This is a list of current soccer clubs in Canada. The Canadian soccer system consists of several unconnected leagues and it does not have promotion and relegation. Leagues in the Canadian system are classified as either professional, pro-am, or amateur. The Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) is the governing body for the sport in Canada and directly sanctions leagues that operate in more than one province. [1] Leagues operating in a single province receive sanctioning from their provincial soccer association.
The following are clubs that compete in professional and semi-professional leagues in the United States as of 2023.
| Club | Home city | Stadium | Founded | Season joined | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major League Soccer | |||||
| CF Montréal [lower-alpha 1] | Montreal, Quebec | Saputo Stadium | 1993 [lower-alpha 2] | 2012 | |
| Toronto FC | Toronto, Ontario | BMO Field | 2005 | 2007 | |
| Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Vancouver, British Columbia | BC Place | 1974 [lower-alpha 3] | 2011 | |
| MLS Next Pro | |||||
| Toronto FC II | Toronto, Ontario | York Lions Stadium | 2014 | 2022 | |
| Whitecaps 2 | Burnaby, British Columbia | Swangard Stadium | 2014 | 2022 | |
| USL League Two | |||||
| FC Manitoba [lower-alpha 4] | Winnipeg, Manitoba | Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex | 2010 | 2011 | |
| Thunder Bay Chill | Thunder Bay, Ontario | Fort William Stadium | 2000 | 2000 | |
| United Premier Soccer League (Home games in the United States) | |||||
| FC Berlin | Kitchener, Ontario | Buffalo State University (Buffalo, New York) | 2017 | 2021 Fall | |
| Chantilly Forever | Hamilton, Ontario | D'Youville University (Buffalo, New York) | 2013 | 2022 Fall | |
| Club | Home city | Stadium | Finishing position last season | Season joined |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlético Ottawa | Ottawa, Ontario | TD Place Stadium | 6th | 2020 |
| Cavalry | Foothills County, Alberta | ATCO Field | 1st | 2019 |
| Forge | Hamilton, Ontario | Tim Hortons Field | 2nd | 2019 |
| HFX Wanderers | Halifax, Nova Scotia | Wanderers Grounds | 3rd | 2019 |
| Pacific | Langford, British Columbia | Starlight Stadium | 4th | 2019 |
| Valour | Winnipeg, Manitoba | IG Field | 8th | 2019 |
| Vancouver | Langley, British Columbia | Willoughby Community Park Stadium | 7th | 2023 |
| York United [lower-alpha 5] | Toronto, Ontario | York Lions Stadium | 5th | 2019 |
| Club | Home city | Stadium | Finishing position last season | Season joined |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altitude FC | North Vancouver | Kinsmen Field | 4th | 2022 |
| Harbourside FC | Nanaimo | Nanaimo District Secondary School | Debut season | 2023 |
| Nautsa’mawt FC [lower-alpha 6] | University Endowment Lands | Thunderbird Stadium | 1st | 2022 |
| Rivers FC | Kamloops | Hillside Stadium | 5th | 2022 |
| TSS Rovers | Burnaby | Swangard Stadium | 2nd | 2022 |
| Unity FC | Langley | Chase Office Field | 6th | 2022 |
| Victoria Highlanders | Victoria | Centennial Stadium | 7th | 2022 |
| Whitecaps Academy | University Endowment Lands | Ken Wood Field | 7th | 2022 |
| Club | Home city | Stadium | Finishing position last season | Season joined |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A.S. Blainville | Blainville | Parc Blainville | 3rd | 2012 |
| Celtix du Haut-Richelieu | Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu | Stade Alphonse-Desjardins | 10th | 2020 |
| Lanaudière-Nord | Joliette | André-Courcelles Stadium | 11th | 2022 [lower-alpha 9] |
| AS Laval [lower-alpha 10] | Laval | Centre Sportif Bois-de-Boulogne | 9th | 2019 |
| FC Laval [lower-alpha 11] | Laval | Parc Cartier | 1st | 2018 |
| CS Longueuil | Longueuil | Centre Multi-Sport | 5th | 2014 |
| CF Montréal U23 | Montreal | CF Montréal Training Grounds | 6th | 2022 |
| Mont-Royal Outremont | Mount Royal | Parc Recreatif de TMR | 4th | 2013 |
| Ottawa South United | Ottawa, Ontario | Quinn's Point | 12th | 2020 |
| Royal-Sélect de Beauport | Quebec | Centre Sportif Marc-Simoneau | 8th | 2021 |
| CS Saint-Laurent | Saint-Laurent | Vanier College | 2nd | 2022 |
| CS St-Hubert | Saint-Hubert | Centre Sportif Roseanne-Laflamme | 7th | 2017 |
The Canadian Soccer League is a Non-FIFA league previously sanctioned by the Ontario Soccer Association and Canadian Soccer Association and is now a member of the Soccer Federation of Canada (SFC).
| Club | Founded | First joined | Location | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BGH City FC | 2021 | 2021 | Brantford & Hamilton | Centennial Park Stadium |
| FC Continentals | 2008 | 2017 | Vaughan | Centennial Park Stadium |
| Scarborough SC | 2014 | 2015 | Toronto | Centennial Park Stadium |
| Serbian White Eagles | 1968 | 2006 | Toronto | Centennial Park Stadium |
| Toronto Falcons | 2022 | 2022 | Toronto | Centennial Park Stadium |
| York Region Shooters | 2003 | 2003 | Vaughan | Centennial Park Stadium |
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the United States and 3 in Canada—since the 2023 season. The league is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan.
The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is a full member of FIFA and governs American soccer at the international, professional, and amateur levels, including: the men's and women's national teams, Major League Soccer, National Women's Soccer League, youth organizations, beach soccer, futsal, Paralympic, and deaf national teams. U.S. Soccer sanctions referees and soccer tournaments for most soccer leagues in the United States. The U.S. Soccer Federation also administers and operates the U.S. Open Cup and the SheBelieves Cup.
The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) governs most levels of soccer in the United States, including the national teams, professional leagues, and amateur leagues, being the highest soccer authority in the country. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) governs most colleges; secondary schools are governed by state-level associations, with the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) setting the rules at that level. The match regulations are generally the same between the three governing bodies although there are many subtle differences.
In Canada, soccer is the most popular sport in terms of participation rate. According to FIFA's Big Count, almost 2.7 million people played in Canada in 2006. Professional soccer in Canada is played in the Canadian Premier League and Major League Soccer. Canada also has many semi-professional and amateur soccer leagues. Canada's men's and women's national soccer teams are ranked 33rd and 6th respectively in the FIFA World Rankings as of February 10, 2022.
The Montreal Impact was a Canadian professional soccer club based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1993, the team played in various leagues in the second tier of the United States soccer league system, beginning with the American Professional Soccer League. They later played in the A-League/USL First Division, the USSF D2 Pro League, and the North American Soccer League. Following the 2011 season, the Impact were replaced by a team of the same name which joined Major League Soccer in 2012.
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in North America with regard to several organizations competing in various sports. They generally have lesser fan bases, much smaller revenues and salaries, and are used to develop players for bigger leagues.
The Canadian Soccer Association is the governing body for soccer in Canada. Headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, the federation is a full member of FIFA and governs Canadian soccer at the international, professional, and amateur levels, including: the men's and women's national teams, Canadian Premier League, youth organizations, beach soccer, futsal, Paralympic and deaf national teams. The Canadian Soccer Association also administers and operates the Canadian Championship.
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 but does not operate any of its component leagues. In addition, some Canadian teams compete in leagues that are based in the United States.
Major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada traditionally include four leagues: Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Football League (NFL), and the National Hockey League (NHL). Other prominent leagues include Major League Soccer (MLS) and the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Toronto FC Academy, also known as TFC Academy, is the youth academy and development system of Canadian Major League Soccer club Toronto FC.
Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March 18, 2009, and began play in 2011 as the 17th team to enter Major League Soccer while replacing the USSF Division 2 team of the same name in the city, making them a phoenix club and the third to carry the Whitecaps name. The club has been owned and managed by the same group since their USSF days.
The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began play in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation as a Division II league since 2017, placing it under Major League Soccer in the hierarchy. The USL is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is an American soccer competition open to all United States Soccer Federation affiliated teams, from amateur adult club teams to the professional clubs of Major League Soccer. The following is the history of the U.S. Open Cup tournament.
Ligue1 Québec (L1QC) is a semi-professional men's and women's soccer league in Quebec, Canada. Founded in 2011 as the Première ligue de soccer du Québec, the league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Quebec Soccer Federation.
League1 Ontario (L1ON) is a semi-professional men's soccer league in Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association.
The Canadian Premier League is a professional men's soccer league in Canada. At the top of the Canadian soccer league system, it is the country's primary national soccer league competition. The league consists of eight teams, from five of Canada's ten provinces. Each team plays 28 games in the regular season which is followed by playoffs culminating in the CPL Finals.
Professional sports leagues in the United States include several major leagues as well as other professional and semi-professional leagues.
USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019. The Division III league is operated by United Soccer League, the same group that operates the Division II USL Championship and other leagues. As of 2023, the league has 12 teams who play 32 regular season games, followed by playoffs.
| Men's national teams | |||||||||
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| Women's national teams | |||||||||
| 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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| Other competitions | |||||||||
| College and university soccer | |||||||||
| Defunct Canadian leagues | |||||||||
| Defunct American leagues |
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| Related American leagues | |||||||||
| Defunct cup competitions | |||||||||
| Other | |||||||||
| Associations | |||||||||
 Lists of sports teams in Canada | |
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| Ice hockey by province | |
| Other sports | |
