Open Canada Cup
| Founded | 1998 |
|---|---|
| Abolished | 2007 |
| Region | Canada |
| Most successful club(s) | Toronto Olympians (3 titles) |
The Open Canada Cup was a Canadian soccer competition, similar in concept to tournaments such as the English FA Cup, the Coppa Italia, and the US Open Cup. The competition was held starting with the second version of the CSL's first season in 1998 until 2007.
The competition was open to all professional and amateur soccer teams in Canada. Prior to 2007, it had generally been entered only by the teams of the Canadian Soccer League (formerly the Canadian Professional Soccer League) and a handful of amateur teams from Ontario. A notable exception was the 2006 entry of the Toronto Lynx, then of the USL First Division.
In 2007, teams from British Columbia also participated in the event. The British Columbia teams had their own regional qualifying matches with the overall provincial winner travelling to meet its central Canadian adversaries in the tournament's final weekend.
In central Canada, cup ties were played on a one-game knock out basis and were held over the Victoria Day, Canada Day, Civic Holiday and Labour Day long weekends. The British Columbia regional games were held in early August with the winner participating in the Labour Day tournament finale. Drawn matches went directly to extra time, and if necessary, a penalty shootout.
On April 29, 2008, it was announced that the 2008 edition of the Open Canada Cup would not take place as originally scheduled. The CSL was evaluating the relevance of the competition in light of the creation of the Canadian Championship for the Voyageurs Cup.
The announcement that the 2008 edition of the Open Canada Cup had been cancelled also suggested that the Cup might return in 2009. Although no formal announcement has been made, the success of the Canadian Championship and the fact that no Open Canada Cup competition was held in 2009 suggests that the competition has ended for good.
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