2008 Canadian National Challenge Cup Explained

Canadian National Challenge Cup
Year:2008
Champions:Calgary Callies
Runner-Up:Corfinium AFA Saint-LĂ©onard
Prevseason:2007
Nextseason:2009

The 2008 Challenge Trophy is a soccer competition for men's amateur teams in Canada. Each province determined their representative in different methods (league or cup). The final competition was held at King George V Park in St. John's, Newfoundland from 8th to 13 October 2008.

Teams

The seeding based on last years performance are:

  1. AB - Calgary Callies
  2. BC - Gorge FC
  3. NL - St. Lawrence Laurentians
  4. NS - Halifax City Colwell Bankers
  5. MB - SC Hellas
  6. ON - Real Toronto
  7. QC - Corfinium de St-Leonard
  8. PE - Avondale Islanders
  9. SK - Yorkton United
  10. NL (host) - Feildians Ernst & Young Orenda

Qualification

The following is a list of clubs, by province, that have entered their own provincial competition.

British Columbia

Winners of the Senior A Cup will represent BC at the National Championships. The 2008 Cup will be hosted in the Fraser Valley May 9 and 10.

20 teams entered the competition so a 4-game preliminary round was required.[1]

Preliminary Round:
Indo vs Surrey U (0:2)
Inter vs Vantreights (4:0)
Columbus v FVSL #5
Croatia v Firemen (3:2)

Alberta

The ASA hosts a Senior Men's Challenge Trophy from Aug. 29 to Sept. 1 in Calgary. Winner goes to Nationals.[2] The Alberta Major Soccer League teams are:

Manitoba

The MSA Cup 2008 determines the Manitoba representative to the National Challenge Trophy. The cup is an FA Cup styled tournament running from May 31 to August 23, 2008. Various teams enter at various levels and each round to drawn (not a static bracket).[3] Round 5 is to be drawn on 13 July 2008. Teams to watch for include:

Hellas S.C. advance 3-0 on penalty kicks.

Nova Scotia

The rep is determined through the Nova Scotia Soccer League. This league has teams from PEI and NB but the rep will be the top NS team.

Ontario

The rep is determined through the Ontario Cup. About 60 teams are entered in 2008. The final 16 teams are detailed below. Real Toronto wins the title[4] however the result was reversed when a player eligibility infraction occurred.

Newfoundland

The rep will be determined from a final cup competition after a league season.[5] The final weekend will be held Labour Day weekend at the King George V Park in St. John's. The Molson Challenge Cup 2008 will be contested by the following teams:

The St. Lawrence Laurentians defeated Feildians on the final weekend. Approximately 2500 fans were in attendance.

Final competition

Round robin

The teams will be split into 2 groups of 5 teams each. After round robin, seeding matches will take place (A1vB1, A2vB2, etc.) New Brunswick dropped out so a second team from the host Newfoundland was entered.

Play-offs

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Top goal scorers

GoalsGamesTeamPlayer
65Avondale IslandersPaul Craig
45Halifax CityKristin Kirincich
45Yorkton UnitedWaelical Sven

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Provincial Cup Men Open 2008 Big Change!. 2008-07-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20080723192406/http://www.takethepiss.com/forums/news-announcements/13512-provincial-cup-men-open-2008-big-change.html. 2008-07-23. dead.
  2. Web site: Alberta Soccer Association - Competitions. 2008-07-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20080804013757/http://www.albertasoccer.com/index.php?src=gendocs&ref=Competition%20Home&category=Competitions. 4 August 2008 . live.
  3. Web site: MSA Cup. Manitoba Soccer Association. 2008-10-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20080820000639/http://www.manitobasoccer.ca/eventscomps/msacup.php . August 20, 2008 . dead.
  4. News: 2008 Men Ontario Cup Champions -- Real Toronto. Ferrari. Rob. 2008-10-14. 2009-10-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20110716030743/http://www.soccer.on.ca/OSN.nsf/78e6e25dcab98a6985256c8000532a6c/c1aef8749d097122852574c40082d3a4?OpenDocument. 2011-07-16. dead.
  5. Web site: NL Soccer Association Challenge Cup. 2008-07-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20081006161507/http://www.nlsa.ca/default.php?display=cid114 . October 6, 2008. dead.