Gloucester Celtic FC win their third national title

Ottawa’s Gloucester Celtic FC lifted the Challenge Trophy for the third time in 12 years as they captured the men’s amateur title at the 2024 Toyota National Championships in Surrey, British Columbia. Joey Kewin was the hero after he scored the lone goal in a 1:0 win over Nova Scotia’s Suburban FC on Thanksgiving Monday at Newton Athletic Park.

It was Gloucester’s fourth win in five matches as they finished undefeated across the six-day tournament. Stefan Karajovanovic, who led Gloucester with three goals, was named the Most Valuable Player of the Toyota National Championships.

In the Canadian Final, Gloucester’s starting lineup featured Anton Favre in goal (clean sheet), Zachary Tremblay at right back, Bila Dicko-Raynauld and Cristopher Malekos at centre back, Diego Politis at left back, Milosh Stojanovic and Justin Earle as centre midfielders, Olivier Babineau as an attacking midfielder, Kelvin Asabre and Stefan Karajovanic on the wings, and Joey Kewin up front. In the second half, coach Phil Sangster featured Anton Pellerin-Petrov, Marco Natoli, Kieran Sanders, Cameron Butterfield and Willem Grant. From the bench, Zach El-Shafei, Bezick Evraire and Javane Henry (injured) dressed but did not feature while goalkeeper Mario Gerges was unavailable through suspension. Team staff included Leonidas Legakis, Matt Williams, and Andrew Bryan.

Canada Soccer’s Toyota National Championships are hosted each October across six divisions in three venues: the men’s Challenge Trophy and women’s Jubilee Trophy (adult competitions) in Surrey, British Columbia; the U-17 Cup in Cape Breton for boys and girls; the U-15 Cup in Quinte West for boys and girls.

At all age levels, Canada Soccer’s national amateur competitions provide a meaningful soccer experience for host cities and participating teams, including the players, coaches, support staff, officials and volunteers. For more information on hosting opportunities for future editions of Canada Soccer’s national amateur competitions, interested communities and soccer organisations should visit canadasoccer.com/nationals.