Première ligue de soccer du Québec
The Première ligue de soccer du Québec (PLSQ) is a semi-professional soccer league created in 2012. The Quebec Soccer Federation operates both men's and women's divisions at the pro-am tier of the Canadian soccer league system.[1] The league is part of League1 Canada, the national third tier divided into regional divisions, with the PLSQ equivalent to League1 Ontario and League1 British Columbia. The men's league winner qualifies for the Canadian Championship, the national cup championship, for the following season.
| Founded | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Country | Canada |
| Confederation | CONCACAF |
| Number of teams | 12 (men's) 12 (women's) |
| Level on pyramid | 3 |
| Domestic cup(s) | Canadian Championship |
| League cup(s) | Coupe PLSQ |
| Current champions | FC Laval (men’s) A.S. Blainville (women's) (2022) |
| TV partners | RDS.ca (streaming) |
| Website | www |
| Current: 2022 season (men) 2022 season (women) | |
History
The history of soccer in Quebec dates back to 1884, with the first league established in 1886. In 1911, the Province of Quebec Football Association, now known as the Quebec Soccer Federation was founded.[2] In 1986, a semi-professional league called the Ligue nationale de soccer du Québec (LNSQ) was created, but it merged with different rival leagues to form the Ligue de soccer élite du Québec in 1992.[3][4] In 1993, five of the former LNSQ clubs Corfinium St-Leonard, Cosmos de LaSalle, Luso Stars Mont-Royal, Montreal Croatia, and Montreal Ramblers joined the Canadian National Soccer League (CNSL) to form the league's Eastern Division.[5][6] Following this, the amateur Ligue de soccer élite du Québec served as the top level of soccer in the province, although Quebec clubs did play in the United Soccer League (Montreal Impact) and the semi-professional Canadian Soccer League (Laval Dynamites/Trois-Rivières Attak and Montreal Impact Academy).[7]
In 2011, the PLSQ was established, marking the return of a semi-professional soccer league to the province for the first time in 20 years.[3] The league was sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association as a level 3 league, below Major League Soccer (level 1) and the North American Soccer League and United Soccer League (level 2), which were American-based fully professional leagues featuring some Canadian teams,[3] including the Montreal Impact of the MLS.
The PLSQ had its debut season in 2012 with a male division featuring 5 teams – A.S. Blainville, FC Brossard, FC Boisbriand, FC L'Assomption, and FC Saint-Léonard.[8] FC Saint-Léonard won the inaugural season.[9] The following season, the league added a League Cup to its schedule, the Coupe PLSQ, which would take place annually at the conclusion of the season, unrelated to the results of the regular season.[10] In 2014, the province of Ontario created its own semi-professional level 3 league, League1 Ontario,[11] and the Inter-Provincial Cup was established which would be contested between the champions of each league and ran for three years until 2016.[12] In 2015, the league added its first club from outside of the province of Quebec, with the Ottawa Fury FC Academy joining the league.[13] Beginning in 2018, the league champion qualified to participate in the Canadian Championship for the following season.[14] In 2018, a women's division was added, starting with five teams.[15] The start of the 2020 season was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[16] but it ultimately resumed with a shortened season, although some teams did opt out of playing for the season.[17] However, the remainder of the male season was cancelled about three-quarters of the way through the season, due to a resurgence of the pandemic (the female season had already concluded).[18]
Over the course of its history, various clubs have joined and departed the league. A.S. Blainville is the only club to have participated in every season since the league's inception.[19] Blainville has been the most successful club, winning the league championship four times and the league cup twice and CS Mont-Royal Outremont has been second-most successful with four league championships and one league cup title.
| Season | Teams | PLSQ Champions League winners | Coupe PLSQ Cup winners |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 5 | FC St-Léonard | — |
| 2013 | 7 | CS Mont-Royal Outremont | CS Mont-Royal Outremont |
| 2014 | 6 | CS Longueuil | FC Gatineau |
| 2015 | 7 | CS Mont-Royal Outremont | Lakeshore SC |
| 2016 | 7 | CS Mont-Royal Outremont | A.S. Blainville |
| 2017 | 7 | A.S. Blainville | A.S. Blainville |
| 2018 | 8 | A.S. Blainville | FC Lanaudière |
| 2019 | 9 | A.S. Blainville | CS Fabrose |
| 2020[note 1] | 6[note 2] | A.S. Blainville | — |
| 2021 | 10[note 3] | CS Mont-Royal Outremont | — |
| 2022 | 12 | FC Laval | A.S. Blainville |
Format
Depending on the number of teams in the league, teams will play every other team between 2-4 times per season, for a length of usually between 15 and 20 games. The winner gets the regular season championship. At the end of the year, there is a League Cup, called the Coupe PLSQ, which began in 2013. The format varies each season, depending on the number of teams in the league.[20] The most recent Cup competition featured nine teams, where three groups of three teams were formed. The winner of each group along with the best second-place finisher advanced to the semi-finals.
Each team has a minimum of nine paid players and is subject to a salary cap.
Men's Division
Current clubs
The following twelve teams are members of the league for the 2022 season:
| Team | City | Stadium | Joined | Head coach[21] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current teams | |||||
| A.S. Blainville | Blainville, Laurentides | Parc Blainville | 2012 | Emmanuel Macagno | |
| Celtix du Haut-Richelieu | Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Montérégie | Stade Alphonse-Desjardins | 2020 | David Sauvry | |
| CS Lanaudière-Nord[note 4] | Joliette, Lanaudière | André-Courcelles Stadium | 2022 (2012) | Aziz Dieng | |
| AS Laval[note 5] | Laval | Centre Sportif Bois-de-Boulogne | 2019 | Billy Zagakos | |
| FC Laval[note 6] | Laval | Parc Cartier | 2018 | Boubacar Coulibaly | |
| CS Longueuil | Longueuil, Montérégie | Centre Multi-Sport | 2014 | François Bourgeais | |
| CF Montréal Réserve | Montréal | CF Montréal training grounds | 2022 | Patrick Viollat | |
| CS Mont-Royal Outremont | Mount Royal, Montréal | Parc Recreatif de TMR | 2013 | Luc Brutus | |
| CS Saint-Laurent | Saint-Laurent, Montreal | Vanier College Stadium | 2022 | Nicolas Razzaghi | |
| CS St-Hubert | Saint-Hubert, Montérégie | Centre Sportif Roseanne-Laflamme | 2017 | Nasson Theosmy | |
| Ottawa South United | Ottawa, Ontario | Quinn's Point | 2020 | Peter Mapendere | |
| Royal-Sélect de Beauport | Quebec City | Centre Sportif Marc-Simoneau | 2021 | Samir Ghrib | |
- ^ The season was cancelled before its conclusion, with the final standings determined on a points earned per game basis
- ^ Originally 9 clubs were set to participate, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, three clubs withdrew from the season
- ^ Ottawa South United withdrew midway through the season due to provincial government and cross-border restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, with 9 teams finishing the season
- ^ CS Lanaudière-Nord was known as FC L'Assomption-Lanaudière from 2012 to 2015. Departed league after 2015, returned in 2022
- ^ AS Laval was known as CS Monteuil until the 2021 season
- ^ FC Laval was known as CS Fabrose until the 2020 season
Former clubs
| Club | City | Stadium | Joined | Left | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Former teams | |||||
| FC Boisbriand | Boisbriand, Laurentides | Parc Régional 640 | 2012 | 2013 | |
| FC Brossard | Brossard, Montérégie | Parc Illinois | 2012 | 2013 | |
| FC St-Léonard | St Leonard, Montreal | Stade Hébert | 2012 | 2013 | |
| ACP Montréal-Nord | Montréal-Nord, Montreal | Parc Saint-Laurent | 2014 | 2014 | |
| FC Lanaudière | Terrebonne, Lanaudière | Centre de Soccer Multifonctionnel de Terrebonne | 2016 | 2021 | |
| Lakeshore SC | Kirkland, Montréal | John Abbott College | 2015 | 2016 | |
| Ottawa Fury FC Academy | Ottawa, Ontario | Algonquin College | 2015 | 2016 | |
| FC Gatineau | Gatineau, Outaouais | Terrain Mont-Bleu | 2013 | 2019 | |
| Dynamo de Quebec | Quebec City, Capitale-Nationale | Polyvalente L'Ancienne-Lorette | 2017 | 2019 | |
Timeline
Women's Division
| Season | Teams | PLSQ Champions League winners | Coupe PLSQ Cup winners |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 5 | Dynamo de Québec | — |
| 2019 | 6 | CS Monteuil | — |
| 2020 | 4[note 1] | A.S. Blainville | — |
| 2021 | 10 | A.S. Blainville | A.S. Blainville |
| 2022 | 12 | A.S. Blainville | A.S. Blainville |
Current clubs
The following twelve teams are members of the league for the 2022 season:
| Team | City | Stadium | Joined | Head coach[22] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current teams | |||||
| A.S. Blainville | Blainville, Laurentides | Parc Blainville | 2018 | Jean-Lou Gosselin | |
| AS Chaudière-Ouest | Lévis | 2022 | |||
| Pierrefonds FC | Lac St-Louis, Montreal | 2020 | Carlos Carvalho | ||
| Celtix du Haut-Richelieu | Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Montérégie | Stade Alphonse-Desjardins | 2021 | Julian Labalec | |
| AS Laval[note 2] | Laval, Laval | Centre Sportif Bois-de-Boulogne | 2018 | Amro Radwan | |
| FC Laval[note 3] | Laval, Laval | Parc Cartier | 2019 | Angelo Jean-Baptiste | |
| CS Longueuil | Longueuil, Montérégie | Parc Laurier | 2020 | Gilbert Bayiha | |
| CS Mont-Royal Outremont | Mount Royal, Montréal | Parc Recreatif de TMR | 2019 | George-Éric Painson | |
| CS St-Hubert | Saint-Hubert, Montérégie | Centre Sportif Roseanne-Laflamme | 2020 | Cindy Walsh | |
| Ottawa South United | Ottawa, Ontario | Quinn's Point | 2020 | Peter Mapendere | |
| CSA PEF Québec | 2022 | ||||
| Royal-Sélect de Beauport | Beauport, Quebec City | Centre Sportif Marc-Simoneau | 2021 | Michel Fischer | |
Former clubs
| Club | City | Stadium | Joined | Left | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Former teams | |||||
| Dynamo de Quebec | Quebec City, Capitale-Nationale | ESLE | 2018 | 2019 | |
| FC Sélect Rive-Sud | Longueuil, Montérégie | Centre Multi Sport | 2018 | 2019 | |
| Lakers du Lac Saint-Louis | Lachine, Montréal | Dollard 2 | 2018 | 2018 | |
Timeline
Players who earned national team caps while in the PLSQ
The following players have earned a senior national team cap while playing in the PLSQ (the year of their first cap while playing in the league is listed). Players who earned caps before or after playing in the PLSQ are not included.
Men
| Player | Country | Year | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Armel Dagrou | Burundi | 2014 | [23] |
| Kevin Chan-Yu-Tin | Mauritius | 2016 | [24] |
| Zohib Islam Amiri | Afghanistan | 2019 | [25] |
| Lemus Christopher | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 2022 | [26] |
Women
| Player | Country | Year | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stefani Kouzas | Guyana | 2022 | [27] |
See also
Notes
References
- ^ "League 1 kicks off Ontario soccer season, offering a chance to rise up the ranks". chatnewstoday.ca. Canadian Press. April 28, 2017. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
League 1 Ontario and the PLSQ league in Quebec are sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association as Division 3 leagues.
- ^ Chenoix, Eric. "L'avant 1911" [Before 1911]. Viau Park (in French).
- ^ a b c "Retour d'une ligue semi-pro" [Return of a semi-pro league]. Ici Radio-Canada Télé. August 30, 2011.
- ^ Phillips, Randy (May 9, 1992). "New league groups best in Quebec". Newspapers.com. Montreal Gazette. p. 71. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
- ^ "Roundup Overtime". Newspapers.com. The Leader-Post. January 7, 1993. p. 11. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
- ^ "25 Sep 1993, 75 - The Gazette at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- ^ . Canadian Professional Soccer League. December 24, 2001. Archived from the original on December 24, 2001. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
- ^ "La Première ligue voit le jour" [The Premier League is born]. Le Journal de Montréal (in French). April 3, 2012.
- ^ Gauthier, Audrey (October 15, 2012). "FC Saint-Léonard, champions" [Saint-Léonard FC, champions]. Métro (in French).
- ^ "Toute une saison inaugurale!" [A whole inaugural season!]. Métro (in French). November 7, 2013.
- ^ . Ontario Soccer Association. April 8, 2014. Archived from the original on May 18, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
- ^ . Ontario Soccer Association. Archived from the original on October 19, 2014. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
- ^ "Fury FC Academy and the Premier League de Soccer du Quebec". Bytown Boys. May 1, 2015.
- ^ Tierney, Mitchell (March 9, 2017). "Report: Provincial Champions to Play in Voyageurs Cup as Early as 2018". Waking the Red. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
- ^ O'Neill, Paméla (January 11, 2018). "Une première saison de PLSQ féminine!" [A first season of women's PLSQ!]. Viau Park (in French).
- ^ "COVID-19: Report du Début de la Saison" [COVID-19: Postponement of Early Season]. PLSQ (in French). March 25, 2020.
- ^ "La Première ligue de soccer du Québec lancera bientôt sa saison" [The Premier league of Quebec soccer will launch its season soon]. RDS (in French). July 13, 2020.
- ^ "COVID-19 : Mise à Jour Du 29 Septembre 2020" [COVID-19: Update September 29, 2020]. Quebec Soccer Federation (in French). September 29, 2020.
- ^ Gray, Shawn (January 31, 2017). "Quebec's 3rd Division". Northern Starting XI.
- ^ "À Propos De La Coupe PLSQ" [About the PLSQ Cup]. RDS (in French).
- ^ Tour des clubs de PLSQ masculine 2021 [2021 Men's PLSQ Club Tour]. Just eSoccer (in French). YouTube. February 15, 2021.
- ^ Le tour des clubs de PLSQ féminine 2021. Just eSoccer. YouTube. March 6, 2021.
- ^ Ducharme, Jean-François (September 15, 2014). "Un Citadin au Burundi" [A Citizen in Burundi]. Université du Québec à Montréal (in French).
- ^ "Kevin Dean Chan-Yu-Tin (Lakeshore SC): L'international Mauricien" [Kevin Dean Chan-Yu-Tin (Lakeshore SC): The International Mauritius]. Première ligue de soccer du Québec. March 20, 2017.
- ^ Rialdi, Irwan Febri (November 8, 2021). "3 Bintang Timnas Afghanistan yang Perlu Diwaspadai, Ada Eks Persib Bandung" [3 Stars of the Afghan National Team to Watch Out for]. Bola Times (in Indonesian).
- ^ "T&T Men secure 2-0 win over St Vincent/Grenadines". Trinidad and Tobago Football Association. June 11, 2022.
- ^ "Lady Jags Head Coach embraces "underdogs" tag". News Room. April 8, 2022.
External links
- Official website