Newfoundland and Labrador Challenge Cup

Newfoundland and Labrador Challenge Cup

Founded	1950 (All-Nfld. Series) [1] 1967 (Challenge Cup)
Country	Canada
Confederation	CONCACAF
Number of clubs	9 (from 2025)
Domestic cup(s)	Challenge Trophy
Current champions	Holy Cross FC (2024)
Most championships	St. Lawrence (25 titles)
Website	nlsa.ca

The Newfoundland and Labrador Challenge Cup, known as the Johnson Insurance Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the premier senior men's soccer league in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The competition is held annually from May until September and is governed and organized by the Newfoundland and Labrador Soccer Association. It is a tier 5 league in the Canadian soccer pyramid,^{[ citation needed ]} and as a result the winning club qualifies to compete for the Challenge Trophy as the representative for Newfoundland and Labrador in October of each year. The St. Lawrence Laurentians and Holy Cross have traditionally dominated the competition, having won a combined total of 48 Cups out of the 58 times that it has been contested. ^[2]

Competition format

The Newfoundland Challenge Cup consists of Newfoundland and Labrador-based men's senior amateur soccer clubs. The teams first compete to qualify for a playoff round in a league format, usually a quadruple- or hextuple-round robin system, depending on the number of clubs competing. Normally teams play around 20 league matches in a single season. At the end of the league phase the 4 clubs with the most points qualify for the playoffs (3 points are awarded for a win, 1 point is awarded for a draw, and none for a loss). Clubs are ranked by total points, then head-to-head record, then goal differential and then goals scored. If two clubs are still tied for a playoff position then a penalty kick competition at a venue decided by the league will determine the ranking. If three or more clubs are still tied the ranking will be determined by the drawing of lots.

The playoff round of the NLCC uses a Page playoff format, which was reinstituted in 2015 after the league switched to a more typical two round format in 2011. The competition takes place at one location over Labour Day weekend each year. The winner of the final qualifies for the Canadian National Challenge Cup as the representative for Newfoundland and Labrador. ^[3]

Champions

Pre-Challenge Cup era (1950-1966)

The list below contains the provincial men's soccer champions of pre-Challenge Cup era. ^[4] The provincial champion was the winner of the All-Newfoundland Series (or J.V. Rabbits Trophy), which was organised by the local soccer associations of St. John's, Corner Brook and the Burin Peninsula. It was first contested in 1950 and the last edition was held in 1966. It was a cup contested by the best teams of the aforementioned local competitions.

1950 Holy Cross FC 1951 St. Lawrence Laurentians 1952 St. Lawrence Laurentians 1953 St. John's All-Stars 1954 Corner Brook All-Stars 1955 St. Lawrence Laurentians

1956 Corner Brook 1957 St. John's Guards 1958 St. John's Guards 1959 St. John's Guards 1960 Grand Bank GeeBees 1961 Corner Brook Royals

1962 Corner Brook Royals 1963 St. John's St. Pat's 1964 Grand Bank GeeBees 1965 St. John's Guards 1966 St. Lawrence Laurentians

Challenge Cup era (1967-present)

In 1967 the Newfoundland Soccer Association joined Canada Soccer. Therefore, the All-Newfoundland Championship was replaced by a new year-round competition organised by the provincial soccer association itself: the Challenge Cup. The teams in the Challenge Cup play a season-long ranking competition against each other.

1967 St. Lawrence Laurentians 1968 St. Lawrence Laurentians 1969 Feildians AA of St. John's 1970 Grand Bank Gee Bees 1971 St. Lawrence Laurentians 1972 St. Lawrence Laurentians 1973 Holy Cross FC 1974 Grand Bank Gee Bees 1975 St. Lawrence Laurentians 1976 St. Lawrence Laurentians 1977 St. Lawrence Laurentians 1978 St. Lawrence Laurentians 1979 Holy Cross FC 1980 St. Lawrence Laurentians 1981 Holy Cross FC 1982 St. Lawrence Laurentians 1983 Holy Cross FC 1984 Holy Cross FC 1985 Holy Cross FC 1986 Holy Cross FC

1987 Lawn Shamrocks 1988 Holy Cross FC 1989 Holy Cross FC 1990 Burin Eagles 1991 Burin Eagles 1992 Holy Cross FC 1993 St. Lawrence Laurentians 1994 Holy Cross FC 1995 St. Lawrence Laurentians 1996 St. Lawrence Laurentians 1997 St. Lawrence Laurentians 1998 St. Lawrence Laurentians 1999 St. Lawrence Laurentians 2000 St. Lawrence Laurentians 2001 St. Lawrence Laurentians 2002 St. Lawrence Laurentians 2003 Mount Pearl FC 2004 Marystown United 2005 St. Lawrence Laurentians 2006 St. Lawrence Laurentians

2007 St. Lawrence Laurentians 2008 St. Lawrence Laurentians 2009 Holy Cross FC 2010 Holy Cross FC 2011 Holy Cross FC 2012 Holy Cross FC 2013 St. Lawrence Laurentians 2014 Holy Cross FC 2015 Holy Cross FC 2016 St. Lawrence Laurentians 2017 Holy Cross FC 2018 Holy Cross FC 2019 Holy Cross FC 2020 Holy Cross FC 2021 Feildians AA St. John's 2022 Holy Cross FC 2023 Feildians AA St. John's 2024 Holy Cross FC

Titles

The table here below shows the amount of wins in the Challenge Cup (1967 to present). Challenge Cup winners that have also won the All-Newfoundland Series, have the number of wins in that predecessor competition added to their total between parentheses.

Clubs in bold currently compete in the Challenge Cup. ^[5]

Club	Wins	Winning seasons
St. Lawrence Laurentians	25 (+4)	1967, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2013, 2016
Holy Cross FC	23 (+1)	1973, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1994, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2024
Grand Bank GeeBees	2 (+2)	1970, 1974
Feildians AA	3	1969, 2021, 2023
Burin Eagles	2	1990, 1991
Marystown United	1	2004
Mount Pearl FC	1	2003
Lawn Shamrocks	1	1987

Recent seasons

1999

In 1999, Marystown United lost the Newfoundland and Labrador Challenge Cup 2-1 to St. Lawrence Laurentians. ^[6]

2004

In 2004 Marystown United were the Newfoundland and Labrador Challenge Cup Champions,. ^[7] They went on to play in the 2004 Canadian National Challenge Cup finishing 8th. ^{[8] [9] [10]}

2010

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Holy Cross (Q)	23	17	5	1	67	16	+51	56	2010 NLCC Playoffs
2	Mount Pearl (Q)	23	15	6	2	53	14	+39	51
3	St. Lawrence Laurentians (Q)	23	15	4	4	62	19	+43	49
4	Feildians (Q)	23	8	3	12	44	48	−4	27
5	Conception Bay Strikers	23	4	3	16	20	63	−43	15
6	Western United	23	3	1	19	20	76	−56	10
7	St. John's U-18s [a]	18	4	2	12	25	55	−30	14

Updated to match(es) played on August 29, 2010. Source: NLSA
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head record; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) penalty kick competition
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated
Notes:

1. Playing on an exhibition basis only, however points earned against them still count towards the standings

Playoffs

Holy Cross v Mount Pearl

3 September 2010Quarter Final 1	Holy Cross	1 – 0	Mount Pearl	St. Lawrence
	Hawco 63'			Stadium: Centennial Field

St. Lawrence v Feildians

3 September 2010Quarter Final 2	St. Lawrence	7 – 1	Feildians	St. Lawrence
	Caines x2' Edwards Grant Slaney Turpin Howlett		Hynes	Stadium: Centennial Field

St. Lawrence v Mount Pearl

4 September 2010Semi Final	St. Lawrence	1 – 1 (a.e.t.) (Mount Pearl win on p)	Mount Pearl	St. Lawrence
	Kelly 92'		McLeod 112'	Stadium: Centennial Field

Holy Cross v Mount Pearl

5 September 2010Final	Holy Cross	3 – 1	Mount Pearl	St. Lawrence
	Anstey Breen Wade		McLeod	Stadium: Centennial Field

2011

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Holy Cross (Q)	20	18	1	1	76	9	+67	55	2011 NLCC Playoffs
2	Mount Pearl (Q)	20	13	3	4	49	17	+32	42
3	St. Lawrence Laurentians (Q)	20	9	2	9	27	30	−3	29
4	Feildians (Q)	20	7	2	11	19	35	−16	23
5	Conception Bay Strikers	20	6	4	10	29	33	−4	22
6	St. John's U-18s [a]	20	0	2	18	7	83	−76	2

Updated to match(es) played on August 24, 2011. Source: NLSA
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head record; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) penalty kick competition
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated
Notes:

1. Playing on an exhibition basis only, however points earned against them still count towards the standings

Playoffs

Holy Cross v Feildians

2 September 2011Semi Final	Holy Cross	1 – 0	Feildians	St. John's
18:30 NST UTC−3.5	Hawco 79'			Stadium: King George V Park

Mount Pearl v St. Lawrence

2 September 2011Semi Final	Mount Pearl	3 – 1 (a.e.t.)	St. Lawrence	St. John's
20:30 NST UTC−3.5	Pickford 13', 109' Oram 107'		Edwards 75'	Stadium: King George V Park

Holy Cross v Mount Pearl

4 September 2011Final	Holy Cross	1 – 1 (a.e.t.) (4 – 3 p)	Mount Pearl	St. John's
15:00 NST UTC−3.5	Yetman 107'		Manning 92'	Stadium: King George V Park

2012

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Holy Cross (Q)	19	16	1	2	80	15	+65	49	2012 NLCC Playoffs
2	St. Lawrence Laurentians (Q)	19	11	2	6	55	29	+26	35
3	Feildians (Q)	19	9	3	7	30	28	+2	30
4	Mount Pearl (Q)	19	7	5	7	33	21	+12	26
5	Conception Bay Strikers	19	5	3	11	28	61	−33	18
6	St. John's U-18s [a]	15	0	0	15	6	78	−72	0

Updated to match(es) played on August 19, 2012. Source: NLSA
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head record; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) penalty kick competition
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated
Notes:

1. Playing on an exhibition basis only, however points earned against them still count towards the standings

Playoffs

Holy Cross v Mount Pearl

31 August 2012Semi Final	Holy Cross	4 – 0	Mount Pearl	Mount Pearl
18:30 NST UTC−3.5	Hawco DeLong Warren Wade			Stadium: Gushue Complex

St. Lawrence v Feildians

31 August 2012Semi Final	St. Lawrence	1 – 2	Feildians	Mount Pearl
20:30 NST UTC−3.5	Slaney 23'		Mandville 40' (pen.) Hynes 70'	Stadium: Gushue Complex

Holy Cross v Feildians

2 September 2012Final	Holy Cross	2 - 0	Feildians	Mount Pearl
: NST UTC−3.5	Reddick 27' Wade 70'			Stadium: Gushue Complex

2013

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Holy Cross (Q)	27	19	5	3	94	26	+68	62	2013 NLCC Playoffs
2	St. Lawrence Laurentians (Q)	27	15	7	5	66	22	+44	52
3	Mount Pearl (Q)	27	12	4	11	35	38	−3	40
4	Feildians (Q)	27	10	9	8	35	29	+6	39
5	Conception Bay Strikers	27	1	1	25	7	107	−100	4
6	NL Canada Games Team [a]	15	5	0	10	16	31	−15	15

Updated to match(es) played on August 21, 2013. Source: NLSA
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head record; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) penalty kick competition
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated
Notes:

1. Playing on an exhibition basis only, however points earned against them still count towards the standings

Playoffs

Holy Cross v Feildians

31 August 2013Semi Final	Holy Cross	0 – 1	Feildians	St. Lawrence
13:00 NST UTC−3.5		Report	Connolly 25'	Stadium: Centennial Field

St. Lawrence v Mount Pearl

31 August 2013Semi Final	St. Lawrence	4 – 2	Mount Pearl	St. Lawrence
16:00 NST UTC−3.5	Slaney Norman Edwards Drew	Report	Hamlyn Pickford	Stadium: Centennial Field

St. Lawrence v Feildians

1 September 2013Final	St. Lawrence	2 – 0	Feildians	St. Lawrence
15:00 NST UTC−3.5	Drew 60', 74'	Report		Stadium: Centennial Field Attendance: 1,000

2014

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Holy Cross (Q)	18	12	3	3	37	19	+18	39	2014 NLCC Playoff Final
2	St. Lawrence Laurentians (Q)	18	7	4	7	25	24	+1	25	2014 NLCC Playoff Semi Final
3	Mount Pearl (Q)	18	6	2	10	19	33	−14	20
4	Feildians	18	5	3	10	24	29	−5	18

Updated to match(es) played on August 17, 2014. Source: NLSA
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head record; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) penalty kick competition
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

Playoffs

St. Lawrence v Mount Pearl

29 August 2014Semi Final	St. Lawrence	3 – 1	Mount Pearl	St. John's
	Slaney 12', 58' Mullett 13'	Report	Pickford 15'	Stadium: King George V Park

Holy Cross v St. Lawrence

31 August 2014Final	Holy Cross	2 – 0	St. Lawrence	St. John's
14:30 NST UTC−3.5	Breen 78' Yetman 88'	Report		Stadium: King George V Park Attendance: 1,800

2015

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Holy Cross (Q)	20	16	3	1	65	12	+53	51	2015 NLCC Playoffs
2	St. Lawrence Laurentians (Q)	20	14	2	4	46	11	+35	44
3	Mount Pearl (Q)	20	11	3	6	39	18	+21	36
4	Feildians (Q)	20	7	4	9	25	32	−7	25
5	Corner Brook United	20	5	1	14	21	58	−37	16
6	Conception Bay Strikers	20	0	1	19	3	68	−65	1

Updated to match(es) played on 26 August 2015. Source: NLSA
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head record; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) penalty kick competition
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

Playoffs

Holy Cross v St. Lawrence

4 September 2015Quarter Final 1	Holy Cross	3 – 1	St. Lawrence	Mount Pearl
18:00 NDT UTC−2.5	Breen 8' Williams 43' Slaney 45'	Report	Drew 55'	Stadium: Gushue Complex

Mount Pearl v Feildians

4 September 2015Quarter Final 2	Mount Pearl	1 – 0	Feildians	Mount Pearl
20:30 NDT UTC−2.5	Reddy 43'	Report		Stadium: Gushue Complex

St. Lawrence v Mount Pearl

5 September 2015Semi Final	St. Lawrence	2 – 0 (a.e.t.)	Mount Pearl	Mount Pearl
16:00 NDT UTC−2.5	Gregory 98', 102'	Report		Stadium: Gushue Complex

Holy Cross v St. Lawrence

6 September 2015Final	Holy Cross	2 – 0	St. Lawrence	Mount Pearl
15:30 NDT UTC−2.5	Warren 5' Williams	Report		Stadium: Gushue Complex

2016

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Holy Cross (Q, C)	22	16	4	2	59	18	+41	52	2016 NLCC Playoffs
2	Mount Pearl (Q)	22	14	3	5	45	20	+25	45
3	St. Lawrence Laurentians (Q)	22	13	4	5	53	18	+35	43
4	Feildians (Q)	22	12	3	7	46	30	+16	39
5	Corner Brook United	22	2	4	16	21	58	−37	10
6	Conception Bay Strikers	22	0	3	19	7	75	−68	3
7	NL Canada Games Team [a]	12	3	3	6	15	27	−12	12

Updated to match(es) played on 24 August 2016. Source: NLSA
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head record; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) penalty kick competition
(C) Champions; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated
Notes:

1. Playing on an exhibition basis only, however points earned against them still count toward the standings

Playoffs

Holy Cross v Mount Pearl

2 September 2016Quarter-final 1	Holy Cross	2 – 3	Mount Pearl	St. Lawrence
13:00 NDT UTC−2.5	28' (o.g.) Williams 82'		Forsey 58' Morris 82' Woodfine 90'	Stadium: Centennial Field

St. Lawrence Laurentians v Feildians

2 September 2015Quarter-final 2	St. Lawrence Laurentians	2 – 0	Feildians	St. Lawrence
16:00 NDT UTC−2.5	Grant 21' Drew 81'			Stadium: Centennial Field

Holy Cross v St. Lawrence Laurentians

3 September 2015Semi-final	Holy Cross	1 – 1 (a.e.t.) (0 – 3 p)	St. Lawrence Laurentians	St. Lawrence
NDT UTC−2.5	Wade 13'		Kelly 47'	Stadium: Centennial Field

Mount Pearl v St. Lawrence Laurentians

4 September 2015Final	Mount Pearl	1 – 2 (a.e.t.)	St. Lawrence Laurentians	St. Lawrence
NDT UTC−2.5	Reddy 63' (pen.)		Caines 43' Hennebury 103'	Stadium: Centennial Field

2017

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	St. Lawrence Laurentians (Q)	23	16	3	4	47	12	+35	51	2017 NLCC Playoffs
2	Holy Cross (Q)	23	13	5	5	50	26	+24	44
3	Mount Pearl (Q)	23	11	7	5	41	27	+14	40
4	Feildians (Q)	23	9	6	8	32	27	+5	33
5	Conception Bay Strikers	23	7	4	12	29	36	−7	25
6	Corner Brook United	23	1	1	21	5	71	−66	4
7	NL Canada Games Team [a]	18	6	4	8	25	36	−11	22

Updated to match(es) played on 23 August 2017. Source: NLSA
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head record; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) penalty kick competition
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated
Notes:

1. Playing on an exhibition basis only, however points earned against them still count toward the standings

Canadian Challenge Trophy

This is a list of Newfoundland clubs who have reached the finals at the annual Canadian Challenge Trophy tournament, which features the best senior men's amateur clubs from each province in Canada. Holy Cross FC are currently the only Newfoundland club to ever become national champions. ^[11]

As of 24 July 2012.

Club	Nationals wins	Runner-up	Years
Holy Cross	1	1	1988, 1989,
St. Lawrence	0	3	1975, 1977, 2002

Bold indicates a current Challenge Cup team
Italics indicate a runner-up finish

References

1. "History- Senior Champions"" . Retrieved 2022-11-23.
2. "Feildians appear up for the Challenge (Cup) as playoff tournament begins in St. John's". The Telegram . St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
3. "NLSA- "Rules for Challenge Cup & Jubilee Trophy Leagues"" . Retrieved 2015-08-24.
4. "Canada Soccer 2022 Yearbook of Champions, Records & Results"". 17 May 2022. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
5. Newfoundland and Labrador Soccer Association, 'Mens - Challenge Cup: Standings'. Accessed on June 9, 2025.
6. "Seven teams off to nationals". The Telegram . St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. 6 October 1999. p. 25. ProQuest   344227491.
7. http://www.laurentianshomepage.com/CC2004.html Challenge Cup Soccer Championship Tournament 2004
8. "Marystown places eighth". The Telegram. St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. 12 October 2004. pp. C5. ProQuest   344377835.
9. "Canadian Club Nationals". The StarPhoenix . Saskatoon. 12 October 2004. pp. C4. ProQuest   348784532.
10. Murray, Nick (6 October 2004). "Canada's ten best men's amateur soccer clubs to battle for Challenge Cup". Journal Pioneer . Summerside, Prince Edward Island. p. 9. ProQuest   362198771.
11. "Canada - Canadian National Challenge Cup".

External links

• www.nlsa.ca
• www.canadasoccer.com