Gloucester Celtic, Holy Cross reach 2025 Canadian Final for Challenge Trophy

Three-time winners Gloucester Celtic FC will face local side Holy Cross FC on Monday for a chance to lift the Challenge Trophy at historic King George V Park in St. John’s. The men’s amateur clubs reached the Canadian Final after they won their respective groups at Canada Soccer’s 2025 National Championships.

The men’s amateur Canadian Final will start at 13.30 local time on Monday 13 October at King George V Park, with a live broadcast on CanadaSoccerTV (12.00 ET / 09.00 PT). Ticket passes to King George V Park are just $10 for the day (which includes entry for both the men’s and women’s Canadian Finals).

Defending winners Gloucester Celtic FC won Group A with a perfect record after three-straight wins at the 2025 National Championships. Gloucester won 3:0 over Edmonton Drillers SC on Wednesday, they won 7:1 over Conception Bay South Strikers FC on Thursday, and they won 3:0 over Winnipeg’s NKMB Saints FC on Saturday. Gloucester Celtic FC previously lifted the Challenge Trophy in 2013, 2022 and 2024.

Holy Cross FC won Group B after a 2:1 win over runners up CS Rivière-des-Prairies on Saturday. The two sides were even on six points, but Holy Cross FC finished first as a result of their head-to-head victory. Earlier in the tournament, Holy Cross FC won 1:0 over Halifax County United FC on Wednesday, but then lost 2:0 to Port Moody SC on Friday. Holy Cross FC won the Challenge Trophy back in 1988 and then reached the Canadian Final again in 1989.

Canada Soccer’s National Championships serve as the pinnacle event to the 2025 amateur season, bringing together the best clubs from across the country. Before the Monday Final, Winnipeg’s NKMB Saints FC will face CS Rivière-des-Prairies for the bronze medal on Sunday afternoon at 19.00 local time at King George V Park.

This year marks the biggest year ever for Canada Soccer’s national amateur competitions with a record 128 qualified amateur teams set to take 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. Those 128 teams have qualified from a group of more than 1,100 teams taking part in competitive leagues and cup competitions from across the country.

Complete match schedules with kickoff times are published at canadasoccer.com/competitions within each division’s respective landing page alongside the list of qualified teams. 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.