| CONCACAF | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Short name | CSA |
| Founded | May 1912; 113 years ago (1912-05) |
| Headquarters | 237Metcalfe Street Ottawa,Ontario |
| FIFA affiliation | 1912–1926; 1948–present |
| CONCACAF affiliation | September 18, 1961 (original member)[1] |
| President | Peter Augruso |
| General Secretary | Kevin Blue |
| Website | www |
TheCanadian Soccer Association (French:Association canadienne de soccer; branded asCanada Soccer) is thegoverning body forsoccer inCanada. Headquartered inOttawa, Ontario, the federation is a full member ofFIFA and governs Canadian soccer at the international, professional, and amateur levels, including: themen's andwomen's national teams, youth organizations,beach soccer,futsal,Paralympic and deaf national teams. The Canadian Soccer Association also administers and operates theCanadian Premier League, theCanadian Championship, and theFutsal Canadian Championship.
TheDominion of Canada Football Association, today known as the Canadian Soccer Association, was founded inWinnipeg, Manitoba, in July 1912.[2][3] The organization joinedFIFA on December 31, 1912. On June 21, 1926, the DCFA resigned from FIFA, only to rejoin on June 20, 1948. The governing body of the game retained that name until it was changed to TheFootball Association of Canada on June 6, 1952. The association later changed its name to theCanadian Soccer Football Association in 1958 and then at last to the Canadian Soccer Association in 1971.
Canada Soccer has hosted several global soccer tournaments, including the1976 Olympic football tournament, the2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, and will co-host the2026 FIFA World Cup along with Mexico and United States. The association has also hosted theFIFA U-20 World Cup (2007), theFIFA U-16 World Championship (1987), and theFIFA U-20 Women's World Cup (2002,2014).
Canada Soccer is anon-profit organization governed by a board of directors consisting of 14 directors: a President, Vice President, six elected directors, and six appointed or independent directors.[4][5] Each of the six elected directors is elected from one of six geographic regions. The board must include at least three men and three women.
Canada Soccer is administered by the General Secretariat. The general secretary is the chief executive of Soccer Canada, and is appointed by the board of directors.[4]
Canada Soccer is a member of the worldwide soccer bodyFIFA and the North American soccer bodyCONCACAF and also has a relationship with theInternational Olympic Committee.
Canada Soccer's objectives, as described in its by-laws, are to:[4]
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The Canada men's national soccer team representsCanada in internationalsoccer competitions at the senior men's level. Their most significant achievements are winning the1985 CONCACAF Championship to qualify for the1986 FIFA World Cup, winning the2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup to qualify for the2001 FIFA Confederations Cup and qualifying for the2022 FIFA World Cup. A Canadian club team also won a gold medal in the1904 Summer Olympics.
The men's national soccer team have played at theFIFA World Cup on two occasions, in1986, and2022. They have yet to make it through to the knockout stages. By qualifying for the2022 FIFA World Cup, Canada ended a 36-year drought. Canada with Mexico and the United States will jointly host the2026 FIFA World Cup in the first 48-team event.
Canada have played at theCONCACAF Gold Cup on eighteen occasions, most recently in2021. They co-hosted the tournament in2015, where they finished 4th in their group, and did not advance to the knockout stage.
The Canada women's national soccer team represents Canada in internationalwomen's soccer competitions at the senior women's level. Its most significant achievements are winning the1998 CONCACAF Women's Championship to qualify for the1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, and winning the2010 CONCACAF Women's World Cup Qualifying to qualify for the2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. The Canadian team also won a gold medal in the2020 Summer Olympics.
The women's national soccer team has played at theFIFA Women's World Cup on eight occasions (missing only the inaugural 1991 edition), most recently in2023. The team reached international prominence at the2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, losing in the third place match to theUnited States. Canada hosted the2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, and reached the quarterfinals.
The team has played at theCONCACAF W Championship on ten occasions, most recently in2022. It hosted the tournament in1994 and1998.
Canada has played at theSummer Olympics on four occasions, most recently at the2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where they were crowned champions for the very first time.
The men's youth team most significant achievements are winning the1986 CONCACAF U-20 Tournament to qualify for the1987 FIFA World Youth Championship, and winning the1996 CONCACAF U-20 Tournament to qualify for the1997 FIFA World Youth Championship.
The women's youth team most significant achievements are winning the 2004 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, winning the2008 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship to qualify for the2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, and winning the2010 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship to qualify for the2010 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.
Canada Soccer Association oversees and promotes the development of many youth national teams:
Despite a long history of professional soccer in the country, Canada have struggled to build and sustain domestic soccer leagues. They have gone through many different iterations, finally landing on the Canadian Premier League that was founded in 2019.
TheCanadian Premier League (CPL) is the top division of soccer in Canada. It is the only fully professional, and only fully national league in the system. Founded in 2019, the CPL is composed of eight teams and is sanctioned by the CSA. There are also three Canadian teams which play inMajor League Soccer, the first-division league sanctioned by theUnited States Soccer Federation, reflecting a longstanding practice of major Canadian sports franchises competing in American leagues.
CSA does not have a sanctioned second-division men's soccer league; however, they do have a third-division sanctioned league:League1 Canada which was founded in 2022. League1 Canada is contested by clubs from four divisions; these areLigue1 Québec,League1 Ontario,League1 British Columbia, andLeague1 Alberta for both the men's and women's divisions. In 2022,Toronto FC II andWhitecaps FC 2 began play inMLS Next Pro, a USSF-sanctioned third-division league.
At the professional level, Canada'sdomestic cup is theCanadian Championship. Founded in 2008, the Canadian Championship is an annual tournament contested by Canadian professional teams and the champions of each League1 Canada division. The winner is awarded theVoyageurs Cup and a berth in theCONCACAF Champions Cup.[6] Canada's best performance in the CONCACAF Champions Cup came in the 2014–15 competition, when Montreal Impact reached the finals.[7]Toronto FC also reached the final in2018 where they fell in penalties toC.D. Guadalajara.[8]
TheNorthern Super League (NSL) is the top division soccer league in Canada.[9] The league began play in April 2025 and consists of six teams:Halifax Tides FC,AFC Toronto,Calgary Wild FC,Montreal Roses,Ottawa Rapid andVancouver Rise.
The CSA previously had an affiliation with the U.S.-basedNational Women's Soccer League (NWSL) where someCanada women's national soccer team players were assigned to NWSL clubs.[10] This affiliation ended after the2021 season when the allocation system was abolished,[11] although many Canadians continue to play in the American league.[12]
| League | Division | Federation | # of teams |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian Premier League | 1 | CSA | 8 men's |
| Major League Soccer | 1 | USSF | 3 men's |
| MLS Next Pro | 3 | USSF | 2 men's |
| Northern Super League | 1 | CSA | 6 women's |
| League | Division | Federation | # of men's teams | # of women's teams |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Women's Soccer | N/A | USSF | — | 1[13] |
| League1 Alberta | 3 | CSA | 7 | 7 |
| League1 British Columbia | 3 | CSA | 7 | 7 |
| League1 Ontario | 3 | CSA | 25 | 22 |
| Ligue1 Québec | 3 | CSA | 11 | 12 |
In July 2022, an independent review summarized in a 125-page report by McLaren Global Sport Solution, commissioned by Canada Soccer, concluded that Canada Soccer mishandledsexual harassment allegations in 2008 against then Canada U-20 women's soccer coach Bob Birarda, who was later found guilty of three counts ofsexual assault. It said Canada Soccer was "described by many as being dysfunctional and inefficient" in 2007 and 2008, and concluded among other things that "harassment was not a priority issue amongst the senior Canadian Soccer Association leadership team" at the time.[14]
In 2022, Canada Soccer's then newly appointed Secretary GeneralEarl Cochrane said: "We are going to be leaders in this safe sport – through policy, practice, programs."[15]
On July 22, 2024, New Zealand's women's soccer team made a startling report to French authorities, claiming a drone had been flying over their practice sessions inSaint-Étienne. French investigators quickly traced the drone to Joseph Lombardi, a staff member of Canada Soccer.
TheCanadian Olympic Committee (COC) confirmed that both Lombardi and assistant coach Jasmine Mander, had been sent home. In response, Canadian head coachBeverly Priestman issued a public statement clarifying that, while she hadn't "directed" the staffers responsible for the drone, she was stepping down from coaching the upcoming game. She also offered an apology to New Zealand, acknowledging that the actions didn't reflect the values her team stands for. Canada Soccer quickly launched an investigation into the matter, withFIFA soon announcing it would hold its own disciplinary hearings.[16]
Canada Soccer's CEO, Kevin Blue, spoke to reporters, suggesting that, based on initial findings, the drone incident might not have been an isolated one, but part of a "systemic culture." He added that Priestman would not be coaching the Canadian team at theParis Olympics.
Following their investigation, FIFA announced that Priestman, Lombardi, and Mander were all found responsible for "offensive behavior" and violations of fair play. As a result, the three were handed a one-year ban from all soccer-related activities, and Canada's national team was hit with a six-point penalty in the ongoing Olympics, making their already challenging route to the knockout stages even harder.[17]
| Role | Member | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| President | Peter Augruso | [18] |
| General Secretary | Kevin Blue | [19] |
| Vice-president | Paul-Claude Bérubé | [20] |
| Treasurer | Steve Reed | [21] |
| Member | Dale T. Briggs | [22] |
| Member | Kelly Brown | [22] |
| Member | Brian Burden | [22] |
| Member | Terri Mattucci | [22] |
| Member | Tony Delblond | [22] |
| Member | Stephanie J. Geosits | [22] |
| Member | Dominique Grégoire | [22] |
| Member | Orest Konowalchuk | [22] |
| Member | Brad Baker | [22] |
| Member | Davide Xausa | [22] |
| Member | Don Story | [22] |
| Member | Gayle Statton | [22] |
| No. | Name | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fred Barter | 1912 |
| 2 | Tom Watson | 1913 |
| 3 | Edward Bailey Fisher | 1914 |
| 4 | Hugh Craig Cambell | 1915–1919 |
| 5 | Tom Guthrie | 1919 |
| 6 | Dan McNeil | 1920–1921 |
| 7 | John Easton | 1922–1925 |
| 8 | John Russell | 1925–1931 |
| 9 | Tom Holland | 1931–1932 |
| 10 | Charles Smail | 1932–1934 |
| 11 | Len Peto | 1935–1938 |
| 12 | Tom Elliot | 1939–1940 |
| 13 | Fred Crumblehulme | 1946–1947 |
| 14 | Robert Walker | 1947 |
| 15 | Otis Todd | 1947–1949 |
| 16 | Charles Pinnell | 1949–1953 |
| 17 | Ernest Campbell | 1953 |
| 18 | Jock Hendry | 1954–1956 |
| 19 | Arthur Arnold | 1957 |
| 20 | Victor Hagen | 1958–1960 |
| 21 | Patrick Nolan | 1961–1962 |
| 22 | Dave Fryatt | 1963–1964 |
| 23 | Bill Simpson | 1965–1968 |
| 24 | Aubrey Sanford | 1969–1971 |
| 25 | John Barnes | 1972–1973 |
| 26 | Bill Stirling | 1973–1981 |
| 27 | Jim Fleming | 1982–1985 |
| 28 | Fred Stambrook | 1986–1991 |
| 29 | Terry Quinn | 1992–1997 |
| 30 | Andy Sharpe | 2001–2005 |
| 31 | Colin Linford | 2006–2007 |
| 32 | Dominic Maestracci | 2008–2012 |
| 33 | Victor Montagliani | 2012–2017 |
| 34 | Steve Reed | 2017–2020 |
| 35 | Nick Bontis | 2020–2023 |
| 36 | Charmaine Crooks | 2023–2024 |
| 37 | Peter Augruso[23] | 2024–present |
| Men's national teams | |||||||||
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| Men's outdoor leagues |
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| Women's outdoor leagues |
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| Indoor and futsal competitions | |||||||||
| Cup competitions |
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| Defunct Canadian leagues | |||||||||
| Defunct American leagues |
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| Related American leagues | |||||||||
| Defunct cup competitions | |||||||||
| Other | |||||||||
| Associations | |||||||||
Internationalassociation football | ||
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| World (FIFA) |  | |
| Asia (AFC) | ||
| Africa (CAF) | ||
| North America (CONCACAF) | ||
| South America (CONMEBOL) | ||
| Oceania (OFC) | ||
| Europe (UEFA) | ||
| Intercontinental |
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| Non-FIFA | ||
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