Open Canada Cup

Not to be confused with Canadian Open or Canada Cup (disambiguation).

Open Canada Cup
Founded1998
Abolished2007
RegionCanada
Most successful club(s)Toronto Olympians (3 titles)

The Open Canada Cup was an annual knock-out cup competition in Canadian Soccer. The competition was first held during the 1998 season as the CPSL League Cup. It was organized by the Canadian Soccer League (formerly the Canadian Professional Soccer League) originally as a League Cup for CSL member clubs.[1] After operating the competition for several seasons as an exclusive tournament, the league's ownership decided in 2003 to grant accessibility to all Canadian professional and amateur clubs.[2] The decision was influenced by the lack of initiative by the Canadian Soccer Association in providing a potential candidate for the CONCACAF Champions' Cup.[3]

Further reforms consisted of title sponsorship with the Government of Canada and the inclusion of a financial reward for the overall champion.[4][5] Subsequently, the tournament managed to attract several notable amateurs, and professional clubs with credentials from the USL First Division, Canadian National Challenge Cup, Ligue de Soccer Elite Quebec, and the Ontario Cup. In 2007, the competition reached its zenith as it expanded westward to include clubs from British Columbia with the inclusion of the champion of the British Columbia Provincial Soccer Championship.[6] In 2008, the prize money was increased, but after the creation of the Canadian Championship, the competition was disbanded. Since the establishment of the Canadian Championship, CSL teams have not participated in the tournament which determines the Canadian entry into the CONCACAF Champions League.

Canadian Soccer League teams dominated the competition throughout its history; the only non-CSL champion was Ottawa St. Anthony Italia in the 2006.[7] Toronto Olympians were the most successful club, winning three titles. David Gee is the most successful head coach in the history of the competition, having won three titles as head coach of Toronto Olympians.

  1. ^ Bailey, David (April 24, 1998). "Italia Out Let's Get On With It - CPSL moves closer to kickoff". Canada Kicks.
  2. ^ "Toronto City Hall Site for launch of 2003 CPSL Season". May 12, 2003. Archived from the original on July 19, 2003. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "CPSL - Canadian Professional Soccer League". August 19, 2003. Archived from the original on August 19, 2003. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  5. ^ "CPSL - Canadian Professional Soccer League". July 19, 2003. Archived from the original on July 19, 2003. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cleary, Martin (September 30, 2006). "Double-Digit Soccer Scores". Newspapers.com. The Ottawa Citizen. p. 28. Retrieved June 24, 2020.