Alberta Major Soccer League

Alberta Major Soccer League

Country	Canada
Confederation	CONCACAF
Founded	1991
First season	1991 (1992 for women's)
Divisions	1
Number of teams	8
Level on pyramid	4
Promotion to	No
Relegation to	Local Tier 1 Senior Leagues
Domestic cup(s)	Canadian National Challenge Cup
League cup(s)	Mike Traficante Challenge Cup
Current champions	Edmonton Scottish (June - August)
TV partners	No
Website	2013 Site
2013 Alberta Major Soccer League

The Alberta Major Soccer League (AMSL) is the highest level of amateur soccer in Alberta. It is roughly level 5 on the Canadian soccer pyramid although the distinction between level's 3 - 5 are not necessarily in terms of the level of competition or skill. The champions of the League Cup, renamed the Mike Traficante Challenge Cup in 2008, go on to compete in the national senior men's and women's championships.

Overview

Founded in 1991, the AMSL consists of two divisions, the Men's Division of eight teams and the Women's Division of eight (the Women's Division was added in 1992). Every year since the league's founding, the champions of the league have gone on to compete for the Canadian National Challenge Cup (men) and the Jubilee Shield (women).

The AMSL is operated by the Alberta Soccer Association (ASA), the provincial governing body for soccer in Alberta. This has been at times a problematic arrangement, but it has stood up for the time that the league has been in existence. The various district associations in Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge and Red Deer fulfill some of the administrative functions that would normally be handled by such a league, and this has led to rules being interpreted differently for different teams in the same league. Districts other than Edmonton and Calgary can use their entire men’s or woman’s league program as “reserve teams”. Calgary and Edmonton clubs are expected to field reserve teams in the local tier 1 senior leagues. The teams to be entered into the AMSL for the following season shall be based on previous season league results and relegation-promotion games, unless accepted as an expansion team. Teams wishing to withdraw or enter the league must notify the ASA in writing before November 15 of each year and attend the fall planning meeting on the last weekend in November.^[1]

Mike Traficante Challenge Cup

This is a competition whereby the top 3 teams north (Edmonton, Red Deer, etc.) and south (Calgary, Lethbridge, etc.) compete for the League Cup. It has had various formats including south and north group winners advancing to a one-game final and seeded groups (based on league standings) with group winners advancing to a 1-game final. The League Cup cannot be challenged for by non-AMSL members even though it designates the Alberta Provincial Champion and Canadian National Challenge Cup representative. ^[1] With 4 of the most populous of the 18 districts having teams in the AMSL; however, the majority of the soccer players in the province are represented.^[2]

Teams

Overall yearly results

Sources:^[3][6][7][8]

Note: In 1999 and 2000 the Calgary Callies played as Calgary Celtic SFC. ^[7]

The Canadian National Club Championships qualifiers are done on a geographic basis with each provincial association sending a representative to the tournament; therefore, in stronger or more populous provinces it can be harder to win the provincial championship and qualify than it is to win the national tournament. Given the costs of travel, accommodations, and time off work nationals are a big commitment which ever province teams come from. In 2012 the Edmonton Angels missed out on qualifying for the 3-4th and 5-6th games by one goal on a goals for tiebreaker. They finished the 2012 tournament with a 7-1 thrashing on St John's Holy Cross.

Year by year

2002 Season

Source^[9]

2005 Season

Source^[9]

2006 Season

Source^[9]

2007 Season

Source^[10][11]

2008 Season

Source^[9]

2009 Season

Source^[9]

2010 Season

2011 Season

Source^[12]

2012 Season

Source^[13]

2013 Season

Source^[13]

There is a post season Cup.^[14] The 2010 format qualified 3 teams from each of the North and South regions of Alberta. The winner of this cup is considered the Alberta Provincial Champion and qualifies for the Canadian National Challenge Cup.

Clubs

There have been a number of changes with the Alberta Soccer Association and also to the AMSL in 2011. With the addition of FC Edmonton to the Alberta soccer system their reserve team will be playing an exhibition schedule with 7 of the 8 AMSL teams.^[9]

The Calgary Dinosaurs and Edmonton Green and Gold are affiliated with the summer CIS soccer programs for the University of Calgary and University of Alberta respectively.^[15][16] A number of alumni typically play on these teams as well.

Clubs that have competed in the Alberta Major Soccer League

Source^[7] and ^[9]

References

External links

• Official website
• Official Site
• 2009 Results
• 2010 Results