The Alberta Major Soccer League (AMSL) is the highest level of amateur soccer in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

. It is roughly level 4 on the

Canadian soccer pyramid The Canadian soccer league system, also called 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), w ...

although levels below 3 are not formally designated by the

Canadian Soccer Association The Canadian Soccer Association (Canada 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 ...

. The champions of the League Cup, renamed the Mike Traficante Challenge Cup in 2008, go on to compete in the national senior men's and women's championships.

Overview

Founded in 1991, the AMSL consists of two divisions, the Men's Division of eight teams and the Women's Division of eight (the Women's Division was added in 1992). Every year since the league's founding, the champions of the league have gone on to compete for the

Canadian National Challenge Cup 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. ...

(men) and the Jubilee Shield (women). The AMSL is operated by the Alberta Soccer Association (ASA), the provincial governing body for

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

. This has been at times a problematic arrangement, but it has stood up for the time that the league has been in existence. The various district associations in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city an ...

Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian Rocky Mountains contribute to t ...

and

Red Deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of ...

fulfill some of the administrative functions that would normally be handled by such a league, and this has led to rules being interpreted differently for different teams in the same league. Districts other than Edmonton and Calgary can use their entire men's or woman's league program as "reserve teams". Calgary and Edmonton clubs are expected to field reserve teams in the local tier 1 senior leagues. The teams to be entered into the AMSL for the following season shall be based on previous season league results and relegation-promotion games, unless accepted as an expansion team. Teams wishing to withdraw or enter the league must notify the ASA in writing before November 15 of each year and attend the fall planning meeting on the last weekend in November.

Challenge Cup & Jubilee Shield

This competition determines the Provincial Champions and traditionally has the top 6 teams from the AMSL Standings competing. There are non-AMSL members who can challenge but this is rare, it designates the Alberta Provincial Champion and

representative. With 4 of the most populous of the 18 districts having teams in the AMSL; however, the majority of the soccer players in the province are represented.

Teams

Men's division

Calgary Callies The Calgary Caledonian Football Club, better known as the Calgary Callies, is a Canadian soccer club which currently plays in the Alberta Major Soccer League. History This club was founded on April 26, 1904. Over the years they have become a do ...

* Calgary Dinosaurs * Calgary Villains Elite FC * Cavalry FC U20 * Edmonton Drillers * Edmonton Green & Gold *

Edmonton Scottish The Edmonton Scottish Soccer Club, better known as Edmonton Scottish, is a Canadian semi-professional Soccer in Canada, soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta. Competing continuously in the Alberta Major Soccer League (AMSL) since 1992, the cl ...

* FC Edmonton U20 * Lethbridge FC * St. Albert Impact

Women's division

* Calgary Blizzard SC *

Calgary Foothills WFC Calgary Foothills WFC is a Canadian soccer club based in Calgary, Alberta that currently plays in United Women's Soccer. The club was founded as a youth club in 1972 and in 2017 as a UWS franchise. The team is the women's team of Calgary Footh ...

* Edmonton Green & Gold * Edmonton Northwest United * Edmonton Scottish Angels * Edmonton Drillers * Lethbridge FC

Year-by-year

Sources: Note: In 1999 and 2000 the

played as Calgary Celtic SFC.

Men's Titles

Women's Titles

Clubs

There have been a number of changes with the Alberta Soccer Association and also to the AMSL in 2011. With the addition of

FC Edmonton FC Edmonton was a Canadian professional soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club was founded in 2010 and competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 2011 to 2017. The club went on hiatus when NASL ceased competitive operat ...

to the Alberta soccer system their reserve team will be playing an exhibition schedule with 7 of the 8 AMSL teams. The Calgary Dinosaurs and Edmonton Green and Gold are affiliated with the summer CIS soccer programs for the University of Calgary and University of Alberta respectively. A number of alumni typically play on these teams as well. Clubs that have competed in the Alberta Major Soccer League Source and

References

External links

Official websiteOfficial Site2009 Results2010 Results
{{Soccer in Canada Soccer in Alberta Canadian National Challenge Cup Soccer leagues in Canada Sports leagues established in 1991 1991 establishments in Alberta