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 [a] | Montreal, Quebec | Saputo Stadium | 1993 [b] | 2012 | |
| Toronto FC | Toronto, Ontario | BMO Field | 2005 | 2007 | |
| Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Vancouver, British Columbia | BC Place | 1974 [c] | 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 [d] | 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 [e] | 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 [f] | UBC Vancouver | 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 | UBC Vancouver | 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 [i] |
| AS Laval [j] | Laval | Centre Sportif Bois-de-Boulogne | 9th | 2019 |
| FC Laval [k] | 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 clubs—26 in the United States and 3 in Canada. A 30th club, San Diego FC, will join the league in 2025. MLS 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.
Soccer in the United States is the fourth most popular sport in the United States behind American football, basketball, and baseball
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 31st and 6th respectively in the FIFA World Rankings as of November 28, 2024.
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, which competes in MLS Next.
Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Vancouver. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the 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 (USSF) 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.
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league based in the United States. The league was named for, but had no connection to, the original North American Soccer League. The later NASL was founded in 2009, and began play in 2011 with eight teams.
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.
The History of Major League Soccer began in 1988, when the United States Soccer Federation pledged to create a Division 1 professional soccer league as a condition to FIFA awarding the 1994 FIFA World Cup to the United States. Major League Soccer was officially formed in 1995. The league began play in 1996 with 10 teams, and in 1998 grew to 12 teams. MLS experienced some difficulties in its first seasons, with the league losing money in the early years, resulting in two teams folding after the 2001 season. MLS has rebounded since then, with increased attendance and the development of soccer-specific stadiums. With an average attendance of over 20,000 per game, MLS has the third highest average attendance of any sports league in the U.S. after the National Football League (NFL) and Major League Baseball (MLB), and is the seventh highest attended professional soccer league worldwide. MLS currently has 29 teams, with further expansion to 30 teams planned with the addition of San Diego FC in 2025. As of 2023, MLS is the largest first division professional soccer league in the world by number of clubs.
Toronto FC II is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, who play in MLS Next Pro, a third tier league of the United States soccer league system. It is the reserve team and minor league affiliate of Toronto FC as well as in partnership with Toronto FC Academy.
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 includes major professional sports leagues, other highest-level professional leagues, and minor 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 2024, the league has 12 teams who play 22 regular season games, followed by playoffs. All teams also participate in the USL Cup, adding an additional eight games, followed by knockout rounds.
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| 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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| 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 | |
