Open Canada Cup
| Founded | 1998 |
|---|---|
| Abolished | 2007 |
| Region | Canada |
| Most successful club(s) | Toronto Olympians (3 titles) |
The Open Canada Cup was a Canadian soccer competition, similar in concept to tournaments such as the English FA Cup, the Coppa Italia, and the US Open Cup. The competition was held starting with the CSL's first season in 1998 until 2007.
The competition was open to all professional and amateur soccer teams in Canada. Prior to 2007, it had generally been entered only by the teams of the Canadian Soccer League (formerly the Canadian Professional Soccer League) and a handful of amateur teams from Ontario. A notable exception was the 2006 entry of the Toronto Lynx, then of the USL First Division.
In 2007, teams from British Columbia also participated in the event. The British Columbia teams had their own regional qualifying matches with the overall provincial winner travelling to meet its central Canadian adversaries in the tournament's final weekend.
In central Canada, cup ties were played on a one-game knock out basis and were held over the Victoria Day, Canada Day, Civic Holiday and Labour Day long weekends. The British Columbia regional games were held in early August with the winner participating in the Labour Day tournament finale. Drawn matches went directly to extra time, and if necessary, a penalty shootout.
2008 Cup Cancelled
On April 29, 2008, it was announced that the 2008 edition of the Open Canada Cup would not take place as originally scheduled.[1] The CSL was evaluating the relevance of the competition in light of the creation of the Canadian Championship.
Cup Lapsed
The announcement that the 2008 edition of the Open Canada Cup had been cancelled also suggested that the Cup might return in 2009. Although no formal announcement has been made, the success of the Canadian Championship and the fact that no Open Canada Cup competition was held in 2009 suggests that the competition has ended for good.
List of winners
| Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Toronto Olympians Gus Kouzmanis  44', 66' Eddy Berdusco 66' | 3-0 | St. Catharines Wolves |
| 1999 | Toronto Olympians Chris Handsor 40'Elvis Thomas 62', 66' | 3-0 | Toronto Croatia |
| 2000 | Toronto Olympians Elvis Thomas 4' | 1-0 | St. Catharines Wolves |
| 2001 | Ottawa Wizards Abraham Osman 9' | 1-0 | Toronto Supra |
| 2002 | Ottawa Wizards Kevin Nelson 66' | 2-0 | Toronto Croatia |
| 2003 | London City Eris Tafas 30' | 1-1 aet 4-2 on penalty shootout | Metro Lions Craig Patton 84' |
| 2004 | Windsor Border Stars Tati Errecalde 25' | 1-1 aet 4-2 on penalty shootout | Ottawa St. Anthony Italia Egar Soigo 11' |
| 2005 Details | Windsor Border Stars Radek Papiez 49', Steve Merker 51' Tino Scicluna 82' | 3-0 | London City |
| 2006 Details | Ottawa St. Anthony Italia Abraham Osman 55', 81' | 2-0 | Toronto Lynx |
| 2007 Details | Trois-Rivières Attak Nicolas Lesage 53' Danny Anderson 74', 81' | 3-0 | Columbus Clan FC |
Performance by Club
| Club | Winners | Runner-Up | Winning Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto Olympians | 3 | 1998, 1999, 2000 | |
| Ottawa Wizards | 2 | 2001, 2002 | |
| Windsor Border Stars | 2 | 0 | 2004, 2005 |
| London City | 1 | 1 | 2003 |
| Ottawa St. Anthony Italia | 1 | 1 | 2006 |
| Trois-Rivières Attak | 1 | 0 | 2007 |
| St. Catharines Wolves | 0 | 2 | - |
| Toronto Croatia | 0 | 2 | - |
| Toronto Supra | 0 | 1 | - |
| Metro Lions | 0 | 1 | - |
| Toronto Lynx | 0 | 1 | - |
| Columbus Clan FC | 0 | 1 | - |
References
- http://www.canadiansoccerleague.ca/news2.php?news_id=89208 (retrieved on April 30, 2008)
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