1999 The 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup was the third edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the world championship for women's national soccer teams. It was hosted as well as won by the United States and took place from June 19 to July 10, 1999, at ...

played in the United States, again going winless after drawing with

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

and losing to

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

2000–present

In 2000, Canada's men's team won the CONCACAF Gold Cup for the first time. Canada had finished in a tie in group play with

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, but won the tie-breaking coin toss to advance to the quarter-final, where they beat

2–1 on an extra-time golden goal. In the semi-final, Canada beat

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

1–0, and beat invited side

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

2–0 in the final. As a result of being named CONCACAF champions, Canada travelled to the

2001 Confederations Cup The 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup was the fifth FIFA Confederations Cup and the third to be organised by FIFA. It was also the first in which the original hosts, Saudi Arabia, did not participate (they were the nation who founded the tournament, ...

in Japan, earning a memorable 0–0 draw with Brazil thanks to a stellar performance from Gold Cup Most Valuable Player, goalkeeper Craig Forrest. At the next Gold Cup in 2002, Canada reached the semi-final for the second time but lost to the United States, on penalty kicks, who would go on to win the tournament. Despite their success in the Gold Cup, Canada's senior men's side failed to qualify for either the 2002 or 2006 World Cup. Also in 2002, Canada hosted the first ever FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship with games in

, Victoria, and

. The final between Canada and the United States was played at Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium, with the U.S. winning on a golden goal. Canadian Christine Sinclair received the tournament's Golden Ball as MVP and Golden Boot as leading goal-scorer. Rounding out 2002, Canada's senior women's team, with several players from the U-19 squad, met the

in the 2002 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup final, where the U.S. won on yet another golden goal. Still later that year, Sinclair led the U.S.

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

Division I in goals scored as she helped the University of Portland win the national championship. The senior women's side again qualified for the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup. In the group stages they lost to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

before beating

and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

for their first wins in World Cup history (men or women). In the quarter-finals, Canada upset

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

1–0 before losing to

in the semifinal. They were again beat by old rivals the U.S. in the 3rd place game. The under-19 women's side qualified for the 2004 world championship in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, losing in the quarterfinals to China. For the second straight tournament, a Canadian won the Golden Boot, with Brittany Timko the top-scorer. Sinclair set an NCAA Division I record in 2005 with 39 goals as she led Portland to another NCAA title and earned a second straight Hermann Trophy. In the wake of her record-setting season at Portland, Sinclair won the

Honda-Broderick Cup The Honda-Broderick Cup is a sports award for college-level female athletes. The awards are voted on by a national panel of more than 1000 collegiate athletic directors. It was first presented by Tom Broderick, an American owner of a women's sports ...

in 2006 as the outstanding female athlete at a U.S. university. Also in 2006, long-serving CSA Chief Operating Officer Kevan Pipe was fired from his duties. The CPSL re-branded as the Canadian Soccer League. In 2007,

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...

began play in

as its first franchise located outside the United States. Canada's national team reached the semi-final at the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, losing again to the USA who would again win the tournament as in 2002. Dale Mitchell was named coach of Canada's senior men's team, to begin duties after the

2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 16th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup (formerly called the FIFA World Youth Championship), hosted by Canada from 30 June to 22 July 2007. Argentina defeated the Czech Republic in the title game by the sco ...

, held in Canada. The host went out without scoring a goal and losing all three matches. The final was held in front of 20,000 people at BMO Field in Toronto, with

beating the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

2–1. In May 2008, the CSA inaugurated the Canadian Championship – a domestic cup competition open to professional clubs in Canada. The Montreal Impact won the inaugural season and qualified for the 2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League season. In women's soccer, Canada qualified for the

Women's Olympic Football Tournament Football at the Summer Olympics, referred to as the Olympic Football Tournament, has been included in every Summer Olympic Games as a men's competition sport, except 1896 (the inaugural Games) and 1932 (in an attempt to promote the new FIFA Wor ...

for the first time. The team came within an extra-time goal of knocking off number-one ranked U.S. in the quarter-final. At the youth level, Canada won its second CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship. In March 2011, it was announced Canada would host the

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...

for the first time, where they reached the quarterfinals. On January 31, 2013, the Canadian Soccer Association announced they were withdrawing sanctioning of the Canadian Soccer League (CSL) as a division 3 league following the 2013 season as the CSA board of directors adopted a new soccer structure in Canada based on the Easton Report. Prior to being de-sanctioned, the CSL had been involved in a match-fixing scandal and a majority of the teams reportedly did not meet CSA requirements in the 2012 season. The league was founded in 1998 after a merger between the Canadian National Soccer League with the stillborn Ontario Professional Soccer League and previously featured academy clubs of Toronto FC and Montreal Impact. The CSL continued to play following the creation of their own soccer federation in 2014 which was unsanctioned by

. On May 6, 2017, the creation the Canadian Premier League was unanimously approved and sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association as a division 1 league. On December 9, 2017, Toronto FC became the first MLS team to complete a domestic treble with their 2–0 win over the

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

in 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 Conferen ...

, as well as the first Canadian team to win the MLS Cup. On June 13, 2018, Canada, Mexico and United States joint bid was chosen to co-host the

2026 FIFA World Cup The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international men's soccer championship contested by the national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament will be jointly hosted by 16 cities in three ...

69 votes ahead of Morocco 134–65 at the FIFA Congress in Moscow. Canada will host 10 matches in Vancouver and Toronto. The first match of the inaugural season of the Canadian Premier League took place between Forge FC and

York9 FC York United Football Club (formerly known as York9 FC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home games at York University's York Lions Stadium. Histor ...

at Tim Hortons Field on April 27, 2019, and resulted in a 1–1 draw. On August 6, 2021, the women's side won their first Olympic gold medal, at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

. On March 27, 2022, the men's side defeated Jamaica 4–0 on Matchday 13 to qualify for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022; it is the first Wor ...

. This ended a 36-year drought since the first and only time Canada played in the FIFA World Cup, in

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 en ...

Popularity

As in other English-speaking nations outside the United Kingdom,

association football 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 ...

(soccer) has been traditionally overshadowed by a rival code of the game with explicitly local roots.Goldblatt, David - The Ball is Round (2006) 88-89 As in Australia, where

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

took hold; and Ireland, where

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by ki ...

is played; while in New Zealand,

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

holds greater popularity;

Canadian football Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...

usurped association football. In 1869, the founding of Hamilton Football Club, who played what would become Canadian football, helped make that sport the dominant football code in Canada by the dawn of the twentieth century. Despite the difference in popularity of their respective professional leagues, soccer overtook ice hockey in the 1980s and 1990s as the sport with the most registered players in the country. In 2008, there were 873,032 soccer players, compared to 584,679 registered hockey players in Canada in 2008–09.

Leagues

The following is a list of fully professional teams in Canada:

Canadian Premier League

The Canadian Premier League (CPL) is the highest level of professional soccer in Canada. The tier 1 soccer league began play in 2019 and includes eight Canadian teams, including Atlético Ottawa (Ottawa, Ontario), Cavalry FC (Foothills County, Alberta), Forge FC (Hamilton, Ontario),

HFX Wanderers HFX Wanderers Football Club, commonly known as HFX Wanderers, and spoken as Halifax Wanderers, is a Canadian professional soccer club in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League at the top of the Canadian soccer lea ...

(Halifax, Nova Scotia),

Pacific FC Pacific Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Greater Victoria, British Columbia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League, playing home matches at Starlight Stadium located in Langford. History On May 5, ...

(Langford, British Columbia),

Valour FC Valour Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home matches at IG Field. The team is coached by Phillip Dos Santos and community owne ...

(Winnipeg, Manitoba), Vancouver FC (Langley, British Columbia), and

York United FC York United Football Club (formerly known as York9 FC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home games at York University's York Lions Stadium. His ...

(Toronto, Ontario). The CPL has announced conditional expansion clubs to Saskatoon and Windsor. The stated goal of the league is to develop Canadian soccer talent, and as such will have a minimum number of Canadian players on each roster and an annual draft of U Sports players.

Major League Soccer

(MLS) is the highest level of professional soccer in the United States. There are three MLS teams located in Canada.

became the first Canadian club in 2007. An MLS franchise was awarded to

in 2009 and began play in the 2011 season. An MLS franchise was awarded to

in 2010 and began play in the 2012 season. Both the Vancouver and Montreal clubs were long-time organizations that had played in USSF-sanctioned Division 2 leagues —

and the USL Championship.

MLS Next Pro

In 2022, Toronto FC II and Whitecaps FC 2 began play in MLS Next Pro, a United States Soccer Federation-sanctioned division 3 league and the reserve league of MLS. Toronto FC II had played in the division 2 USL Championship until 2018 and in the division 3 USL League One from 2019 to 2021.

League1 Canada

Semi-professional leagues have been operated by provincial soccer associations since 2012 and have been designated as pro-am by the

. Currently three such leagues exist: the Première ligue de soccer du Québec, League1 Ontario, and

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

— all operating men's and women's competitions. The champions of the three men's leagues are given berths into the Canadian Championship. Starting in 2022, the champions of the three women's leagues, along with a second team from the host league, compete at a single location in an interprovincial championship. In 2022, League1 Canada was launched as an alliance for these division 3 leagues to unify and elevate the sport of soccer at the pro-am level through sharing of resources, best practices, and coordination of national commercial partnerships.

USL League Two

The USL League Two is a US-based, men's amateur league. There are two Canadian clubs in the league:

FC Manitoba FC Manitoba is a Canadian soccer team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada that plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the United States soccer league system. The club was founded in 2010 as WSA Winnipeg. In 2020, the club was acquired by a n ...

, based out of

, Manitoba and the

Thunder Bay Chill Thunder Bay Chill Soccer Club is a Canadian soccer team based in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 2000, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at Chapples Park St ...

, based out of

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its populati ...

, Ontario. Four Canadian teams have previously won the league championship: * 2008 –

* 2012 –

Forest City London FC London is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in London, Ontario. The club was founded in 2008 and plays in the League1 Ontario men's and women's divisions. The team plays home games at the Portuguese Club of London and the Helleni ...

, who has since moved to League1 Ontario * 2015 –

K–W United FC K–W United FC was a Canadian association football, soccer team based in the Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener–Waterloo, Ontario, Waterloo region in Ontario that played in the Premier Development League, the fourth tier of the American soccer lea ...

, who are now defunct * 2018 –

Calgary Foothills FC Calgary Foothills Football Club (CFFC) is a Canadian soccer club based in Calgary, Alberta, that competes in USL League Two (USL2). The club was founded as a youth club in 1972 and joined as a USL2 franchise in 2015. The team plays its home gam ...

United Women's Soccer

United Women's Soccer is a US-based, Division II, women's pro-am league. There are two Canadian clubs playing in the league:

Calgary Foothills WFC Calgary Foothills WFC is a Canadian soccer club based in Calgary, Alberta that currently plays in United Women's Soccer. The club was founded as a youth club in 1972 and in 2017 as a UWS franchise. The team is the women's team of Calgary Footh ...

and

SASA Impact FC St. Albert Soccer Association Impact FC is a Canadian women's soccer team based in St. Albert, Alberta that plays in United Women's Soccer. History The St. Albert Soccer Association was founded in 1999 as a youth soccer club. The club is one ...

, based out of

St. Albert, Alberta St. Albert is a city in Alberta on the Sturgeon River northwest of the City of Edmonton. It was originally settled as a Métis community, and is now the second-largest city in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region. St. Albert first received its town ...

Canadian soccer cup competitions

* Canadian Championship (fully pro teams from Canadian Premier League and

and league champions from L1O, PLSQ and L1BC) * Challenge Trophy (amateur men's nationals) * Jubilee Trophy (amateur women's nationals) Many of the provincially sanctioned amateur leagues have league cup competitions. Some such as the ones 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, for ...

have significant history. *Vancouver Island Soccer League – Sir John Jackson Cup first contested 1914 *Fraser Valley Soccer League – Packenham Cup first contested 1909 * Vancouver Metro Soccer League – Imperial Cup first contested 1913 *

British Columbia Provincial Soccer Championship The British Columbia Provincial Soccer Championship is a soccer tournament organized by the British Columbia Soccer Association. The tournament winner advances to the national Challenge Trophy tournament for men and Jubilee Trophy tournament for ...

– Province Cup (formerly McBride Shield and BCFA Challenge Cup) first contested 1892 * Pacific Coast Soccer League – Cambridge Cup *Pacific Coast Soccer League – John F. Kennedy Cup (between top amateur teams in BC, Washington State, and Oregon)

Stadiums

Many

stadiums and multi-use stadiums are utilized for soccer. With the growth of

, the Canadian Premier League and the three Tier 3 provincially-based soccer leagues, Canada has a number of

soccer-specific stadiums Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States and Canada to refer to a sports stadium either purpose-built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multi-pu ...

National team

The men's national soccer team have appeared in three senior FIFA tournaments: the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, the

2001 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup was the fifth FIFA Confederations Cup and the third to be organised by FIFA. It was also the first in which the original hosts, Saudi Arabia, did not participate (they were the nation who founded the tournament, p ...

in Japan and the

in Qatar. The women's senior national team have appeared in ten senior FIFA tournaments: seven FIFA Women's World Cups and three Women's Olympic Soccer Tournaments. There is also a recently formed Québec official soccer team which represents the province of Québec and the French Canadian population in non-FIFA tournaments.

References

External links

''CanadaSoccer.com'' Official Site of the Canadian Soccer AssociationCanada Soccer Records & Results 2019Canada Soccer Hall of Fame ''Regional Canadian Soccer Leagues'': An overview of the history of professional soccer leagues and clubs in Canada''cbc.ca'' profile of soccer in Canada''Canadian Soccer Forum'': List of Canadian Players Abroad
{{Soccer in North America

Terminology

History

Early history

1945–1979

1980–1999

2000–present

Popularity

Leagues

Canadian Premier League

Major League Soccer

MLS Next Pro

League1 Canada

USL League Two

United Women's Soccer

Canadian soccer cup competitions

Stadiums

National team

See also

References

External links