The 1971 National Soccer League season was the forty-eighth season under the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its ...

(NSL) name. The season began in early May and concluded in October with the Canadian Open Cup final where Toronto Croatia defeated

Challenge Trophy The Challenge Trophy () is the trophy presented to Canada's men's amateur soccer champions as part of Canada Soccer's annual National Championships. The men's competition was created with the inauguration of the Dominion of Canada Football As ...

champions Vancouver Eintracht. The Croatians would secure a treble by successfully defending their regular-season title, and defeating Toronto First Portuguese for the NSL Championship. The NSL Cup was successfully defended by Toronto First Portuguese who defeated Sudbury City. The Canadian Open Cup was created by the NSL to determine a national champion through an annual knock-out cup competition where all professional and amateur Canadian clubs were invited to participate.

Overview

The

became centered once more within the boundaries of

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

after the departure of Soccer Portugais du Quebec of Montreal. The city of Hamilton also witnessed a reduction in team representation as Hamilton Homer requested a leave of absence. Despite the departures the region of

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on p ...

was added to the circuit once again as Sudbury Italia returned under the name Sudbury City. The league expanded into the Niagara region for the first time as St. Catharines Heidelberg was granted a franchise. Heidelberg previously competed in the Inter-City Soccer League. Ottawa Sons of Italy began a process of Canadianizing their organization by renaming the team Ottawa Tigers. The NSL experienced competition from the American-based

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

as it expanded into Ontario with the creation of the Toronto Metros. The league's match attendance continued to surge and surpassed the previous season's gate earnings at Stanley Park Stadium. The Toronto-based teams averaged around 1100 fans at Stanley Park. The league ownership also approved the creation of an under-23 division.

Teams

Coaching changes

Standings

Playoffs

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

Cup

The cup tournament was a separate contest from the rest of the season, in which all fourteen teams took part. The tournament would conclude in a final match for the Cup.

Semifinals

Finals

Canadian Open Cup

The Canadian Open Cup was a tournament organized by the

in 1971 where the NSL champion would face the

winners to determine the best team throughout the country. The tournament intended to form an annual knock-out cup competition open to all Canadian professional and amateur clubs to determine a national champion. The championship was initially sponsored by the Macdonald Tobacco Company and was named the Export Trophy. Toronto Croatia as the NSL champions was selected as the league's representative while their opponents were Vancouver Eintracht of the Pacific Coast Soccer League, who were the Challenge Trophy titleholders.

Individual awards

The NSL awards were given to recipients from St. Catharines Heidelberg, Sudbury City, and Toronto Croatia. The most gentlemanly team award was given to St. Catharines, and league official John Parfect received the most dedicated official award. Željko Bilecki of Toronto Croatia was named the goalkeeper of the year, and would later represent the Canada national team and play in the

. The league's top goal scorer was Sudbury's Ferruccio Deni, and he later returned to the NSL to play with the Sudbury Cyclones. The final award went to Hugh Morrow as the top referee throughout the season.

References

External links

RSSSF CNSL pagethecnsl.com - 1971 season
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Soccer League 1971 Season 1971–72 domestic association football leagues

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...