Rosters confirmed for St. John’s 2025 National Championships

Sixteen teams have confirmed their rosters for the St. John’s 2025 National Championships that run 8-13 October with matches to be played at historic King George V Park and the Fortis Canada Games Complex. In all, 309 amateur players have been registered to the 16 teams competing for the men’s Challenge Trophy and women’s Jubilee Trophy.

Canada Soccer’s National Championships serve as the pinnacle event to the 2025 season, bringing together the best amateur clubs from across the country. On the road to this year’s National Championships, 185 men’s amateur teams and 57 women’s amateur teams took part in declared qualifying competitions from September 2024 through September 2025.

Qualified teams in both divisions will play four matches in six days with the Final matches scheduled for Monday 13 October at King George V Park. Tickets to the St. John’s 2025 National Championships are now on sale via the Local Organising Committee with single-day passes available for $10 and six-day tournament passes available for $40. In all, 32 matches will be played across the six-day tournament.

This year’s competition features seven first-time teams in either the men’s (five) or women’s (two) division, up from just three first-time teams in 2024. Of the 200 first-time participants in St. John’s, 120 of them play for the seven first-time teams while another 37 of them play for teams that have qualified for the first time in 10 or more years.

Of the 109 returning players, there are in fact 47 former national champions, including 14 from defending Challenge Trophy winners Gloucester Celtic FC, 15 from defending Jubilee Trophy winners CS Trident Ouest de Québec, and another 15 from two-time Jubilee Trophy winners Holy Cross FC women. Former Most Valuable Players Javane Henry (at the time West Ottawa SC in 2023), Marie-Joëlle Landry (CS Trident in 2024), Shannon Galway (Holy Cross FC In 2023) and Jane Pope (Holy Cross FC in 2022) are all rostered for this year’s National Championships.

In the men’s division, the average age of the last three winning teams was 27.8 years in 2024 (Gloucester Celtic FC), 25.3 in 2023 (West Ottawa SC), and 29.8 years in 2022 (Gloucester Celtic FC). This year, the defending champions Gloucester Celtic FC are the second oldest team at 28 years (only Edmonton Drillers are older at 28.7 years) while CS Rivière-des-Prairies are the youngest team at 20.2 years. Of the 161 men’s amateur players, there are 64 players aged 23 or younger (born 2002 or later), including 16 teenagers (nine of which play for CS Rivière-des-Prairies).

In the women’s division, the average age of the last three winning teams was 19.4 years in 2024 (CS Trident), 25.4 years in 2023 (Holy Cross FC), and 25.4 years in 2022 (Holy Cross FC). This year, the defending champions CS Trident are the second-youngest team at 19.8 years (only St. John’s SC are younger at 19.6 years). Of the 148 women’s amateur players, there are 72 players aged 23 or younger, including 37 teenagers (10 of which are defending champions with CS Trident).

Complete match schedules with kickoff times for this year’s National Championships are published at canadasoccer.com/competitions. As Canada Soccer’s largest national event featuring clubs from coast to coast, the National Championships have served as the nation’s primary amateur soccer competition for more than 100 years, with the men’s competition inaugurated in 1913, the youth competition inaugurated in 1966, and the women’s competition inaugurated in 1982. At all age levels, the National Championships provide a meaningful week-long soccer experience for host cities and participating teams, as well as the players, coaches, support staff, officials, and volunteers.

This year marks the biggest year ever for Canada Soccer’s national amateur competitions with a record 128 qualified amateur teams taking part in 14 divisions from the Futsal Canadian Championship in April to the Player-Development Program Championship in August and then the National Championships in October. As Canada’s most accessible sport, qualifying for this year’s national amateur competitions featured more than 1,100 teams taking part in leagues and cup competitions across 14 different divisions.