Challenge Trophy

Challenge Trophy
Founded	1912
Region	Canada (CONCACAF)
Number of teams	10–12
Current champions	Central City Breakers FC
Most successful club(s)	Westminster Royals (8 times)
Television broadcasters	sportscanada.tv (website)
Website	www.canadasoccer.com/events/
	2018 Challenge Trophy

The Challenge Trophy (French: Trophée Challenge) is a national amateur soccer cup in Canada contested by the champions of individual provincial soccer competitions. It is one of the oldest soccer competitions in Canada, being held since 1913. It is run by the Canadian Soccer Association.

History[]

An unofficial Dominion championship for a trophy donated by The People newspaper of London, named the Peoples Shield, was contested from 1906–1912. Teams from all provinces did not enter the competition in each year, and it was contested by Western Canada in its last years.

On May 24, 1912, the Amateur Athletic Union met in Toronto to determine a competition to crown a Canadian national champion.^[1] That year, the executive of the Dominion of Canada Football Association invited the Duke of Connaught to become the Patron of the Association. The Duke donated the Connaught Cup to the FA, which became the championship of Canadian soccer. In 1926, the English FA donated a new trophy to replace it as the national championship named the Challenge Trophy.^[2]

The inaugural competition in 1913 and the 1914 edition both featured four teams in a league format; both were won by Manitoba side . From 1915 to 1955, the final was generally played as a best-of-three series between the champions of the west and the champions of the east.^[1]^[3] The single-game final used today was first implemented in 1956.

In 1927, the previously amateur-only tournament opened to professional teams. Prior to 1940, fifteen finals were played at Carruthers Park in Winnipeg (1923–1939), (roughly halfway across the country) five in Toronto and one each in Vancouver and Montreal.^[1]^[4]

From 1954 to 1961, the trophy was replaced by the Carling Cup. The original Challenge Trophy is now retired and on display at Canada Soccer House in Ottawa, Ontario.

The tournament acted as a men's national championship at the highest level in Canadian soccer in its early years, however, professional and semi-professional tournaments have taken on more importance in recent decades, including the Canadian Championship.

Qualifying competitions and participants[]

Provincial championships determine the teams competing in The Challenge Trophy:

British Columbia: B.C. Provincial Championship winners
Alberta: Alberta Cup winners
Saskatchewan: winners
Manitoba: Manitoba Cup winners
Ontario: Ontario Cup
Quebec: LSEQ winners
New Brunswick: winner by acclamation
Prince Edward Island: no representative in 2018
Nova Scotia: Nova Scotia Cup winners
Newfoundland and Labrador: Newfoundland and Labrador Challenge Cup^[5] winners
Yukon: no representative in 2018
Northwest Territories: winner by acclamation

Past winners[]

Year	Host	Final
Year	Host	Winner	Score	Runner-up
1913 league	Fort William, Ontario	Norwood Wanderers St. Boniface		Lachine Montreal
1914 league	Winnipeg, Manitoba	Norwood Wanderers St. Boniface		Fort William C.P.R.
1915 east v. west	Toronto, Ontario	Winnipeg Scottish^[6]	0–0 6–1	Toronto Lancashire
1916 1917 1918	No Competition
1919	Montreal, Quebec	Grand Trunk Montreal	2–1 1–0	Winnipeg War Veterans
1920 details	Hamilton, Ontario Toronto, Ontario	Westinghouse Hamilton	0–0 2–1	Winnipeg Britannia
1921	Toronto, Ontario			Ladysmith
1922	Toronto, Ontario	Hillhurst Calgary		Toronto Ulster United
1923	Carruthers Park Winnipeg, Manitoba	Nanaimo Wanderers		Montreal C.P.R.
1924	Carruthers Park Winnipeg, Manitoba	United Weston Winnipeg		Canadian Explosives Beloeil
1925	Carruthers Park Winnipeg, Manitoba	Toronto Ulster United		Nanaimo Wanderers
1926	Carruthers Park Winnipeg, Manitoba	United Weston Winnipeg		Canadian Collieries Cumberland
1927	Carruthers Park Winnipeg, Manitoba	Nanaimo Wanderers		Fort William Legion
1928 details	Carruthers Park Winnipeg, Manitoba	Westminster Royals^[7]	3–2 1–2 6–1	Montreal C.N.R.
1929 details	Carruthers Park Winnipeg, Manitoba	Canadian National Montreal		United Weston Winnipeg
1930 details	Carruthers Park Winnipeg, Manitoba	Westminster Royals		Montreal C.N.R.
1931	Carruthers Park Winnipeg, Manitoba	Westminster Royals		Toronto Scottish
1932	Toronto, Ontario	Toronto Scottish^[8]		Vancouver North Shore
1933	Carruthers Park Winnipeg, Manitoba	Toronto Scottish^[8]		Prince Albert City Reds
1934	Carruthers Park Winnipeg, Manitoba	Verdun Park		Prince Albert City Reds
1935	Carruthers Park Winnipeg, Manitoba	Aldred Building Montreal		Nanaimo Wanderers
1936	Vancouver, British Columbia	Westminster Royals		United Weston Winnipeg
1937	Carruthers Park Winnipeg, Manitoba	Johnston Nationals Vancouver		Toronto Ulster United
1938 5 games	Carruthers Park Winnipeg, Manitoba	Vancouver North Shore	T-T L-W W-L T-T 6–2	Dome Mines Timmins
1939	Carruthers Park Winnipeg, Manitoba	Radials Vancouver	2–2 2–3 2–0 3–1	Carsteel Montreal
1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945	No Competition
1946		Toronto Ulster United		Fort William Combines
1947^[9]	Callister Park Vancouver	St. Andrew's Vancouver	5–0 4–0	Winnipeg Combines
1948^[10]	Broadview YMCA Toronto, Ontario	Carsteel Montreal	4–3 1–3 4–3	St. Andrew's Vancouver
1949	Mewata Stadium Calgary, Alberta	North Shore United Vancouver	4–0^[11] 1–2^[12] 2–0^[13]	Westinghouse Hamilton
1950 details^[14]	Callister Park Vancouver	Vancouver City	4–1 4–0	Winnipeg Scottish
1951	Wesetmount Athletic Grounds Montreal, Quebec	Toronto Ulster United		St. Andrew's Vancouver
1952		Stelco Montreal		Westminster Royals
1953		Westminster Royals		Montreal Hakoah
1954		A.N. & A.F. Scottish Winnipeg^[15]		Vancouver North Shore
1955		Westminster Royals		Montreal Ukraina
1956		Vancouver Hale-Co FC	5–1	Winnipeg Germania
1957		Montreal Ukraina	2–1	Vancouver North Shore
1958		Westminster Royals	2–0	Winnipeg Scottish
1959		Montreal Canadian Alouettes	3–2	Westminster Royals
1960		Westminster Royals	4–0	Golden Mile Toronto
1961 details	Faillon Stadium Montreal, Quebec	Montreal Concordia FC	1–0	Vancouver Firefighters
1962		Winnipeg Scottish	6–0	Edmonton Edelweiss
1963	No Competition
1964 details		Vancouver Columbus	4–0	Italian Flyers Sudbury
1965		Vancouver Firefighters	3–0	Oshawa Italians
1966 details	Alexander Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba	British Columbia Selects	2–0
1967	Calgary, Alberta	Ballymena United Toronto	1–0	Buffalo Kickers Calgary
1968	Toronto, Ontario	Toronto Royals	2–1	Vancouver Columbus
1969	Vancouver, British Columbia	Vancouver Columbus	10–0	Montreal Ukraina

1970 and beyond[]

Year	Host	Final			Third-place match
Year	Host	Winner	Score	Runner-up	3rd place	Score	4th place
1970	Winnipeg, Manitoba	Manitoba Selects	2–1	Québec Selects
1971	Vancouver, British Columbia^[16]	Vancouver Eintracht	3–1	Windsor Maple Leafs^[17]
1972	York Stadium in Toronto, Ontario	New Westminster Blues	3–0	Toronto San Fili
1973	St. John's, Newfoundland	Vancouver Firefighters	2–0	Toronto West Indies United
1974	St. John's, Newfoundland	Calgary Springer Kickers	2–1	Windsor Italia
1975	Calgary, Alberta	London Boxing Club of Victoria	3–1	St. Lawrence Laurentians
1976	Winnipeg, Manitoba	Victoria West Soccer Club	3–2	Winnipeg Fort Rouge
1977	St. Lawrence, Newfoundland	Vancouver Columbus	1–0	St. Lawrence Laurentians
1978	Kitchener, Ontario	Vancouver Columbus	3–1	Montreal Elio Blues
1979	Victoria, British Columbia	Victoria West Soccer Club	6–2	La Salle Olympics
1980	Halifax, Nova Scotia	Saint John Drydock	3–2	Ottawa Maple Leaf Almrausch
1981	Calgary, Alberta	Toronto Ciociaro	2–1	Calgary Kickers	Holy Cross	1–0^[18]
1982	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan	Victoria West Soccer Club	4–0	Saskatoon United
1983	Thunder Bay, Ontario	Vancouver Firefighters	2–1	Windsor Croatia
1984	Victoria, British Columbia	Victoria West Soccer Club	1–0	Dundas United	Edmonton Ital Canadians
1985	Clarke Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta	Vancouver Croatia	3–0	Montreal Elio Blues	Edmonton Ital Canadians
1986	Rock Forest, Quebec	Hamilton Steelers	1–0	Vancouver Croatia	Edmonton Ital Canadians
1987 details	Winnipeg, Manitoba	Winnipeg Lucania FC	1–0	New Westminster Q.P.R.	Edmonton Scottish		Dartmouth United
1988 details	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan	Holy Cross St. John's	2–0	Edmonton Ital-Canadians	Norvan ANAF
1989	St. John's, Newfoundland	Scarborough Azzurri Soccer Club	3–2	Holy Cross St. John's	Winnipeg Lucania FC
1990	Beazley Field in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia	Vancouver Firefighters	1–0	Dartmouth United	Windsor Caboto
1991	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan	Norvan ANAF Vancouver	3–2(pk)	Scarborough Azzurri	Winnipeg Lucania FC
1992	Burnaby, British Columbia	Norvan ANAF Vancouver	1–0	Edmonton Scottish	Lakers du Lac Saint-Louis
1993	Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke, Ontario	Westside Rino Vancouver	1–0	Calommiers de Longueuil	Edmonton Ital Canadians
1994	Edmonton, Alberta	Edmonton Ital-Canadians	1–0	Scarborough Azzurri "A"	King of Donair Halifax
1995	Winnipeg, Manitoba	Mistral Estrie	1–0	King of Donair Halifax	North Shore Pegasus Vancouver
1996	New Minas, Nova Scotia	Westside C.I.B.C.	2–1	Cosmos de LaSalle	Sons of Italy Lions SC
1997	Calgary, Alberta	Edmonton Ital Canadians	3–1	North Shore Pegasus Vancouver	Winnipeg Lucania FC
1998	Fredericton, New Brunswick	RDP Concordes Quebec	1–0	Hamilton Serbians	Calgary Dinosaurs		Vancouver Firefighters
1999	Chilliwack, British Columbia	Calgary Celtic SFC	1–0^[19]		St. Lawrence Laurentians	4–3	^[20]
2000 details	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan	Winnipeg Lucania FC	2–0	Vancouver		3–2	Calgary Celtic
2001 reference	Etobicoke, Ontario	King of Donair^[21] Halifax	4–1			1–0	Winnipeg Lucania FC
2002	St. John's, Newfoundland	Sons of Italy Lions SC	1–0(a.e.t.)^[22]	St. Lawrence Laurentians	King of Donair Halifax	2–0	Calgary Callies
2003	Quebec City, Quebec^[23]	Calgary Callies			Surrey United		Sokol
2004 details	Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island^[24]	Pegasus FC Surrey	0–0 (4–3 pens)	Ottawa Royals		2–0
2005 details	Calgary, Alberta	, Ontario	3–2			2–0
2006 details	British Columbia	Ottawa St. Anthony Italia	1–0	Calgary Callies		3–1
2007 details	Halifax, Nova Scotia^[25]	Calgary Callies	5–0	Columbus Clan F.C.	St. Lawrence Laurentians	2–1	Halifax City S.C.
2008 details	Newfoundland and Labrador^[26]	Calgary Callies	3–1		Avondale Islanders	3–2
2009 details	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan	SC Hellas Winnipeg	1–0	Royal Select de Beauport	Avondale Islanders	0–0 (4–3)pk	Calgary Callies
2010 details	Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island	Churchill Arms F.C.	2–0			3–2
2011 details	Brossard, Quebec	Saskatoon	2–0			2–2 (pks)
2012 details	Winnipeg, Manitoba	Royal Select de Beauport	3–3 (4–2)pks	Edmonton Scottish	Saskatoon	3–1
2013 details	Halifax, Nova Scotia	Ottawa	3–0	Surrey United Firefighters	FC Winnipeg Lions	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Saskatoon
2014 details	Vaughan, Ontario	London Marconi London	0–0 (a.e.t.) 4–2 (p)	Calgary Callies Calgary	Saskatoon	0–0 (a.e.t.) 3–0 (p)	FC Winnipeg Lions Winnipeg
2015 details	Calgary, Alberta	London Marconi London	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Edmonton Scottish Edmonton	Burnaby	2–1	Edmonton
2016 details	St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador	Edmonton Scottish Edmonton	1–0	Royal Select de Beauport Quebec City	Ottawa	5–2	Saskatoon
2017 details	Surrey, British Columbia	Halifax	1–0	Winnipeg	Toronto	3–1	Saskatoon
2018 details	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan	Surrey	7–3	Caledon	Saskatoon	1–1 (a.e.t.) 6–5 (p)	Holy Cross
2019	St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador	Surrey	2–0	Ottawa St. Anthony SC Ottawa
2020	Halifax, Nova Scotia
2021	Surrey, British Columbia

Most titles[]

By provincial association

Rank	Province	Titles
1	British Columbia	41
2	Ontario	18
3	Quebec	12
4	Manitoba	11
5	Alberta	8
6	Nova Scotia	2
7	Saskatchewan	1
	New Brunswick	1
	Newfoundland and Labrador	1
	Prince Edward Island	1

By club

Rank	Club	Champions	Runners-up
1	Westminster Royals	8	2
2	Vancouver Columbus	4	2
	Calgary Callies (99' as Celtic)	4	2
	Vancouver Firefighters	4	1
	Victoria West Soccer Club	4
6	Toronto Scottish	3	1
6	Toronto Ulster United	3
8	Vancouver North Shore	2	3
	Edmonton Ital Canadians	2
	Lucania Soccer Club	2
	Nanaimo Wanderers	2
	Norwood Wanderers	2
	United Weston	2
	Vancouver Hale-Co FC (formerly Vancouver City)	2
	Norvan ANAF	2
	Winnipeg Scottish (54' as A.N. & A.F. Scottish)	2
	Montreal Concordia (formerly Alouettes)	2
	London Marconi	2

References[]

General

More

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c "Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame & Museum". Halloffame.mb.ca. May 24, 1912. Archived from the original on October 31, 2013. Retrieved April 9, 2013.
^ "The Challenge Trophy" Archived December 24, 2007, at archive.today
^ "National Challenge Trophy" Archived July 5, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
^ "Canadian Championship Soccer History". SoccerStats.us. Retrieved April 9, 2013.
^ Newfoundland and Labrador Soccer Association (Development) Archived October 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
^ "Winnipeg Scottish". Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on October 22, 2007. Retrieved May 6, 2009.
^ "Westminster Royals - 1928". thesoccerhalloffame.ca. Archived from the original on July 11, 2009. Retrieved May 6, 2009.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Toronto Scottish - 1933". thesoccerhalloffame.ca. Archived from the original on July 12, 2009. Retrieved May 6, 2009.
^ Archie MacDonald (April 23, 1987). "Odd assortment for Hall of Fame". The Vancouver Sun. Canadian Newsstream by ProQuest.
^ "Carsteel Captures Dominion Soccer Championship". The Montreal Gazette. August 12, 1948. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
^ "Vancouver beats Hamilton 4–0 in Opening Soccer Final". The Calgary Herald. August 8, 1949. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
^ "Hamilton Wins, Evens Series for Dominion Soccer Title". The Calgary Herald. August 9, 1949. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
^ "Experience Spells Difference As Vancouver Wins Crown". The Calgary Herald. August 11, 1949. Retrieved June 11, 2011.
^ "Vancouver City Moves into Dominion Soccer Finals". Edmonton Journal. August 8, 1950. Retrieved June 11, 2011.
^ "1954 A.N.A.F. Scottish Soccer Team". Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on September 8, 2009. Retrieved May 6, 2009.
^ "Vancouver wins soccer final". The Leader-Post. October 6, 1971. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
^ "Leafs seek dominion title". The Windsor Star. October 2, 1971. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
^ Short, Robin (May 16, 2009). "No.2 1988 Holy Cross Challenge Cup Champions". The Telegram. Archived from the original on October 28, 2018. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
^ "National Challenge Cup Soccer Tournament". Retrieved July 8, 2008.
^ "The Red & Black Newsletter" (PDF). Halifax Dunbrack Soccer Club. June 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 6, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
^ Palov, Willy (June 4, 2012). "Giles, Murray, Horsman head N.S. Hall class". The Chronicle Herald. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
^ Browne, John (October 15, 2002). "Golden goal leaves Laurentians Silver" (PDF). The Telegram. Retrieved July 8, 2008.
^ Dunphy, Gord. "Nationals Review". Retrieved July 21, 2008.
^ "2004 National Club Championships Start Tomorrow". Archived from the original on May 27, 2011. Retrieved August 22, 2008.
^ "Canadian National Challenge Cup 2007". Cdnseniorclub2007.com. September 18, 2012. Archived from the original on May 27, 2013. Retrieved April 9, 2013.
^ "CSA 2008 Challenge Cup". Archived from the original on May 23, 2008. Retrieved October 14, 2008.

[Manitoba-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c "Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame & Museum". Halloffame.mb.ca. May 24, 1912. Archived from the original on October 31, 2013. Retrieved April 9, 2013.

[Connaught-2] "The Challenge Trophy" Archived December 24, 2007, at archive.today

[national-3] "National Challenge Trophy" Archived July 5, 2009, at the Wayback Machine

[4] "Canadian Championship Soccer History". SoccerStats.us. Retrieved April 9, 2013.

[5] Newfoundland and Labrador Soccer Association (Development) Archived October 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine

[6] "Winnipeg Scottish". Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on October 22, 2007. Retrieved May 6, 2009.

[7] "Westminster Royals - 1928". thesoccerhalloffame.ca. Archived from the original on July 11, 2009. Retrieved May 6, 2009.

[thesoccerhalloffame1933-8] Jump up to: ^a ^b "Toronto Scottish - 1933". thesoccerhalloffame.ca. Archived from the original on July 12, 2009. Retrieved May 6, 2009.

[9] Archie MacDonald (April 23, 1987). "Odd assortment for Hall of Fame". The Vancouver Sun. Canadian Newsstream by ProQuest.

[10] "Carsteel Captures Dominion Soccer Championship". The Montreal Gazette. August 12, 1948. Retrieved September 24, 2014.

[11] "Vancouver beats Hamilton 4–0 in Opening Soccer Final". The Calgary Herald. August 8, 1949. Retrieved September 24, 2014.

[12] "Hamilton Wins, Evens Series for Dominion Soccer Title". The Calgary Herald. August 9, 1949. Retrieved September 24, 2014.

[13] "Experience Spells Difference As Vancouver Wins Crown". The Calgary Herald. August 11, 1949. Retrieved June 11, 2011.

[14] "Vancouver City Moves into Dominion Soccer Finals". Edmonton Journal. August 8, 1950. Retrieved June 11, 2011.

[15] "1954 A.N.A.F. Scottish Soccer Team". Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on September 8, 2009. Retrieved May 6, 2009.

[16] "Vancouver wins soccer final". The Leader-Post. October 6, 1971. Retrieved June 17, 2011.

[17] "Leafs seek dominion title". The Windsor Star. October 2, 1971. Retrieved June 17, 2011.

[18] Short, Robin (May 16, 2009). "No.2 1988 Holy Cross Challenge Cup Champions". The Telegram. Archived from the original on October 28, 2018. Retrieved May 24, 2009.

[19] "National Challenge Cup Soccer Tournament". Retrieved July 8, 2008.

[20] "The Red & Black Newsletter" (PDF). Halifax Dunbrack Soccer Club. June 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 6, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2009.

[21] Palov, Willy (June 4, 2012). "Giles, Murray, Horsman head N.S. Hall class". The Chronicle Herald. Retrieved June 5, 2012.

[22] Browne, John (October 15, 2002). "Golden goal leaves Laurentians Silver" (PDF). The Telegram. Retrieved July 8, 2008.

[23] Dunphy, Gord. "Nationals Review". Retrieved July 21, 2008.

[24] "2004 National Club Championships Start Tomorrow". Archived from the original on May 27, 2011. Retrieved August 22, 2008.

[halifax-25] "Canadian National Challenge Cup 2007". Cdnseniorclub2007.com. September 18, 2012. Archived from the original on May 27, 2013. Retrieved April 9, 2013.

[26] "CSA 2008 Challenge Cup". Archived from the original on May 23, 2008. Retrieved October 14, 2008.

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