Canadian Soccer League (current)
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| Canadian Soccer League |
|---|
 Canadian Soccer League 2008 season |
 |
| Founded |
| 1926 |
| First Season as CPSL |
| 1998 |
| First Season as CSL |
| 2006 |
| Nation |
 Canada |
| Number of Teams |
| 13 |
| Current Champions (2007) |
| Toronto Croatia |
| Website |
| CanadianSoccerLeague.ca |
The Canadian Soccer League (CSL) is the top soccer league In Canada. It is Canada's only professional soccer league, featuring teams based in Ontario and Quebec. It replaced the Canadian Professional Soccer League (CPSL), and was officially re-branded on May 17, 2006. The CSL is recognized as Canada's national league by FIFA.[1]
Contents |
[edit] History
The CSL's first season was in 2006, with 12 active franchises, with the most notable change being the emergence of an international division as a complement to the more traditional national division
The forerunner of the CSL, The CPSL itself played its first season in 1998 by amalgamating four teams from the Canadian National Soccer League namely St. Catharines Wolves, North York Astros, London City, and Toronto Croatia with four (4) expansion franchises (Mississauga, York Region Shooters, Glen Shields and Toronto Olympians).
The (CSL) has a history going back to 1926 as the National Soccer League (NSL).
In 2006, the change to the CSL was more than merely a cosmetic alteration. An international division was added, a new set of rules, regulations and a new constitution were established, the schedule format was changed, and the relationship with the OSA and QSF was upgraded.
- 1926-1993 National Soccer League
- 1993-1997 Canadian National Soccer League
- 1998-2005 Canadian Professional Soccer League
- 2006-Current Canadian Soccer League
In early 2008, the CSL and the OSA established a "Memorandum of Understanding" which provided the CSL with an increased level of autonomy and independence from the governing body. This is expected to facilitate the league's expansion efforts.
The CSL season runs from May through to October with seven teams in the National Division and four teams in the International Division (recognizing the unique multiculturalism of Toronto's demographics) which debuted in 2006. The climax of the season is the CSL Championship Final, which takes place in October after an 8-team playoffs competition.
The CSL is the top level soccer league within Canada, however three Canadian clubs play in higher leagues based in the United States – Toronto FC in Major League Soccer, Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps in the USL First Division. CSL teams cannot qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League as qualification is restricted to the winners of the 3 team Canadian Championship which they do not enter.
The league is currently managed by former Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) president, Cary Kaplan (CSL Commissioner), and veteran soccer executive Stan Adamson (Executive Director).
2007 saw the debut of the Trois-Rivières Attak, replacing the existing Laval Dynamites franchise. The team is the junior/reserve side for the Montreal Impact USL First Division team. In 2008, Toronto FC of Major League Soccer, and owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, entered their Academy Team (TFC Academy) into the CSL. As a result, the CSL is now affiliated with two of Canada's top three professional soccer franchises: Toronto FC and the Montreal Impact.
Both the African Icons and FC Quebec have deferred beginning play in the league until 2009. Furthermore, the CSL has expressed an interest to aggressively seek a division in Western Canada as soon as possible.
[edit] 2008 teams
[edit] National Division
| Team | Founded | Ground |
|---|---|---|
| London City | 1973 | Cove Road Stadium |
| North York Astros | November 23,1990 | Esther Shiner Stadium |
| St. Catharines Wolves | 1977 | Club Roma |
| Trois-Rivières Attak | 2006 | Stade de l'UQTR |
| Windsor Border Stars | 2004 | Windsor Stadium |
| Brampton Lions | 2002 | Victoria Park Stadium |
| TFC Academy | 2008 | Lamport Stadium |
| FC Quebec (expansion) | 2009 | TBA |
[edit] International Division
| Team | Founded | Ground |
|---|---|---|
| Italia Shooters | 1998 | Joan Of Ark, Maple |
| Portugal FC | 2001 | Lamport Stadium |
| Serbian White Eagles | 1968 | Centennial Park Stadium |
| Toronto Croatia | 1956 | Hershey Centre |
| African Icons (expansion) | 2009 | TBA |
[edit] CPSL/CSL Playoffs Championships
| Season | Champions | Score | Runners-up | Regular Season Champions | Regular Season Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | St. Catharines Wolves | 2-2 (pk 4-2) | Toronto Olympians | Toronto Olympians | St. Catharines Wolves |
| 1999 | Toronto Olympians | 2-0 | Toronto Croatia | Toronto Olympians | Toronto Croatia |
| 2000 | Toronto Croatia | 2-1 | Toronto Olympians | Toronto Olympians | St. Catharines Wolves |
| 2001 | St. Catharines Wolves | 1-0 | Toronto Supra | Ottawa Wizards | Toronto Olympians |
| 2002 | Ottawa Wizards | 2-0 | North York Astros | Ottawa Wizards | Montreal Dynamites |
| 2003 | Brampton Hitmen | 1-0 | Vaughan Sun Devils | Ottawa Wizards | Hamilton Thunder |
| 2004 | Toronto Croatia | 4-0 | Vaughan Shooters | Toronto Supra | Metro Lions |
| 2005 | Oakville Blue Devils | 2-1 | Vaughan Shooters | Vaughan Shooters | Toronto Croatia |
| 2006 | Italia Shooters | 1-0 | Serbian White Eagles | Serbian White Eagles | Toronto Croatia |
| 2007 | Toronto Croatia | 4-1, 0-0* | Serbian White Eagles | Serbian White Eagles | St. Catharines Wolves |
| 2008 |
- (2007)Due to concerns about security the final was played in two legs with fans of only one team attending each leg[2].
[edit] All Time (1998-2007) CPSL/CSL Regular Season Records By Clubs
| (Pts) # |
Club [3] |
Seasons |
GP |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
Pts |
PPG |
(PPG) # |
1st |
2nd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toronto Croatia | 10 (1998-) | 187 | 94 | 43 | 50 | 368 | 257 | +111 | 325 | 1.738 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 2 | Italia Shooters | 10 (1998-) | 187 | 85 | 45 | 57 | 354 | 265 | +89 | 300 | 1.604 | 7 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | St. Catharines Wolves | 10 (1998-) | 187 | 77 | 43 | 67 | 296 | 297 | -1 | 274 | 1.465 | 11 | 2 | |
| 4 | Durham Storm | 8 (1998-2005) | 143 | 69 | 15 | 59 | 319 | 266 | +53 | 222 | 1.552 | 9 | 1 | 2 |
| 5 | Portugal FC | 7 (2001-) | 145 | 58 | 39 | 48 | 279 | 226 | +53 | 213 | 1.469 | 10 | 1 | |
| 6 | Brampton Lions | 6 (2002-) | 123 | 54 | 33 | 36 | 240 | 172 | +68 | 193 | 1.569 | 8 | 1 | |
| 7 | North York Astros | 10 (1998-) | 187 | 45 | 39 | 103 | 252 | 409 | -157 | 174 | 0.930 | 15 | 1 | |
| 8 | Laval Dynamites | 5 (2001-2003, 2005-2006) |
103 | 50 | 19 | 34 | 196 | 160 | +36 | 169 | 1.641 | 6 | ||
| 9 | Brampton Stallions | 6 (2001-2006) | 123 | 43 | 31 | 49 | 191 | 205 | -14 | 160 | 1.301 | 12 | 1 | |
| 10 | London City | 10 (1998-) | 187 | 37 | 38 | 112 | 239 | 491 | -252 | 149 | 0.798 | 17 | ||
| 11 | Ottawa Wizards | 3 (2001-2003) | 59 | 44 | 10 | 5 | 159 | 39 | +120 | 142 | 2.407 | 1 | 1 | |
| 12 | Hamilton Thunder | 4 (2002-2005) | 79 | 38 | 22 | 19 | 147 | 88 | +59 | 136 | 1.722 | 5 | ||
| 13 | Windsor Border Stars | 4 (2004-) | 86 | 30 | 18 | 38 | 141 | 146 | -5 | 108 | 1.256 | 13 | ||
| 14 | Serbian White Eagles | 2 (2006-) | 44 | 31 | 7 | 6 | 121 | 44 | +77 | 100 | 2.273 | 2 | 2 | |
| 15 | York Region Shooters | 5 (1998-2002) | 83 | 24 | 14 | 45 | 125 | 199 | -74 | 86 | 1.036 | 14 | ||
| 16 | Durham Flames | 5 (1999-2003) | 87 | 20 | 14 | 53 | 136 | 231 | -95 | 74 | 0.850 | 16 | ||
| 17 | Trois-Rivières Attak | 1 (2007-) | 22 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 48 | 29 | +19 | 38 | 1.727 | 4 | ||
| 18 | Mississauga Eagles P.S.C. | 1 (1998) | 14 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 29 | 44 | -15 | 10 | 0.714 | 18 | ||
| 19 | Caribbean Selects | 1 (2006) | 22 | 1 | 3 | 18 | 15 | 87 | -72 | 4 | 0.182 | 19 | ||
| 20 | TFC Academy | 0 (2008-) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | N/A | ||
| 21 | African Icons | 0 (2009-) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | N/A | ||
| 22 | FC Quebec | 0 (2009-) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | N/A |
[edit] All Time (1998-2007) CPSL/CSL Playoff Records By Clubs
| (Pts) # |
Club [4] |
Playoffs Reached vs Seasons Played |
GP |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
Pts |
PPG |
Rank (by Champions, Runners-Up, PPG) |
1st |
2nd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toronto Croatia | 8/10 | 19 | 13 | 1 | 5 | 38 | 20 | +18 | 40 | 2.105 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2 | Italia Shooters | 7/10 | 17 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 30 | 29 | +1 | 28 | 1.647 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Durham Storm | 5/9 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 27 | 16 | +11 | 22 | 2.000 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| 4 | St. Catharines Wolves | 4/9 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 11 | +3 | 14 | 1.556 | 2 | 2 | |
| 5 | Brampton Lions | 5/6 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 12 | +2 | 13 | 1.625 | 5 | 1 | |
| 6 | Serbian White Eagles | 2/2 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 8 | +6 | 13 | 1.857 | 8 | 2 | |
| 7 | Brampton Stallions | 3/6 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 7 | 1.400 | 7 | 1 | |
| 8 | Ottawa Wizards | 3/3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 | -1 | 6 | 1.500 | 6 | 1 | |
| 9 | North York Astros | 4/10 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 14 | -7 | 6 | 0.857 | 9 | 1 | |
| 10 | Trois-Rivières Attak | 1/1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 3 | 1.500 | 11 | ||
| 11 | Portuguese Supra | 4/7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 14 | -7 | 3 | 0.600 | 10 | 1 | |
| 12 | Windsor Border Stars | 4/4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 17 | -11 | 3 | 0.600 | 12 | ||
| 13 | London City | 2/10 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 2 | 0.667 | 13 | ||
| 14 | Hamilton Thunder | 4/4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 7 | -5 | 0 | 0.000 | 14 | ||
| 15 | Laval Dynamites | 4/5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 9 | -7 | 0 | 0.000 | 15 |
[edit] Complete Team List
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[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Canadian Soccer League at FIFA.com
- ^ http://www.canadian-soccer.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=13881 The Voyageurs Forum
- ^ The latest names are used for clubs who had name changes, e.g. Italia Shooters was formerly known as Vaughan Shooters.
- ^ The latest names are used for clubs who had name changes, e.g. Italia Shooters was formerly known as Vaughan Shooters.
