2025 Challenge Trophy
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Holy Cross FC (2nd title)| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | Canada |
| Dates | 8–13 October 2025 (2025-10-08 – 2025-10-13) |
| Teams | 8 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Holy Cross FC (2nd title) |
| Runners-up |  Gloucester Celtic FC |
| Third place |  CS Rivière-des-Prairies |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 16 |
| Goals scored | 51 (3.19 per match) |
| Attendance | 5,687 (355 per match) |
| Awards | |
| Best player | MVP Harry Carter |
All statistics correct as of 16 February 2026. Goals scored in penalty kicks are excluded from statistics. | |
The 2025 Canada Soccer National Championships was the 101st staging of Canada Soccer's amateur football club competition. Holy Cross FC won the Challenge Trophy after they beat Gloucester Celtic FC in the Canadian Final at King George V Park in St. Johns on 13 October 2025.
Newfoundland and Labrador's Holy Cross FC won 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 tie in regular time in the Canadian Final to lift the Challenge Trophy for the second time in their history.
Eight teams qualified to the final week of the 2025 National Championships in St. Johns. Each team played three group matches before advancing to a one game playoff based on their group position. An Ontario team reached the Canadian Final for the sixth consecutive year, and tying the longest streak held by British Columbia who had their teams make six straight final appearances between 1982 and 1987.
The Canadian Soccer Association decided to host the 2025 Challenge Trophy and Jubilee Trophy in St. Johns due to King George V Park being the stadium where Canada first qualified for a world cup after winning the 1985 CONCACAF Championship.
Format and entrants
Each of Canada Soccer's thirteen member associations were invited to nominate a provincial or territorial representation team for the tournament, with teams generally earning the nomination by qualifying through a preliminary series such as a league competition, open cup, playoff, or single elimination tournament.[1] Based on the number of provincial and territorial entries received, Canada Soccer's Competition Committee determined the competition format — which in this case, also meant awarding a host and additional team entry to ensure an even number of participants and ensuring that participants play in an equal number of matches.
Seeding and groups
Member associations were seeded according to the final classification of their representation teams in the previous year's championship, then assigned to two groups of five using a serpentine distribution method. Associations without representation in the previous year's tournament, host entries, and additional entries were then added to seeding in the order their participation in the competition was confirmed.[citation needed]
Within their groups, the teams played each other once in a single round-robin over the course of four days. The final round was held on days five and six of the competition, with match pairings determined by group standings.
Final groups
| Group A | Group B | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | Province or Territory | Seed | Province or Territory |
| 1 | Ontario |
2 |  Nova Scotia |
| 4 |  Manitoba |
3 |  British Columbia |
| 5 |  Alberta |
6 | Newfoundland and Labrador |
| H | Newfoundland and Labrador |
7 | Québec |
- (H) denotes a host entry
Entrants
Of the 8 teams qualified to play at the 2025 Challenge Trophy, only 2 participated at the previous tournament in 2024 in Surrey. Ontario's representative, Gloucester Celtic FC of Ottawa, made their 3rd appearance in the previous 4 years, with 3 being podium finishes. Meanwhile, Edmonton Scottish returned as Alberta's representative for an impressive 8th time in the last 11 competitions, which also marked their 13th appearance overall.[citation needed]
Newfoundland's Holy Cross FC continued their historic run of Challenge Trophy entries, attending their 12th tournament in 15 years and 23rd overall. Elsewhere, Manitoba's representative team NKMB Saints FC attended the tournament for the first time in the club's 25 year history.
Overall, the field boasted 3 previous champions, including 2024 winners Gloucester Celtic FC. Notably, 2024 runners-up Western Halifax FC did not win Manitoba's qualifying tournament, the MSA Cup in 2025 – meaning they could not have a rematch against 2024 Challenge Trophy winners Gloucester Celtic.
Qualified teams
| Province/Territory | Team | Qualified as | Qualification date | Previous appearances in tournament[a] | Previous best performance(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Columbia |
Port Moody SC | BC Soccer Adult A Cup winners | 4 May 2025 | 0 (debut) | – | |
| Alberta |
Edmonton Drillers SC | Alberta Major Provincial Cup winners | 17 August 2025 | 0 (Debut) | – | |
| Manitoba |
NKMB Saints FC | Manitoba MSA Cup Provincial Championship winners | 26 July 2025 | 0 (Debut) | – | |
| Ontario |
Gloucester Celtic FC | MilkUP Ontario Cup winners | 7 September 2025 | 4 (2013, 2016, 2022, 2024) | Champions (2013, 2022, 2024) | |
| Québec |
CS Rivière-des-Prairies | Coupe du Québec Provincial Championship winners | 6 September 2025 | 2 (1997, 1998) | Champions (1998) | |
| Nova Scotia |
Halifax County United SC | Nova Scotia Provincial Championship winners | 7 August 2025 | 0 (Debut) | – | |
| Newfoundland and Labrador |
Holy Cross FC | Newfoundland and Labrador Challenge Cup winners | 9 August 2025 | 22 (1973, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1994, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2024) | Champions (1988) | |
| CBS Strikers FC (H) | NLSA Challenge Cup Runner-up | 6 August 2025 | 0 (Debut) | – |
- Notes
- ↑ Bold indicates champion for that year.
(H) indicates the host club
Competition
Group stage
Tiebreakers
| Tie-breaking criteria for group play |
|---|
|
The following criteria is used by Canada Soccer to determine group standings:
|
|
Current as of February 2026, adapted from articles 14.7 and 14.9 of Canada Soccer's 2025 Competition Regulations for National Club Championships[1] |
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gloucester Celtic FC |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | +12 | 9 | Advance to Challenge Trophy final | — | 3–0 | 3–0 | 7–1 | |
| 2 | NKMB Saints FC |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 6 | Advance to bronze medal match | — | — | 2–1 | 5–0 | |
| 3 | Edmonton Drillers SC |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 1 | Advance to fifth place match | — | — | — | 0–0 | |
| 4 | CBS Strikers FC (H) |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 12 | −11 | 1 | Advance to seventh place match | — | — | — | — |
- Matchday 1
| Gloucester Celtic FC | 3–0 | Edmonton Drillers SC |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| NKMB Saints FC | 5–0 | CBS Strikers FC |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
- Matchday 2
| NKMB Saints FC | 2–1 | Edmonton Drillers SC |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Gloucester Celtic FC | 7–1 | CBS Strikers FC |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
- Matchday 3
| Edmonton Drillers SC | 0–0 | CBS Strikers FC |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Gloucester Celtic FC | 3–0 | NKMB Saints FC |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Holy Cross FC |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | Advance to Challenge Trophy final | — | 2–1 | — | — | |
| 2 | CS Rivière-des-Praries |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 6 | Advance to bronze medal match | — | — | — | — | |
| 3 | Halifax County United SC |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | Advance to fifth place match | 0–1 | 1–2 | — | 2–0 | |
| 4 | Port Moody SC |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 3 | Advance to seventh place match | 2–0 | 0–3 | — | — |
- Matchday 1
| Halifax County United SC | 0–1 | Holy Cross FC |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Port Moody SC | 0–3 | CS Rivière-des-Praries |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
- Matchday 2
| Halifax County United SC | 1–2 | CS Rivière-des-Praries |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Port Moody SC | 2–0 | Holy Cross FC |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
- Matchday 3
| Halifax County United SC | 2–0 | Port Moody SC |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Final round
Placement matches
- Seventh place match
| CBS Strikers FC | 2–2 | Port Moody SC |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
4-5[a]
|
||
- Fifth place match
| Edmonton Drillers SC | 4–2 | Halifax County United SC |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
- Bronze medal match
| NKMB Saints FC | 1–2 | CS Rivière-des-Praries |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Challenge Trophy final
| Gloucester Celtic FC | 1–1 | Holy Cross FC |
|---|---|---|
Piccioli  33' (pen.) |
Report | Carter 81' |
| Penalties | ||
| 4-5 | ||
Standings
Final classification
Per statistical convention in football, matches decided by penalty kicks are denoted as draws.
| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Final position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B | Holy Cross FC (S) |
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 7 | Champions |
| 2 | A | Gloucester Celtic FC (S) |
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 2 | +12 | 10 | Runners-up |
| 3 | B | CS Rivière-des-Praries (S) |
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 9 | Third place |
| 4 | A | NKMB Saints FC (S) |
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 6 | |
| 5 | A | Edmonton Drillers SC (S) |
4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 4 | |
| 6 | B | Halifax County United SC (S) |
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 3 | |
| 7 | B | Port Moody SC (S) |
4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 4 | |
| 8 | A | CBS Strikers FC (H, U) |
4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 14 | −11 | 2 |
(H) Host entry; (S) Seeded representative; (U) Unseeded representative (result precluded in 2026 seeding)
Seeding for 2026 Challenge Trophy
The table below indicates the seed position earned and allocated to each member association for 2026, provided that those associations send an entry to that competition. It is based on the performance of their seeded representation teams at this tournament (teams denoted with an (S) in the classification table), and may not reflect the preliminary seeding upon its release.
| Seed | Province or Territory |
|---|---|
| 1 | Newfoundland and Labrador |
| 2 | Ontario |
| 3 | Québec |
| 4 | Manitoba |
| 5 | Alberta |
| 6 | Nova Scotia |
| 7 | British Columbia |
References
- 1 2 "Competition Regulations for the National Club Championships 2025" (PDF). canadasoccer.com. Canadian Soccer Association. pp. 4, 6–11, 17–19. Retrieved 15 February 2025.
External links
- Official site; fixtures and results at CanadaSoccer.com
- List of champions
- Competition website
| Tournaments |
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| Provincial qualifying | |
| See also | |
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