Canada men’s national soccer team (CanMNT)
FIFA RANKING: 70
GOVERNING BODY:-
Canadian Soccer Association
HOME STADIUM:-
BMO Field, Toronto
COACH:-
John Herdman
CAPTAIN:-
Atiba Hutchinson
MOST CAPPED PLAYER:-
Julian de Guzman (89 appearances)
TOP SCORER:-
Dwayne De Rosario (22 goals)
STAR PLAYERS:-
Alphonso Davies, Jonathan David
NICKNAMES:-
The Canucks, Les Rouges (The Reds)
RIVALS:-
USA
Honduras
WORLD CUP:-
Appearances: 1
Best Result: Group stage (1986)
CONCACAF:-
Appearances: 17
Best Result: Champions (1985, 2000)
The Canada men’s national soccer team represents Canada in men’s international soccer competitions at the senior men’s level officially since 1924.
They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association and compete in the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF).
Their most significant achievements are winning the 1985 CONCACAF Championship to qualify for the 1986 FIFA World Cup and winning the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup to qualify for the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup.
Canada is the only national team to win a Gold Cup aside from regional powerhouses Mexico and the United States. Canada also won a gold medal in the 1904 Summer Olympics.
The 1986 World Cup was their only successful qualification campaign in their history. Canada will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup along with Mexico and the United States.
Soccer in Canada
Soccer in Canada is the most popular sport in terms of the participation rate.
Professional soccer in Canada is played in Major League Soccer, the Canadian Premier League and the United Soccer League.
Canada also has many semi-professional and amateur soccer leagues.
Canadian soccer league system
The Canadian soccer league system, also called the Canadian soccer pyramid, is a term used in soccer to describe the structure of the league system in Canada.
The governing body of soccer in the country is the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA), which oversees the system and domestic cups (including the Canadian Championship) but does not operate any of its component leagues.
For practical purposes, Canadian teams are often members of leagues that are based primarily in the United States.
Structure
As of 2020, the Canadian league system consists of several unconnected leagues and does not include promotion and relegation.
The Canadian Premier League is the top division of soccer in Canada and is the only fully professional league in the system.
There are currently no Division 2 clubs in Canada.
Division 3 soccer competitions in Canada are regionally-based due to its large geography and dispersed pockets of population.
There are two Division 3 Canadian-based semi-professional leagues, League1 Ontario (L1O) and the Première Ligue de soccer du Québec (PLSQ), based in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec respectively.
Canadian Division 1 clubs – as well as selected Division 3 clubs – compete in the Canadian Championship for the Voyageurs Cup, which is the country’s national championship trophy for professional teams.
The winner of the Canadian Championship earns the right to play in the CONCACAF Champions League.
There are 12 provincial or territorial soccer associations in Canada with a number of leagues organized as amateur competitions at adult and/or youth levels.
Typically, there is promotion and relegation plus league and cup competitions in each provincial region culminating in the national Challenge Trophy.