The Challenge Trophy (french: Trophée Challenge) is a national amateur
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 ...
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.
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
The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...
donated a new trophy to replace it as the national championship named the Challenge Trophy.
["The Challenge Trophy"]
The inaugural competition in 1913 and the 1914 edition both featured four teams in a league format; both were won by Manitoba side
Norwood Wanderers. 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.
["National Challenge Trophy"]
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.[
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
The Canadian Championship (french: Championnat canadien) 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. It is contest ...
.
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: Saskatchewan Open Cup winners
* Manitoba: Manitoba Cup winners
* Ontario: Ontario Cup winners
* Quebec: LSEQ winners
* New Brunswick: Winner by acclamation
* Prince Edward Island: Winner by acclamation
* Nova Scotia: Nova Scotia Cup winners
* Newfoundland and Labrador: Newfoundland and Labrador Challenge Cup
The Newfoundland and Labrador Challenge Cup, known as the Johnson Insurance Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the premier senior men's soccer league in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The competition is held annually f ...
Newfoundland and Labrador Soccer Association (Development)
winners
* Yukon: Winner by acclamation
*Northwest Territories: Winner by acclamation
Winners
Titles
By provincial association
By club
See also
*Soccer in Canada
In Canada, 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 ob ...
* History of the Canadian Soccer Association
*List of soccer clubs in Canada
This is a list of current soccer clubs in Canada. The Canadian soccer system consists of several unconnected leagues and it does not have promotion and relegation. Leagues in the Canadian system are classified as either professional, pro-am, or ...
References
General
Canada Soccer Past WinnersThe Connaught SeriesCanada Soccer Records & Results
More
{{Soccer in Canada
Soccer cup competitions in Canada
1912 establishments in Canada
Recurring sporting events established in 1912