Soccer in Canada

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Soccer has been one of the many popular recreational sports in Canada and enjoys limited success with young children and pre-teen players, but professional soccer is considerably less popular then contemporary sports, and has had much less success developing than in the rest of the world. However, the Canadian national women's team is one of the best in the world, and has benefitted from a surge in youth participation. Canada was the host of the inaugural FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship in 2002, and finished a surprising second to the USA. Due to the popularity of other sports in Canada, men tend not to play soccer, as it is often viewed, partly due to the success of the women's team and the decline of the men's team, as either a youth or women's sport. Canada's men have only made it once to the FIFA World Cup. They qualified for the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, but in the tournament the Canadian side failed to score a single goal, were eliminated in the first round, and finished last in the overall standings. In 2000, Canada stunned the continent by taking home the CONCACAF Gold Cup, giving their backers cause to hope for better times to come. However, Soccer Canada never capitalized on this success at the adult level, and Soccer continues to suffer due to lack of players. This is because most men tend to play either professionally or recreationally in sports of higher standing within Canada, IE; Baseball, Softball, Canadian Football/American Football or Hockey.

The high point of Canadian soccer history was on September 14, 1985, at King George V Park in St. John's, Newfoundland when over 13,000 people witnessed Canada's 2-1 victory over Honduras, which qualified the Canadians for their first World Cup (at Football World Cup 1986, Mexico).

There is a long history of soccer in Canada. The first game played under modern rules took place in Toronto in 1876. The first league the Dominion Football Association was formed a year later. Canada was an early soccer power, winning the gold medal at the 1904 Olympics and competing with the best teams in Europe and the United States. The Canadian team declined as the sport was outcompeted by Canadian football and ice hockey in terms of popularity and players. A steady stream of immigrants from soccer countries kept the game at a limited popularity, but it has never again entered the mainstream. In the 1980s Canada was well represented in the North American Soccer League, but this league folded in 1985. This was replaced by the Canadian Soccer League that began with teams in eight Canadian cities. This league existed from 1987 to 1992. Starting in 2007, Major League Soccer with one club, Toronto FC, will be the top level in Canada. The second tier is the USL First Division, which has two Canadian clubs: Montreal Impact, and Vancouver Whitecaps. The governing body of soccer in Canada is the Canadian Soccer Association. The league in Europe with the largest content of Canadian footballers is the Football League Championship, in England.

Tromsø is the only premier club in Europe (Norway) with three Canadians in its team. Haugesund, also in Norway, has four Canadians plying their trade there.

[edit] Noted Canadian soccer players

[edit] Women

[edit] Men

[edit] See also

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Soccer in Canada
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National Association National Team: M, W List of coaches List of clubs
Hall of Fame SSS List of venues

|- !style="background:#BFD7FF;"|Competitions in Canadian Soccer |- |

MLS USL First Division USL Second Division PDL
Super-20 CSL Rogers Cup PCSL
Open Cup W-League C-NA ST Y-League

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[edit] External links

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