 | ||
| Full name | Durham Flames | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Flames | |
| Founded | 1999 (as Oshawa Flames) | |
| Stadium | Oshawa Civic Stadium Thornton Rd South / Gibb Street Oshawa Canada | |
| Capacity | 2,000 | |
| League | Defunct club Former members of Canadian Professional Soccer League | |
Durham Flames were a semi-professional Canadian football club based in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The club competed in the Canadian Professional Soccer League for five seasons from 1999 to 2003.
Durham Flames (previously known as Oshawa Flames) played in the Canadian Professional Soccer League which is the third tier of Canadian football pyramid. The club was founded in 1999 [1] and played their home matches at the Oshawa Civic Stadium in Oshawa. [2] The stadium is able to accommodate 2,000 spectators. The club was affiliated to the Canadian Soccer Association.
Durham Flames were originally known as Oshawa Flames and first entered the Canadian Professional Soccer League in 1999, as a replacement for the Mississauga Eagles. The club's first head coach was CSL and APSL veteran Jens Kraemer. Notable acquisition were Darryl Gomez, Pat Sullivan, and Hubert Busby, Jr. [3] The club finished in fifth position and reached the semi-finals of the League Cup before going out 2–0 on aggregate to Toronto Croatia, the second match proving decisive at Centennial Park Stadium. [4] The following season the team hired the services of Durham College head coach Stan Bombino to coach the team. Bombino led Durham to a seventh-place finish which reflected the fact that they drew 9 of their 14 matches. [5] Jimmy Kuzmanovski was the club's top goal-scorer with 9 league and cup goals. [6] At the conclusion of the season Kuzmanovski was awarded the CPSL Rookie of the Year award. [7] Under their new title of Durham Flames, and under the leadership of Danny Stewart the club again failed to reach the championship playoffs in the 2001 and 2002 seasons. [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] Though Durham failed to reach the postseason they received the CPSL Fair Play award in 2001. [14]
In their final season in 2003 in the Eastern Conference the club struggled, winning just one of their 18 league matches. This contrasted with their performance in the Open Canada Cup when they reached the Cup Final weekend before losing 4–1 to London City in a wild card game on 29 August 2003. The Flames last ever match was played on 30 September 2003 when they went down 3–1 away to Vaughan Sun Devils. [2] [15] [16] [17] [18] On October 5, 2003, the organization was awarded their second CPSL Fair Play award for being the most disciplined team. [19]
It was reported in the local press that The Flames were excluded from the League in December 2003, their franchise having been revoked following their failure to pay league fees and fines. Durham Storm took over their slot for home games in Oshawa's Civic Stadium on Friday nights. However The Storm bought the Mississauga Olympians franchise and did not take over the Durham Flames franchise. [20]
| Season | League | Pos. | Pl. | W | D | L | GS | GA | P | Playoffs | League Cup | Club name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Canadian Professional Soccer League | 5 | 14 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 19 | 26 | 14 | Did not qualify | Semi-final | Oshawa Flames |
| 2000 | Canadian Professional Soccer League | 7 | 14 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 22 | 35 | 9 | Did not qualify | Group stage | Oshawa Flames |
| 2001 | Canadian Professional Soccer League | 10 | 22 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 39 | 53 | 24 | Did not qualify | Group stage | Durham Flames |
| 2002 | Canadian Professional Soccer League (East) | 5 | 19 | 7 | 2 | 10 | 28 | 44 | 23 | Did not qualify | Durham Flames | |
| 2003 | Canadian Professional Soccer League (East) | 6 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 28 | 73 | 9 | Did not qualify | Durham Flames | |
The following players represented Durham Flames in their final season:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
The key officials of the club during the last season were:
|
|
| Years | Name | Nation |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Jens Kraemer |  Canada |
| 2000 | Stan Bombino | Canada |
| 2001 | Danny Stewart | Canada |
| 2002-2003 | Steve Hamill | Canada |
The Hamilton Thunder were a soccer team located in Hamilton, Ontario, playing in the Western Conference of the Canadian Professional Soccer League. The team played its home fixtures at Brian Timmis Stadium until a rent dispute with the city caused home games to be moved to Vaughan midway through the 2005 season. The Thunder won the regular season Western Conference championship each season from 2003 to 2005, but lost in the Rogers Cup semifinal each of those years.
The North York Astros were a Canadian soccer team that was founded in 1990. The team initially played in the National Soccer League. The team played their home games at Esther Shiner Stadium in North York, a district of the city of Toronto, Canada. The team's colours were orange and black. The club was originally named North York Atletico Argentina Soccer Club, and witnessed instant success in its initial stages. After a merger with North York Talons, and a relocation to Scarborough the team was eventually renamed the North York Astros. The Astros were a founding member of the Canadian National Soccer League's successor league the Canadian Professional Soccer League in 1998.
St. Catharines Roma Wolves, are a Canadian soccer team, founded in 1967. The team currently plays in the semi-professional League1 Ontario in both the men's and women's divisions. The club is a former member of the Canadian Soccer League (CSL), where it fielded a professional team from 1998 to 2013, and now operates youth teams in the Peninsula Soccer League. Teams play out of Club Roma in St. Catharines, Ontario in the Niagara Peninsula. The team's colours are dark red and white, mimicking those of the famous Italian club A.S. Roma.
SC Toronto is a Canadian soccer team, founded in 1994. The team was a member of the Canadian Soccer League, and played its final home games at Lamport Stadium in the city of Toronto, Ontario. The club found success early on since its inception as the Toronto Supra in the Canadian National Soccer League, making the postseason in 1996, and the championship finals in 1997. With the creation of the Canadian Professional Soccer League in 1998, Toronto missed out in registering for the league which resulted in the club completing in local amateur leagues. Supra would eventually return to the professional level in 2001, entering the CPSL as an expansion franchise.
The Durham Storm were a Canadian soccer team that last played in the Canadian Professional Soccer League (CPSL) in 2005. The club was founded as the Toronto Olympians in 1998 and played in Toronto, Ontario through 2001, before being renamed the Mississauga Olympians for 2002 and 2003. The team relocated to Oshawa, Ontario in Durham Region for the 2004 & 2005 seasons and was renamed Durham Storm.
Ottawa Wizards were a Canadian soccer club which operated in the Canadian Professional Soccer League (CPSL), from 2001 to 2003. The team's home stadium was the OZ Optics Stadium. Though the team had a relatively short tenure with the CPSL, the club dominated the league by winning three consecutive regular season championships, two Open Canada Cups, and the CPSL Championship. Despite the club's success the franchise was revoked by the league in 2003 after several legal disputes with the CPSL administration.
Aaron Steele is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender in the Canadian Professional Soccer League, USL A-League, and Premier Development League.
The 2006 Canadian Soccer League season was the 9th season for the Canadian Soccer League. The season began on May 19, 2006, and concluded on October 15, 2006, with Italia Shooters defeating Serbian White Eagles, 1–0, at Esther Shiner Stadium to win their first CSL Championship. In the regular season Serbia clinched the International Division, and Oakville Blue Devils secured their first National Division title. The league was re-branded as the Canadian Soccer League, and renamed their two existing conferences into the International and National division. The changes brought about an increase in sponsorship, media coverage, and a 50% increase in attendance. The CSL also received greater autonomy from the Ontario Soccer Association. The league struck an agreement with the Toronto Community News which provided coverage for the league and its member clubs through their nine community newspapers.
The 2004 Canadian Professional Soccer League season was the seventh season for the Canadian Professional Soccer League. The season began on May 24, 2004 and concluded on October 11, 2004 with Toronto Croatia defeating Vaughan Shooters 4–0 to capture their second CPSL Championship. The championship was hosted for the first time at Victoria Park Stadium in Brampton, Ontario, which granted the Brampton Hitmen a wildcard berth. In the regular season the Toronto Supra clinched their first Eastern Conference title, while Hamilton Thunder secured their second Western Conference title. Though the league decreased in membership they managed to expand to the Windsor - Detroit territory with the addition of the Windsor Border Stars.
The 2003 Canadian Professional Soccer League season was the sixth season for the Canadian Professional Soccer League. The season began on May 24, 2003 and concluded on October 5, 2003 with the Brampton Hitmen defeating Vaughan Sun Devils 1-0 to capture the CPSL Championship. The victory marked Brampton's first championship title, and the final was played at Cove Road Stadium in London, Ontario. During the regular season the Ottawa Wizards and the Hamilton Thunder won their respective conferences. Ottawa became the second CPSL franchise to go undefeated throughout the regular season.
The 2002 Canadian Professional Soccer League season was the fifth season for the Canadian Professional Soccer League. The season began on May 23, 2002, and concluded on October 20, 2002, with Ottawa Wizards becoming the first expansion franchise to win the CPSL Championship by defeating the North York Astros 2–0. For the first time the final was hosted at Esther Shiner Stadium, which granted the hosts the North York Astros a wildcard match. As the league was divided into the Eastern and Western Conferences the Wizards clinched the Eastern title, while Toronto Croatia won the Western Conference. The expansion of the league saw the return of professional soccer to Hamilton, and the addition of another Toronto franchise. On February 26, 2002, the CPSL signed a player agreement deal with the Toronto Lynx of the USL A-League, which provided the Lynx access in order to use CPSL talent and provide players an opportunity to play at a higher level.
The 2001 Canadian Professional Soccer League season was the fourth season for the Canadian Professional Soccer League. The season began on May 25, 2001 and concluded on October 14, 2001 with St. Catharines Wolves defeating Toronto Supra by a score of 1-0 to win their second CPSL Championship. The final was hosted in St. Catharines with Club Roma Stadium as the venue, while the match received coverage from Rogers TV. The season saw the league expand to a total of 12 teams, and went beyond the GTA and Ontario border to include a Montreal and Ottawa franchise. Throughout the regular season the Ottawa Wizards became the first club to end the Toronto Olympians league title dynasty. The CPSL also launched the CPSL Soccer Show with Rogers TV providing the broadcasting, and granting Rogers naming rights to the CPSL Championship. Other major sponsors included the Government of Canada, which served as the sole sponsor for the CPSL Rookie of the Year Award. The league also announced a working partnership with the Canadian United Soccer League a task force originally started by the Canadian Soccer Association in order forge a unified professional structure with the cooperation of the Canadian franchises in the USL A-League to launch a Canadian first and second division domestic league.
The 2000 Canadian Professional Soccer League season was the third season under the Canadian Professional Soccer League name. The season began on May 26, 2000 and concluded on October 1, 2000 with Toronto Croatia defeating Toronto Olympians 2-1 to claim their first CPSL Championship. The final was hosted at Cove Road Stadium for the first time. Throughout the season, all eight clubs from the previous year returned, while the Olympians secured their third straight regular season title. The league received sponsorship from Primus Canada, which granted Primus naming rights to the CPSL Championship, and Vincent Ursini was appointed the CPSL Chairman.
The 1999 Canadian Professional Soccer League season was the second season under the Canadian Professional Soccer League name. The season began on May 28, 1999, and concluded on October 2, 1999, with Toronto Olympians defeating Toronto Croatia 2-0 to claim their first CPSL Championship. The Olympians made history by becoming the first club in the league's history to achieve a treble. For the second straight season, they went undefeated for the entire season. The league also introduced their first All-Star match where the CPSL All-Stars faced the CSA Development team.
Brampton City United FC is a Canadian soccer team, founded in 2002. The team plays in the Lika Supergroup Open Division. The club plays out of Victoria Park Stadium in the community of Brampton, Ontario.
Peyvand Mossavat (born August 17, 1970) is an Iranian-born Canadian former soccer player and coach who played in the Canadian Soccer League. Canadian National Soccer League, National Professional Soccer League, USL A-League, and the Canadian Professional Soccer League.
Jimmy Kuzmanovski is a Canadian former soccer player who had stints in the USL A-League, and the Canadian Professional Soccer League.
Paul Daccobert is a Canadian former soccer player who had stints in the USISL Pro League, and the Canadian Professional Soccer League.
Jens Kraemer is a Canadian former soccer player and head coach who is currently the head coach for the semi-professional club Darby.
The 2003 Open Canada Cup was the 6th edition of the Canadian Professional Soccer League's open league cup tournament running from mid May through early September. London City defeated Metro Lions 4-2 in a penalty shootout in the final played at Cove Road Stadium, London, Ontario. The victory gave London their first piece of silverware and brought an end to the Ottawa Wizards Canada Cup dynasty. The 2003 edition of the Canada Cup was a historical milestone achieved by the CPSL by opening the tournament to all Canadian professional and amateur clubs in order to provide a potential candidate for the CONCACAF Champions' Cup and a $10,000 reward for the champion. The last time a Canadian club competed in the Champions' Cup was in the 1976 CONCACAF Champions' Cup represented by Toronto Italia of the National Soccer League the predecessor league of the CPSL.
