The Canadian soccer pyramid is a term used in soccer to describe the structure of the league system in Canada. The governing body of soccer in the country is the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA), which oversees the system and domestic cups (including the Canadian Championship) but does not operate any of its component leagues. For practical purposes Canadian teams are often members of leagues that are based primarily in the United States.
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The professional league structure in Canada coincides with the league competitions of the neighbouring United States, which means that promotion and relegation does not occur between any league levels. Formally, Canada does not have a fully professional national league. The top professional clubs in Canada compete in the Canadian Championship for the Voyageurs Cup, which is the country's national championship trophy and which earn the winner the rights to play in the CONCACAF Champions League.
Since the introduction of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the US, the popularity of the United Soccer Leagues (USL), where most of the Canadian clubs competed, declined. With the decision to introduce Canadian clubs to MLS, with Toronto FC joining in 2006, the Toronto Lynx began playing in the amateur-level USL Premier Development League (PDL).[1] Two other Canadian clubs have or are scheduled to join MLS: Vancouver Whitecaps FC joined in 2011 and the Montreal Impact are slated to join in 2012.[2]
Changes to and the evolution of the leagues based in the United States, particularly the decline of the USL second and third tier leagues has allowed the Canadian Soccer League (CSL) to establish itself as a semi-professional league in Canada, considering regional expansion to become the largest national domestic league.[3]
The soccer competitions in Canada are mostly regionally-based. The only Canadian-based professional league is the Canadian Soccer League which is governed by the Canadian Soccer Association. The league is mostly centred in Ontario, with two teams in Quebec. Clubs in British Columbia mostly compete in the Pacific Coast Soccer League, which is primarily governed by the USASA, while several other West coast clubs compete in the PDL. In total there are 12 soccer associations in Canada with most of the competitions organized on an amateur and/or a youth level.
Professional
Nutrilite Canadian Championship (Voyageurs Cup): Levels 1-2 (Eligible teams selected by the CSA)[4]
Amateur
The Challenge Trophy (Men): Level 5
The Jubilee Trophy (Women): Level 4
For practical purposes, both Canada and the United States use a similar pyramid structure, with Major League Soccer (MLS) as Division 1 and the North American Soccer League (NASL) as Division 2. Canada's four elite clubs (Toronto FC, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Montreal Impact & FC Edmonton) compete at these two levels, with a fifth club, Ottawa, set to join the NASL in 2013.
In February 2010, the Canadian Soccer League was granted full membership by the Canadian Soccer Association, making it the largest entirely domestic national league. Sitting behind MLS and the NASL, the CSL operates as Division 3 within the Canadian pyramid.[5]
The Nutrilite Canadian Championship competition, established in 2008, awards the national trophy, the Voyageurs Cup, and determines the Canadian representative at the CONCACAF Champions League, the region's largest club tournament. Currently, the Association has limited the Nutrilite Canadian Championship to the country's four elite clubs at the D1 & D2 levels.
The USL manages several leagues, including the USL Pro league and the amateur USL Premier Development League, along with the women's W-League.
Several Canadian teams competed in the USL First Division (USL-1), formerly the highest level in the USL. After Nike sold its stake in the USL organization in late 2009, a group of disgruntled USL-1 team owners decided in January 2010 to form a new version of the North American Soccer League (NASL), with the remaining USL-1 Canadian clubs deciding to join. Concurrently, USL opposed its relegation to Division 3 status and challenged the legality of NASL. The dispute prompted the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) to refuse sanctioning of either league for the 2010 season. The USSF brokered a deal between the two feuding leagues that called for a temporary reorganization of the second tier of soccer in both Canada and the United States, choosing to operate its own league, the USSF D2 Pro League. The league was divided into two conferences, the USL and NASL Conferences, largely reflecting the loyalty of the clubs caught up in the feud.
In the autumn of 2010, the fallout from the failed Division 2 sanctioning attempts by the USL and the NASL and the competition for the loyalty of the professional clubs led to USL's decision to merge its First and Second Division leagues into a consolidated USL Pro league. The USL has stated its intention for USL Pro to operate as a top league in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean.[6]
Canadian teams have yet to be included or have offered a commitment to USL Pro expansion, with Canada's remaining top professional clubs outside MLS, Montreal Impact & FC Edmonton, maintaining their commitment to the NASL. There are a number of Canadian teams that continue to play in the USL PDL.
In order to limit the Americanization of all of Canada's professional soccer clubs, the CSA issued a moratorium on the sanctioning of any new Division 2 or PDL teams on November 15, 2010, with the ban set to last until September 30, 2011.[7] Despite the moratorium, the NASL announced that Ottawa had been awarded a franchise on June 20, 2011, tentatively to begin play in the league in 2013.[8]
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Level |
Leagues or Divisions |
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1 |
Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) |
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2 |
W-League (W-L) |
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3 |
Pacific Coast Soccer League |
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4 |
The Jubilee Trophy |
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