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34-654: The Kickers' genesis was a team formed in 1953 and represented Alberta inter-provincially several times including winning the 1974 Challenge Trophy and held exhibition matches against professional sides such as Edmonton Drillers . The Kickers joined the Canadian Soccer League as one of the inaugural franchises for the 1987 season. Prior to the 1987 season, the Kickers had sold more than 2,000 season tickets. They opened their first preseason against English club Sheffield Wednesday . They were sometimes known as

68-485: A Host City is selected, the hosts set up a Local Organizing Committee that stages the competition. Canada Soccer remains the "rights holder and has the overall responsibility for these events." 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

102-534: A lot of controversy. In June 1931 a national representative team from England played in Vancouver and some of the Royals players were selected to represent Vancouver. Some of them refused to play, saying they were tired as a result of playing so many games. Those players were suspended by the B.C. Football Association, thus weakening the Royals heading into the national championships. But replacements were found and

136-519: A new team called New Westminster Royal City FC were admitted to the league with former Royals coach Cecil Goodheart as president. In 1963-64, the Royals rejoined the Pacific Coast Soccer League. In 1967-68, the team was renamed Westminster Labatt’s; in 1969-70, they were renamed Westminster Blues. In 1972-73, they won their ninth Challenge Trophy as national champions. Westminster Royals FC's season-by-season post-War record in

170-663: A round-robin format in 1913 and 1914, then featured a knockout format with a two-leg Final from 1915 to 1927. From there, the Final featured a best-of-three format from 1928 to 1955 and a single-match format from 1956 to present. More than 20 clubs have won the National Championships men's competition two or more times. Westminster Royals FC are the most successful club with nine Challenge Trophy titles to their credit (1928, 1930, 1931, 1936, 1953, 1955, 1958, 1960, 1973). Since 1963, only amateur clubs have participated in

204-463: A third game. This time Westminster made no mistake winning by 6 goals to one. That game was played on Wednesday August 1, 1928. Just seven weeks later the Royals opened the 1928–1929 season against another New Westminster club, Sapperton and played through the regular season without losing a game. In the qualifying competition for the national championship the defending champions defeated B.C. telephone, then St. Andrews before being beaten 1-3 and 3-5 by

238-607: Is presented the Challenge Trophy, although the trophy remains in Canada Soccer's possession. Since 1973, Canada Soccer's annual amateur championship has featured one venue for the final week of matches. Source: Westminster Royals The Westminster Royals (also Westminster United or New Westminster Royals FC) were a Canadian soccer club based in New Westminster , British Columbia . It has

272-574: The Canadian Championship . As outlined in the tournament regulations, "Provincial and Territorial Associations must advise Canada Soccer of its qualified teams" for the National Championships. The top-three teams at the National Championships Challenge Trophy competition are presented medals while the remaining teams are presented participation banners. Along with their medals, the winning team

306-635: The English FA donated a new trophy to replace it as the national championship named 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 . 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

340-528: The Metro Ford Kickers or Calgary Metro Ford Kickers , after the name of their team sponsor. During the league's first season, Calgary finished with an 11–5–4 record to finish first in their division and the league, earning a bye in the first round of the playoffs. In the playoffs, they defeated the Vancouver 86ers 4–3 in extra time, advancing to the finals where they defeated Hamilton to win

374-548: The Pacific Coast League in 1948–49. From their first of two dynasties, they became the first Canadian team to win the Challenge Trophy four times (1928, 1930, 1931, 1936). The Royals first attracted national attention in the 1927–1928 season when they won the Dominion of Canada Football Championship with a team considered to be one of the finest of its time. After winning the qualifying competition in B.C.

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408-564: The 1989 season. The club managed to finish the season, although they had stopped paying their players and remaining staff in August. By September, injuries and player availability due to the financial situation affected the team's results especially the final away game in which only twelve players traveled to the match. The team managed to finish third in the West Division, qualifying for the playoffs, where they were defeated by Edmonton in

442-517: The Kickers succumbed to their financial problems. In 1989, a new community owned team named the Calgary Strikers was founded to replace the Kickers. However, the team did not fare much better than their predecessors, playing to crowds of under a thousand people, and in July made a public appeal for 700 supporters to each contribute $ 200 to keep the club afloat financially, in order to complete

476-448: The National Championships. Since 1999, anywhere from eight to 12 clubs have competed in the final week of the competition. While there have sometimes been Quarterfinals and/or Semifinals since 1985, the National Championships format for the final week has generally started with the group phase and ended with the final ranking/standings day which includes a single-match Final for Gold Medals and the Challenge Trophy. Canadian communities have

510-481: The Royals faded from the national picture until 1936. Then, with the final being played in Vancouver, they defeated United Weston from Winnipeg 6–1 in the first game, but oddly enough lost the second for the third time 2–1, before going on to win the trophy in the third game 3–0. Towards the end of the 1930s soccer in B.C. was in turmoil and the Royals faded from the scene in September 1938, only to be resurrected at

544-507: The Royals went on to defeat the Alberta champions Edmonton Canadian Legion 4-0 and 9–6, before heading east to Winnipeg where they beat the local club Westbrook 7-1 and 2–0 in the western final to advance to the national final played at Carruthers Park. The opposition from the east was Montreal CNR and the Royals won a close game 3-2 and were expected to clinch the title in the second game but were upset by two goals to one, with Montreal forcing

578-541: The St. Saviours club of Vancouver and eliminated. But the Royals didn't slip up in the 1929–30 season, reaching the national final for the second time, where the final was a repeat of the 1928 final with the team beating Montreal CNR 1–0 in the first game, losing the second 5-0 and winning the third 1–0. This while the Royals might have won the championship by two games to one, they lost on an aggregate score by 2 goals to five. A third national championship followed, but not before

612-563: The WSA standings, even though Calgary was not a member of that league, but not counting towards the CSL standings. The team went through tremendous financial difficulty during the season, which included them trading 1987 league MVP Nick Gilbert to the Toronto Blizzard in exchange for a draft pick and cash. Following the 1988 season the team folded and the players were dispersed via a draft, as

646-674: The championship of the B.C. Lower Mainland. In 1961, the Royals lost to a Mexican Select team 3–0 in the first Pacific international soccer tournament in Los Angeles. In 1962–63, both New Westminster Royals FC and Vancouver St. Andrews FC pulled out of the Pacific Coast League after the BC Commission ordered the promotion of Vancouver Pilsener's FC to the league. While St. Andrews had already played one match, New Westminster had not played any matches. A month later,

680-480: The competition, with notably Montréal Concordia FC the last professional side to win the Challenge Trophy back in 1961. As Canada Soccer's premier amateur competition, only Canadian citizens, permanent residents or protected persons may compete in the National Championships. Only amateur players (including reinstated amateurs) may compete in the competition and they must be assigned to their respective clubs by 31 August of that year (or an earlier date if stipulated by

714-535: The competition. Only the second defeat in nine finals followed with a loss to the professional Montreal Alouettes in 1959, before the Royals win the national championship in 1960 with a 4–0 defeat of Toronto Golden Mile. Captain Buster Cairns became the first footballer to win the Challenge Trophy five times, once with Vancouver City FC (1950) and four times with Westminster Royals FC (1953, 1955, 1958, 1960). In 1961 Westminster Royals represented Canada in

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748-694: 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

782-534: The distinction of winning Canada Soccer's The Challenge Trophy nine times, setting the existing record for most domestic cup championships by a team in Canada. Originally known as Westminster United in 1912, they were Canada's dominant team for close to a decade from when they were known as the Westminster Royals in the 1920s and 1930s. They were later known as New Westminster Royals FC when they rejoined

816-491: The final until 1952, only to lose in three games to Montreal Stelco. But the beautiful F.A. Trophy awarded to the national champions was back on the shelf in 1953 following a win over Montreal Hakoah. Three more national championships followed in 1955, 1956 and 1958 with wins over Montreal Ukraina, Winnipeg Germania and Winnipeg Scottish. when the team was awarded the Carling Cup, as a result of Carling Breweries sponsoring

850-675: The first John F. Kennedy Cup competition for the nations of the west coast of North America. In the first game they beat the San Francisco All-Stars 3–0, but lost 3–0 to the Mexican Selects in the final. The games were played in Los Angeles. Throughout most of these years the Royals played in the Pacific Coast League, but also competed for the Province Cup, the championship of B.C. and the Mainland Cup ,

884-532: The first round. Following the season, the club folded, despite a private individual who was rumored to be interested in operating the team in 1990 and who had fronted money for the community-owned team to be able to travel for the playoffs. as Calgary Kickers as Calgary Strikers The Challenge Trophy The Challenge Trophy ( French : Trophée Challenge ) 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

918-565: The inaugural Mita Cup title. Nick Gilbert of the Kickers was the league's leading goal scorer and was named league Most Valuable Player. The Kickers' second season was less successful, falling to a 6–6–13 record, finishing third in the West division. In the first round of the playoffs, Calgary was defeated by the Winnipeg Fury . In 1988, Calgary also played each of the U.S. based Western Soccer Alliance teams, with these games counting in

952-531: The opportunity to bid on hosting the National Championships. As explained by Canada Soccer, "events will be organized and executed by Canada Soccer in collaboration with the Local Organizing Committee." Bidders are evaluated across nine different categories: Background; Support and partnerships; Facilities; Competition; Finance; Communication, hosting services & activities; Operation Organization; Legacy; and Overall Bid Presentation. Once

986-498: The province or territory). Since 1973, the Challenge Trophy competition has featured a host venue for the final weekend or final week of matches. Regional interprovincial playoffs (before the final matches) continued up until 1998 after which clubs from all Canadian provinces and territories have been eligible to qualify directly into the final week of the competition. Each year, Canada Soccer's provincial and territorial soccer associations determine how clubs from their region qualify for

1020-465: The start of the 1948 season. An era ended in 1938 and a new one began 10 years later. Captain Dave Turner became the first footballer to win the Challenge Trophy four times with the same team. The new Westminster Royals, like the old had many great players and went on to add four more national championships to the name of B.C.s Royal city. Success was not immediate and the Royals did not reach

1054-468: The team, now known locally as the Royals Remnants, once again reached the final. As it turned out the remnants of the Royals won comfortably beating Toronto Scottish 2-0 and 3–0. Dickie Stobbart , who won two titles with Nanaimo City (1923, 1927) and two titles with Westminster Royals (1928, 1931), became the first footballer to win the Challenge Trophy four times. Following the 1931 triumph

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1088-835: 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,

1122-559: Was created with the inauguration of the Dominion of Canada Football Association in 1912 and the first club winners were presented the Connaught Cup in 1913. The first Challenge Trophy, donated by The Football Association , was presented to the Dominion of Canada Football Championship winners for the first time in 1926 (although at the time the competition was still known as the Connaught Series). The new Challenge Trophy

1156-484: Was presented to the men's amateur champions for the first time in 2004. As part of the same National Championships, the Jubilee Trophy is presented annually to the women's amateur soccer champions. The Jubilee Trophy was first presented in 1982. Other amateur divisions in the National Championships are: Boys U-17 Cup; Girls U-17 Cup; Boys U-15 Cup; Girls U-15 Cup. The National Championships initially featured

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