Canada has a growing soccer structure, but many people only know of their biggest teams. But there is more to the soccer scene in Canada than just their three Major League Soccer sides. Here’s where clubs from Canada play.



<h2>Pro Soccer in Canada: Origins</h2>



A couple of names you’ll recognize from today actually date back to well before the existing leagues in Canada. The Vancouver Whitecaps were actually started originally in the 1970s, playing in the North American Soccer League. That league also had teams in Calgary, Toronto, Edmonton, and Montréal over the years. However, none of those other teams lasted long nor inspired future team names.



After the NASL collapsed, a new team came to Vancouver in 1986, aptly named the 86ers. Eventually, this team would adopt the Whitecaps name, and later, join Major League Soccer in 2011. 



Today’s CF Montréal got their start in 1993 as the Montréal Impact, playing in American lower division leagues until joining MLS in 2012. 



<table class="table5" style="border: 5px solid red;">
<tbody>
<tr class="table5" style="width:100%">
<td style="width:70%">
<center><h4>Our Pick:</h4>
Includes: Every regular season game, MLS Cup Playoffs, Leagues Cup, &amp; More</center>
</td>
<td rowspan="2" style="background-color:black; vertical-align: middle;">
<center><a href="https://tv.apple.com/channel/tvs.sbd.7000?itsct=wst_mls&amp;itscg=30200&amp;at=1010l35s4&amp;ct=rvo" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener sponsored nofollow"><figure class="image"><img src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20231217_WST_472295_MLSSPRVO_283fea91.webp&amp;width=200&amp;height=100" alt="MLS Season Pass" width="200" height="100"></figure></a></center></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><center><a class="button" style="background-color:red" href="https://tv.apple.com/channel/tvs.sbd.7000?itsct=wst_mls&amp;itscg=30200&amp;at=1010l35s4&amp;ct=rvo" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener sponsored nofollow">Sign Up</a></center></td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;



Toronto FC was the first Canadian team in MLS, however, starting from scratch as a brand new team in 2007. 



Since no true Canadian professional league existed at the time, these clubs all joined American leagues at their start.



<h2>Today’s Canadian league setup</h2>



But that situation has changed. In 2019, the Canadian Premier League debuted, officially recognized as Canada’s division one professional league.



The three <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/mls-tv-schedule/">MLS</a> teams have been grandfathered into the American system, and allowed to continue playing there by US Soccer and CONCACAF. This is similar to clubs like <a href="https://www.swanseacity.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Swansea City</a> and Wrexham AFC who are based in Wales but play in the neighboring English pyramid.



Both MLS and CanPL sides also participate in the Canadian Championship, the country’s national knockout tournament.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" width="1280" height="715" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20231217_WST_472295_CanadianLeague2_f62b103c.webp&amp;width=1280&amp;height=715" alt="Canadian Championship" class="wp-image-472305" srcset="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/11/CanadianLeague2.jpg 1280w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/11/CanadianLeague2-300x168.jpg 300w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/11/CanadianLeague2-1200x670.jpg 1200w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/11/CanadianLeague2-768x429.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px"></figure><figcaption>The Whitecaps celebrate the 2023 Canadian Championship title</figcaption></figure>



<h2>There’s more than one soccer league in Canada</h2>



At the lower levels, League 1 Canada consists of three provincial semi-pro leagues: League 1 Ontario, League 1 Québec, and League 1 British Columbia. The champions of these three leagues earn a spot in the Canadian Championship. Occasionally Canadian amateur sides will compete in American leagues like USL League Two, but they do not partake in the Canadian Championship.



Previously, teams like the Ottawa Fury, FC Edmonton, Impact, and Whitecaps played in American Division Two pro leagues like USL or NASL, but this is no longer sanctioned by CONCACAF. 



The winner of the Canadian Championship, as well as the top two CPL teams, earn a place in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. The three MLS teams in Canada can now also qualify for the Champions Cup via MLS league play and Leagues Cup. 



In the Champions Cup, Montréal impressively made the quarterfinals in 2008, when they were still a second-division side.



As of 2023, no professional or nationwide amateur leagues exist for women’s soccer in Canada. However, the League 1 provincial leagues include women’s divisions.



That’s just about everything there is to know about soccer in the great white North. And the game in the country will only continue to get bigger. 



Photos: Imago.

What league do soccer teams in Canada compete in?

Canada has more than one league where soccer teams play. We've got a breakdown of the Canadian soccer system.

What league do soccer teams in Canada compete in? - World Soccer Talk

<div id="attachment_6900" style="width: 230px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><div><figure class="image"></figure></div>Franco should be a hero in Mexico/PA Sports Image</div>
I understand this is a website dedicated to MLS and US Soccer, but please indulge me in this moment of personal privilege about our neighbors to the south and our neighbors to the north.
Guille Franco opened his Premier League account yesterday, playing for a less competitive West Ham side than former Mexican striker Jared Borgetti did in Bolton a few years back. I bring this subject up, because Franco has been the subject of much racist hatred in Mexico since Ricardo LaVolpe brought him into the national team in 2004. Franco, from where I sit was one of the best Mexican players in the later part of LaVolpe’s reign but the fact that like his manager, he was born in Argentina caused anger and showed the worst sort of nativism among certain parts of the Mexican fan base and press.
Hugo Sanchez, upon assuming the job in the wake of LaVolpe’s sacking pledged not to select any naturalized players. Thus, Franco was not considered again for the squad until Sven Goran Eriksson was the manager, and did not again play a key role until Javier Aguirre took over this spring. Aguirre’s knowledge of Franco was less based on his play for Monterrey in the Mexican League in the earlier part of this decade, but his play with Villarreal, whom Aguirre managed against several times in Champions League deciding fixtures with Athletico Madrid.
Mexican Football isn’t regarded with the respect it should be in England. Jared Borgetti, who ironically enough, very openly poured scorn on Sven Goran Eriksson decision to feature naturalized players, was considered a first rate flop at Bolton. Borgetti’s failures furthered the already negative perception surrounding Mexican footballers in England.
How ironic that Guille Franco, who many El Tri supporters would not claim as one of their own could well be on his way to changing that perception for good, and allowing more opportunities for the likes of Carlos Vela and Gio Dos Santos who are already on EPL squads to flourish. Franco appears to be well on his way to undoing the negative stigma that Borgetti helped to further in England.

Racism and Xenophobia are somewhat rampant in Mexico, whether Mexicans want to admit it or not. Guille Franco, from where I sit, is an incredible person to have put up with the abuse while representing El Tri and still been willing to embrace Mexican culture and Mexico as a nation. He deserves to be seen back home as a conquering hero following his goal yesterday at the Stadium of Light.
_________________________________________________
Today’s playoff Superclassico has me, like so many others super psyched. But given what I have written above, I worry about the potential racial and ethnic connotations of such a matchup, and such a derby. Rangers v Celtic, and Hibs vs Hearts type ethnic, religious or racial divisions aren’t what America is about. It was in this context that the NASL was very strict in not allowing ethnic named teams into the league, with the (reluctant) exception of the Toronto Metros-Croatia.
I urge everyone attending the match today to cheer for your side, but please don’t make it about us (Galaxy-Gringos or non Mexican Latinos) versus them (Chivas- Mexicans). If that sort of factionalism develops, the game and MLS loses.
_____________________________________________________
The United Soccer Leagues announced on Thursday that they will be opening a Canadian office in Ottawa. The USL headquarters is in Tampa, but with over two dozen Canadian sides competing in USL leagues, the move makes sense from a USL perspective.
However, I regret to once again raise the issue of FIFA sanctioning and cross border leagues. While USL is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association, the two USL First Division clubs in Canada recently approached the USSF to help mediate the dispute they and other members of the Team Owners Association is having with the league.
USL’s official administrative foray into Canada could further render the CSA and the Canadian Soccer League totally useless. While some posters here will claim that Wales, Monaco, Liechtenstein, New Zealand and others all fall under the same category as Canada does in its participation in foreign leagues, the extent of Canadian influence on MLS and USL, the two US based professional leagues is without precedent on the planet.
I have outlined these issues before and quite frankly do not have the patience again to outline the numerous reasons MLS, USL, and the Canadian based clubs appear to be skirting FIFA regulations on this matter.
Let me state this clearly. I am all for Canadian participation in MLS and USL. I believe the achievements of TFC, the Whitecaps, the Impact and several PDL clubs in Canada speak for themselves. But my worry about the legality of the continued cross border merger of football, and the failure of FIFA regulations to be properly enforced (for example, the three Canadian teams in USL and MLS should NOT be eligible to represent Canada in international competitions unless the CSA drops its sanctioning of the CSL) could lead to more trouble down the road if FIFA under new leadership, suddenly decides they want to crack down.

Cross Border Thoughts: Mexico and Canada - World Soccer Talk

Cross Border Thoughts: Mexico and Canada

Martin Nash (the brother of Steve Nash) calmly sank a penalty to give the Vancouver Whitecaps a critical 1-0 win in the round robin Canadian Cup over Toronto FC last night. Between the Canadian and US Open Cups Major League Soccer won five of the nine matchups with the North American second division yesterday. (which included three matches where the MLS team found itself a man up for over 45 minutes) That’s certainly not an overwhelming number and while I have already seen some nice spin from MLS apologists, later today we’ll objectively compare the MLS and USL and explain why every year many MLS teams struggle in the US Open Cup.

What league do soccer teams in Canada compete in?

Canadian Cup

What league do soccer teams in Canada compete in?

Canadian Cup

Cross Border Thoughts: Mexico and Canada

Canadian Cup

Whitecaps hand TFC First BMO Loss of 2008