- Canadian National Challenge Cup
Infobox football tournament
title = Canadian National Challenge Cup
current = 2008
founded = 1912
region = flagicon|CanadaCanada (CONCACAF )
number of teams =
current champions =Calgary Callies
most successful club =Westminster Royals (8 times)
broadcasters =
motto =The Canadian National Challenge Cup, known as the Connaught Cup until 1926 and the Hyundai Cup since 2007, is a national amateur
football (soccer) cup inCanada contested by the champions of individual provincial soccer competitions. It is one of the oldest football competitions in Canada, being held since 1913. It is run by theCanadian Soccer Association .History
donated a new trophy to replace it as the national championship named the Challenge Trophy. [http://www.canadian-soccer.com/forum/topic.asp?topic_id=6995 "The Challenge Trophy"] ]
The inaugual 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. [http://www.thesoccerhalloffame.ca/OSN.nsf/1422de1221eb9886852568170050f4f6/de33d85c9cead5d4852570d7005423a1?OpenDocument "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, (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 The Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum in
Vaughan, 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 .Qualifying competitions and paticipants
Provincial championships determine the teams competing in the Canadian National Challenge Cup:
*Hosts
*Alberta :Alberta Major Soccer League
*British Columbia : B.C. Provincial Championship
*Ontario :Ontario Cup
*Manitoba : Manitoba Provincial Championship
*Newfoundland & Labrador : Molson Challenge Cup [ [http://www.nlsa.ca/default.php?display=cid114 Newfoundland and Labrador Soccer Association (Development) ] ]
*Nova Scotia :Nova Scotia Soccer League Past winners
ee also
*
Soccer in Canada
*History of the Canadian Soccer Association
*list of soccer clubs in Canada References
* [http://www.canadasoccer.com/eng/docs/CCCReport.pdf Canadian Club Champions Report]
* [http://www.rsssf.com/usadave/cncc1320.html Canadian National Challenge Cup 1913-1920]
* [http://www.culture.ca/explore-explorez-e/Recreation/Sports/All-Sports/Soccer Soccer @ Culture.ca]
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