Canadian Soccer Association

Canadian Soccer Association

CONCACAF
Founded	1912
FIFA affiliation	1912
CONCACAF affiliation	1961[1]
President	Victor Montagliani
Website	www.canadasoccer.com

The Canadian Soccer Association (Canada Soccer) (French: Association canadienne de 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 (U-20 and U-17 for men and women). Within Canada, it oversees national professional and amateur club championships.

Organization and Governance

Canada Soccer's objectives, as described in its by-laws, are to:^[2]

1. promote, regulate and control the game of football throughout Canada, particularly through youth and development programs;
2. organize competitions in Association Football in all its forms at a national level, by defining the areas of authority conceded to the various leagues of which it is composed;
3. draw up Association Football regulations and provisions, and ensure their enforcement;
4. protect the interests of its Members;
5. respect and prevent any infringement of the statutes, regulations, directives and decisions of FIFA, CONCACAF and The CSA, as well as the Laws of the Game;
6. prevent all methods or practices that jeopardize the integrity of matches or competitions or give rise to abuse of Association Football;
7. control and supervise all friendly Association Football matches played throughout Canada;
8. manage international sporting relations connected with Association Football;
9. host competitions at international and other levels.

Canada Soccer is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of 14 directors: a President, Vice President, six elected directors, and six appointed or independent directors.^[2][3] Each of the six elected directors is elected from one of six geographic regions. The Board must include at least three men and three women. The President of the Board is Victor Montagliani and the Vice President is Steven Reed.

Canada Soccer is administered by the General Secretariat, which is led by General Secretary Peter Montopoli and Deputy General Secretary Earl Cochrane.^[4] The General Secretary is the chief executive of Soccer Canada, and is appointed by the Board of Directors.^[2] The head office is located in Ottawa, Ontario.

Canada Soccer is a member of FIFA and of CONCACAF.

History

The founding meeting of the Dominion of Canada Football Association took place on May 24, 1912. The organization joined FIFA on December 31, 1912. On June 21, 1926, the DCFA resigned from FIFA, only to rejoin on June 20, 1948. The association celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2012.

National teams

The Association's national teams have won nine confederation championships. Canada won the 1985 CONCACAF Men's Championship and the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup; Canada's women's "A" team won the 1998 and 2010 CONCACAF women's championships. The men's youth team won the 1986 and 1996 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship while the women's youth team won the 2004 and 2008 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship along with the 2010 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship.

Men

The Canada men's national soccer team represents Canada in international soccer competitions at the senior men's level. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association and compete in the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF). Their most significant achievements are winning the 1985 CONCACAF Championship to qualify for the 1986 FIFA World Cup and winning the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup to qualify for the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup. Canada also won a gold medal in the 1904 Summer Olympics.

Women

The Canada women's national soccer team represents Canada in international women's soccer and is directed by the Canadian Soccer Association. Canada will host the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. The team reached international prominence at the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, losing in the third place match to the United States. Canada qualified for its first Olympic women's soccer tournament in 2008, making it to the quarterfinals. Canada are two-time CONCACAF women's champions as well as Olympic bronze medallists from London 2012 where they defeated France 1–0 in Coventry, England. Canadian women’s soccer fans are also closely linked to the U-20 team (U-19 prior to 2006), partly due to Canada hosting the inaugural FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship in 2002 and winning silver in front of 47,784 fans at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta.

International tournaments hosted

The Association has hosted several FIFA tournaments: the FIFA U-16 World Championship (1987), the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup (2002, 2014), the FIFA U-20 World Cup (2007), and the FIFA Women's World Cup (2015).

The Canadian Soccer Association has announced a bid to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.^[5] This bid is a part of the Canadian Soccer Association strategic plan 2014-2018.^[6]

Professional leagues and cups

Canada has three professional teams competing in Major League Soccer (Division I) and two professional teams competing in the North American Soccer League (Division II). Both of these leagues, however, are sanctioned by the U.S. Soccer Federation, and are not governed by the Canadian Soccer Association.

The following is a list of professional teams in Canada currently playing in Division 1 or Division 2:

Professional teams in Div 1 and Div 2
Team	League	Stadium (capacity)	Joined	Head Coach
Toronto FC	Major League Soccer	BMO Field (30, 991)	2007	Greg Vanney
Vancouver Whitecaps	Major League Soccer	BC Place (54,320) reduced to 21,000 for soccer	2011	Carl Robinson
Montreal Impact	Major League Soccer	Saputo Stadium (20,801)	2012	Frank Klopas
FC Edmonton	North American Soccer League	Clarke Stadium (5,000)	2011	Colin Miller
Ottawa Fury	North American Soccer League	TD Place Stadium (24,000)	2014	Marc Dos Santos

At the professional level, Canada's primary competition is the Canadian Championship. The Canadian Championship is an annual soccer tournament contested by premier Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and Canada's berth in the CONCACAF Champions League^[7] In 2008, the Montreal Impact won the inaugural competition ahead of Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC. By finishing first, the Impact won the Voyageurs Cup and qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League 2008-09 season. Canada's best performance in the CONCACAF Champions League came in the 2014-15 competition, when Montreal Impact reached the finals. ^[8]

Joining inaugural Canadian Championship participants Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, FC Edmonton entered the competition in 2011, and the Ottawa Fury entered in 2014. As of 2014, it will be contested by Toronto FC, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Montreal Impact and NASL sides FC Edmonton and Ottawa Fury FC.^[9] It is organized by the Canadian Soccer Association.^[10]

Amateur and youth

At the amateur level, Canada's club competitions fall under the National Championships. The senior champions are awarded The Challenge Trophy (men) and The Jubilee Trophy (women). Club championships are also organized at the U-18, U-16 and U-14 levels.

Associations affiliated with Canada Soccer

Senior level

1. Canada men's national soccer team
2. Canada women's national soccer team
3. Canada men's national beach soccer team
4. Canada men's national cerebral palsy soccer team
5. Canada men's national futsal team

Youth sides

1. Canada men's national under-23 (Olympic) soccer team
2. Canada men's national under-20 soccer team
3. Canada women's national under-20 soccer team
4. Canada men's national under-17 soccer team
5. Canada women's national under-17 soccer team

Leagues and organizations

1. Major League Soccer (MLS)
2. North American Soccer League (NASL)
3. Pacific Coast Soccer League (PCSL)
4. United Soccer Leagues (USL)

In addition, Canada Soccer is a financial backer of the U.S. National Women's Soccer League, set to launch in 2013 as that country's third attempt at a women's professional league. Specifically, Canada Soccer is paying the NWSL salaries of 16 national team players.^[11]

Supporters group

The voyageurs are the main supporters group for the Canadian national team, the voyageurs were founded in 1996 at the University of Alberta.

See also

• Soccer in Canada
• Canada men's national soccer team
• Canadian soccer pyramid

References

1. "Ramón Coll, electo Presidente de la Confederación de Futbol de América del Norte, América Central y el Caribe". La Nación (Google News Archive). September 23, 1961.
2. Canadian Soccer Association by-laws 2013. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
3. Canada Soccer Governance, CanadaSoccer.com. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
4. Canada Soccer staff. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
5. "Canada to bid for 2026 FIFA World Cup". CBC. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
6. "Leading a Soccer Nation: Canadian Soccer Association STRATEGIC PLAN 2014-2018" (PDF). Canadian Soccer Association. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
7. "Canadian teams set to do battle". Globe and Mail (Canada). March 27, 2008. Retrieved March 28, 2008.
8. The Canadian Press More The Canadian Press. "Montreal Impact become first Canadian team to advance to CONCACAF final". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
9. Archived November 14, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
10. "2012 Amway Canadian Championship". Retrieved January 27, 2012.
11. "U.S. Soccer Unveils Name of New Women’s Soccer League" (Press release). United States Soccer Federation. December 15, 2012. Retrieved January 18, 2013.

External links

• Official website
• Canadian Soccer Referees' Association
• Canada at FIFA site
• Canada at CONCACAF site