2023 Challenge Trophy

The 2023 Canada Soccer National Championships (officially the Toyota National Championships for sponsorship reasons) was the 99th staging of Canada Soccer's amateur football club competition. West Ottawa SC won the Challenge Trophy after they beat Western Halifax FC in the Canadian Final at Mainland Commons in Halifax on 9 October 2023.

2023 Canada Soccer National Championships

2023 Toyota National Championships French: Championnats nationaux Toyota 2023
Tournament details
Country	Canada
Dates	4–9 October 2023
Teams	10
Defending champions	Gloucester Celtic FC
Final positions
Champions	West Ottawa Warriors (1st title)
Runners-up	Western Halifax FC
Tournament statistics
Matches played	25
Goals scored	90 (3.6 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	Farivar Torabi Montassar Trimech (4 goals)
Awards
Best player	Javane Henry
← 2022 2024 →

West Ottawa SC won 1-0 in the Canadian Final with the lone goal scored by Zach El Shafei.^[1]

Ten teams qualified to the final week of the 2023 National Championships in Halifax. Each team played four group matches before the medal and ranking matches on the last day.

On the road to the National Championships, West Ottawa SC beat Scarborough GS United in the 2023 Ontario Cup Final.^[2]

Teams

Teams were seeded on the basis of their Provincial/Territorial Associations team's final standing in the previous year's championship.

Group A	Group B
Ontario	Alberta
British Columbia	Newfoundland and Labrador
Manitoba	Nova Scotia A
Quebec	Prince Edward Island
New Brunswick	Nova Scotia B

Teams

Each of Canada Soccer's thirteen provincial and territorial associations can send one representative to the Challenge Trophy, with teams generally qualifying through a regional preliminary series such as an open cup or league competition.^[3]

For the 2023 tournament, nine provincial associations confirmed their participation, with Nova Scotia fielding two teams as the host.

Province	Team	Qualified as	Previous appearances in tournament1	Previous best performance	Ref.
British Columbia	Surrey BB5 United2	BC Soccer Adult A Cup winners	2 (2019, 2022)	Champions (2019)	[4]
Alberta	Edmonton Scottish	Alberta Soccer Challenge Cup winners	11 (1972, 1979, 1987, 1992, 1996, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019)	Champions (2016)	[5]
Manitoba	FC Winnipeg Lions3	Manitoba Soccer Provincial Championship winners	11 (1996, 1998, 2002, 2007, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)	Champions (2002)	[6]
Ontario	West Ottawa Warriors	MilkUP Ontario Cup winners	0 (debut)	—	[2]
Quebec	Rapides de Chaudière-Ouest	LSEQ league winners	1 (2022)	Eighth place (2022)	[7]
New Brunswick	Fredericton Picaroons Reds	NBPSL Challenge Cup Final winners	9 (2007, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)	Sixth place (2007, 2019)	[8]
Nova Scotia	Suburban FC of Fall River	Soccer Nova Scotia AAA Cup winners	1 (2011)	Fifth place (2011)	[9]
	Western Halifax FC	Soccer Nova Scotia AAA Cup runners-up	2 (2016, 2017)	Champions (2017)
Newfoundland and Labrador	Feildians AA of St. John's	Newfoundland and Labrador Challenge Cup winners	2 (1969, 2008)	Third place (1969)	[10]
Prince Edward Island	Winsloe-Charlottetown Royals	PEI winners by acclamation as the only PEI team in the NB Premier League	1 (2022)	Seventh place (2022)	—

¹ Bold indicates champion for that year.

² Competed in previous tournaments as Central City Breakers FC.

³ Competed in previous tournaments as Winnipeg Sons of Italy.

Venues

Matches took place at three different venues within the Halifax Regional Municipality.

Bedford	Dartmouth	Halifax
Bedford-Hammond Plains	Harbour East Field	Mainland Common Field
Capacity: 400	Capacity: 400	Capacity: 400
3km 1.9miles

Group stage

Competing teams were divided into two groups of five teams, playing against one another in a single round-robin and advancing to the final round based on their group positioning.

The preliminary schedule was released by Canada Soccer in August 2023 without locations or kick-off times, which were later confirmed on 15 September.^[11] Teams were given bye days based on the pot they were drawn from, with pot 1 teams receiving byes on the 5th day of the group stage, pot 2 teams receiving byes on the 4th day of the group stage, etc.

Tie-breaking criteria for group play

The following criteria shall be used to determine the final standings:[3] Most points in all group matches; If two (2) teams are tied in points in all group matches: Greater number of points in matches between the teams concerned (head to head competition); Greater goal difference in all group matches; Greater number of goals scored in all group matches; Kicks from the penalty mark as per the Laws of the Game, at a time and place decided by the Canada Soccer General Coordinator. If three (3) or more teams are tied in points in all group matches, the following are the only criteria to break the tie: Greater goal difference in matches between the teams concerned (head to head competition); Greater number of goals scored in all matches between the teams concerned; Greater goal difference in all group matches; Greater number of goals scored in all group matches; Drawing of lots to determine ranking at a time and place decided by the Match Commissioner.

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	West Ottawa Warriors	4	3	0	1	12	4	+8	9[a]	Advance to first place match		—	2–1	1–0	1–3	8–0
2	Rapides de Chaudière-Ouest	4	3	0	1	10	4	+6	9[a]	Advance to third place match		—	—	—	—	6–1
3	Surrey BB5 United	4	2	0	2	9	5	+4	6[b]	Advance to fifth place match		—	1–2	—	2–1	6–1
4	FC Winnipeg Lions	4	2	0	2	10	4	+6	6[b]	Advance to seventh place match		—	0–1	—	—	6–0
5	Fredericton Picaroons Reds	4	0	0	4	2	26	−24	0	Advance to ninth place match		—	—	—	—	—

Source: Canada Soccer
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Notes:

1. Advance to first place match on criteria 2.1 with 2–1 win over Rapides de Chaudière-Ouest (head to head competition)
2. Advance to fifth place match on criteria 2.1 with 2–1 win over FC Winnipeg Lions (head to head competition)

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Surrey BB5 United	2–1	FC Winnipeg Lions
de Jong 32' MacMillan 42' Morello  74' O'Shea  90'	Report	Figueiredo  22'  45+2' Hodges  24' Hidalgo-Mazzei 37' (pen.)

4 October 2023 (2023-10-04)

11:00 UTC−4

Mainland Common Field, Halifax

Referee: Mazen Hassanin

West Ottawa Warriors	2–1	Rapides de Chaudière-Ouest
Rodriguez  31' Comba 35' Henry 51',  80'	Report	Mathieu  10' Aussems  63' Assouyat 72',  90+2' N'Guessan  88' Turgeon  90+1'

4 October 2023 (2023-10-04)

13:30 UTC−4

Mainland Common Field, Halifax

Attendance: Mario Al-Ayass

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West Ottawa Warriors	1–0	Surrey BB5 United
Henry  6' Curkovic 18' El-Shafei  86' Bastianelli  90'	Report	Hodut  22' Essa  42'  90+2' Rostant  63' de Graaf  64' MacMillan  69' Smychenko  71'  90+5'

5 October 2023 (2023-10-05)

11:00 UTC−4

Mainland Common Field, Halifax

Referee: Mo Mohseni

FC Winnipeg Lions	6–0	Fredericton Picaroons Reds
Nadeau 1' Law 8' (o.g.) Hidalgo-Mazzei 52' dos Anjos Aquino 56' Kabamba 70' Hodges 90+1'	Report	Morrison  36'

5 October 2023 (2023-10-05)

16:00 UTC−4

Mainland Common Field, Halifax

Referee: Mazzen Black

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West Ottawa Warriors	8–0	Fredericton Picaroons Reds
Belhaj 3', 5', 27' Bastianelli 20', 46' McKee 26' Markus 73', 84'	Report

6 October 2023 (2023-10-06)

11:00 UTC−4

Mainland Common Field, Halifax

Referee: Aubrey Kotelko

Surrey BB5 United	1–2	Rapides de Chaudière-Ouest
MacMillan 23' de Jong  81'	Report	Roy-Madore 25' Mathieu  32' Levasseur  37' N'Guessan  56' Chaouki 86'

6 October 2023 (2023-10-06)

13:30 UTC−4

Mainland Common Field, Halifax

Referee: Robert D'Alesio

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West Ottawa Warriors	1–3	FC Winnipeg Lions
Pensom  8' Natoli 61' Johnson  70' Mohasar  90'	Report	Budhoo  17', 51' Wood  32' Trimech 56', 74' Moraldo  79'

7 October 2023 (2023-10-07)

11:00 UTC−4

Mainland Common Field, Halifax

Referee: Marie-Soleil Beaudoin

Rapides de Chaudière-Ouest	6–1	Fredericton Picaroons Reds
Morin 11', 61' (pen.) Jeanneau  32' Lamontagne 44' Chaouki 46' Aussems 82' Levasseur 84'	Report	Itoafa 32' (pen.) Law  41' Morrison  52'  90+4' Padilha  71'

7 October 2023 (2023-10-07)

13:30 UTC−4

Mainland Common Field, Halifax

Referee: Simon Gomez

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Surrey BB5 United	6–1	Fredericton Picaroons Reds
Gindo 29' Torabi 33', 71', 89' Morello 41' Bruk 49'	Report	Pinsent  32' Choudhary 85'

8 October 2023 (2023-10-08)

09:00 UTC−4

Mainland Common Field, Halifax

Referee: Scott Decker

FC Winnipeg Lions	0–1	Rapides de Chaudière-Ouest
Naumiuk  35' Appler  45+2'  72' Hidalgo-Mazzei  90'	Report	N'Guessan  28' Kabamba 37' (o.g.) Roy-Madore  46' Turgeon  59' Attia  69'  89' Misol Rodriguez  86'

8 October 2023 (2023-10-08)

14:00 UTC−4

Mainland Common Field, Halifax

Referee: Mo Mohseni

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Western Halifax FC (H)	4	3	1	0	6	1	+5	10	Advance to first place match		—	—	—	—	—
2	Suburban FC of Fall River (H)	4	2	1	1	3	2	+1	7[a]	Advance to third place match		0–1	—	—	—	2–1
3	Edmonton Scottish	4	2	1	1	5	3	+2	7[a]	Advance to fifth place match		0–0	0–1	—	2–1	3–1
4	Feildians AA of St. John's	4	1	1	2	4	6	−2	4	Advance to seventh place match		1–3	0–0	—	—	2–1
5	Winsloe-Charlottetown Royals	4	0	0	4	3	9	−6	0	Advance to ninth place match		0–2	—	—	—	—

Source: Canada Soccer
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Notes:

1. Advance to third place match on criteria 2.1 with 0–1 win over Edmonton Scottish (head to head competition)

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Edmonton Scottish	3–1	Winsloe-Charlottetown Royals
Gajic 27' MacLachlan 42' MacDonald 56' Borrett  66'	Report	Maund 23'

4 October 2023 (2023-10-04)

16:00 UTC−4

Mainland Common Field, Halifax

Referee: David Schmidt-Schweda

Feildians AA of St. John's	0–0	Suburban FC of Fall River
Exley  26' Power  88'	Report

4 October 2023 (2023-10-04)

18:30 UTC−4

Mainland Common Field, Halifax

Referee: Robert D'Alesio

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Edmonton Scottish	2–1	Feildians AA of St. John's
MacDonald 20' Graham 31' Gazic  82' McCormick  82' S. Lam  90+3'	Report	Neil  39' Dolo 51' Opuoro  78' Courage  82' Jones  85'

5 October 2023 (2023-10-05)

13:30 UTC−4

Mainland Common Field, Halifax

Referee: Darcy Bristol

Suburban FC of Fall River	0–1	Western Halifax FC
Green  90+3'	Report	Ndopedro 3',  76' Bekkers  37' Bruce  62' Kodejs  77'

5 October 2023 (2023-10-05)

16:00 UTC−4

Mainland Common Field, Halifax

Referee: Mazen Hassanin

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Edmonton Scottish	0–0	Western Halifax FC
Demers  90+2'	Report	Ndopedro  16' Iatrou  44' Rodriguez  51'

6 October 2023 (2023-10-06)

16:00 UTC−4

Mainland Common Field, Halifax

Referee: Rayan Bouhlel

Feildians AA of St. John's	2–1	Winsloe-Charlottetown Royals
Exley 9' Davis  13' Gamba  54' Dolo 74' Harvey  90+2'  90+3'	Report	Hunter  29', 90+7' Lasia  30' VanWiechen  44'  60'

6 October 2023 (2023-10-06)

18:30 UTC−4

Mainland Common Field, Halifax

Referee: Isabelle Duclos

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Winsloe-Charlottetown Royals	0–2	Western Halifax FC
	Report	Iatrou 13' Pike  44' MacEachern 64' (o.g.) Bekkers  74'

7 October 2023 (2023-10-07)

16:00 UTC−4

Mainland Common Field, Halifax

Referee: Mario Al-Ayass

Edmonton Scottish	0–1	Suburban FC of Fall River
Prochnau  90+1'	Report	Jaber  11', 25' Mellema  67' Veinot  90+4'

7 October 2023 (2023-10-07)

18:30 UTC−4

Mainland Common Field, Halifax

Referee: Mo Mohseni

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Feildians AA of St. John's	1–3	Western Halifax FC
Dolo 27' Nunes  50' Nakonieczny  86' Gamba  87' Osmond  90+2'	Report	Thompson 43' Hawley  45+1' Kodejs 47' Geyer  55', 80' Ndopedro  57'

8 October 2023 (2023-10-08)

11:30 UTC−4

Mainland Common Field, Halifax

Referee: David Schmidt-Schweda

Suburban FC of Fall River	2–1	Winsloe-Charlottetown Royals
Warren 9' Sanchez 36' Mercer  40'	Report	Tweel 13' Sanchez  26' Smiley  81' VanWiechen  90+6'

8 October 2023 (2023-10-08)

16:30 UTC−4

Mainland Common Field, Halifax

Referee: Mazzen Black

Final round

The final round (known as Teck Finals Day for sponsorship reasons) paired equally-ranked opponents from opposite groups to determine a final ranking for the tournament.

Fredericton Picaroons Reds	2–6	Winsloe-Charlottetown Royals
Morrison 38' Cotton  58'  85' Law 70'		Reddick-Stevens 9', 35' Tweel 25', 77' Smiley 54' Stewart 64'

9 October 2023 (2023-10-09)

11:30 UTC−4

Ninth place match

BMO Soccer Centre, Halifax ^(Note)

Referee: Mazen Hassanin

^(Note) Match was originally scheduled to be played at Bedford-Hammond Plains in Bedford, but was moved indoors to the BMO Soccer Centre in Halifax due to field damage caused by Tropical Storm Philippe.

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FC Winnipeg Lions	7–2	Feildians AA of St. John's
dos Anjos Aquino 5' Peddle 20' Hodges 37' Budhoo 45' Figueiredo 53',  57' Trimech 65', 79'		Nakonieczny  26' Nunes 29' Gamba  67' Jones 90+2'

9 October 2023 (2023-10-09)

11:30 UTC−4

Seventh place match

Harbour East Field, Dartmouth

Referee: Mazzen Black

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Surrey BB5 United	3–2	Edmonton Scottish
Torabi 51' Essa 54',  81' Morello 76'		Gazic 48', 59' MacLachlan  74'

9 October 2023 (2023-10-09)

11:30 UTC−4

Fifth place match

Harbour East Field, Dartmouth

Referee: David Schmidt-Schweda

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Rapides de Chaudière-Ouest	2–1	Suburban FC of Fall River
Roy-Madore 23' Chaouki 56' Misol Rodriguez  70' Lamontagne  85'	Report	Larsen  24' Greedy 53' Warren  55' Veinot  56' Taylor  72' Bain  90+6'

9 October 2023 (2023-10-09)

11:30 UTC−4

Third place match

Mainland Common Field, Halifax

Referee: Robert D'Alesio

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West Ottawa Warriors	1–0	Western Halifax FC
Henry  19' El-Shafei 41',  42' Rodriguez  72' Mohasar  84'	Report	Geyer  46' Ellis  63' Gorski  90+1'

9 October 2023 (2023-10-09)

12:30 UTC−4

Final

Mainland Common Field, Halifax

Referee: Mario Al-Ayass

Statistics

Classification

Per statistical convention in football, matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Final position
1	A	West Ottawa Warriors	5	4	0	1	13	4	+9	12	Champions
2	B	Western Halifax FC (H)	5	3	1	1	6	2	+4	10	Runners-up
3	A	Rapides de Chaudière-Ouest	5	4	0	1	12	5	+7	12	Third place
4	B	Suburban FC of Fall River (H)	5	2	1	2	4	4	0	7
5	A	Surrey BB5 United	5	3	0	2	12	7	+5	9
6	B	Edmonton Scottish	5	2	1	2	7	6	+1	7
7	A	FC Winnipeg Lions	5	3	0	2	17	6	+11	9
8	B	Feildians AA of St. John's	5	1	1	3	6	13	−7	4
9	B	Winsloe-Charlottetown Royals	5	1	0	4	9	11	−2	3
10	A	Fredericton Picaroons Reds	5	0	0	5	4	32	−28	0

Source: Canada Soccer
(H) Hosts

Goalscorers

There were 90 goals scored in 25 matches, for an average of 3.6 goals per match.

4 goals

• Farivar Torabi
• Montassar Trimech

3 goals

• Emmanuel Dolo
• Malek Belhaj
• Jacob Tweel
• Wassim Chaouki

2 goals

• Almir Gazic
• Conor MacDonald
• Connor MacMillan
• Nicolas Morello
• Caelan Budhoo
• Matheus dos Anjos Aquino
• Aaron Hidalgo-Mazzei
• Stuart Hodges
• Michael Bastianelli
• Matias Markus
• Cohen Reddick-Stevens
• Jeremy Morin
• Julien Roy-Madore

1 goal

• Stefan Gajic
• Morgan Graham
• Dexter MacLachlan
• Yigal Bruk
• Marcel de Jong
• Yassin Essa
• Elie Gindo
• Hugo Figueiredo
• Balex Kabamba
• Nicolas Nadeau
• Elliott Peddle
• Shreyansh Choudhary
• David Itoafa
• Benjamin Law
• Kenneth Morrison
• Taj Exley
• Nicholas Jones
• Alexandre Nunes
• Ian Greedy
• Moe Jaber
• Ignacio Sanchez
• William Warren
• Isaac Geyer
• Joseph Iatrou
• Shawn Kodejs
• Jared Ndopedro
• Benjamin Thompson
• Ricky Comba
• Braden Curkovic
• Javane Henry
• Owen McKee
• Marco Natoli
• Zach El-Shafei
• Charlie Hunter
• Max Maund
• Sam Smiley
• Andrew Stewart
• Francis Assouyat
• Bastien Aussems
• Christophe Lamontagne
• Gabriel Levasseur

1 own goal

• Benjamin Law (against FC Winnipeg Lions)
• Balex Kabamba (against Rapides de Chaudière-Ouest)
• Laclan MacEachern (against Western Halifax FC)