Première Ligue de soccer du Québec
The Première Ligue de soccer du Québec (PLSQ) is a semi-professional soccer league created in 2012 and organized by the Quebec Soccer Federation, the third tier of the Canadian soccer pyramid.[1] The Canadian Soccer Association relies on provincial soccer organizations to sanction regional leagues at the tier 3 level. The men's division is below the Canadian Premier League (CPL) (Division I), and equal to League1 Ontario (L1O) (Division III). The PLSQ women's division is behind the U.S.-based National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) (Division I). The league's commissioner is Kambiz Ebadi.
Founded | 2012 |
---|---|
Country | Canada |
Confederation | CONCACAF |
Number of teams | 9 (men's) 8 (women's) |
Level on pyramid | 3 |
Domestic cup(s) | Canadian Championship |
League cup(s) | Coupe PLSQ |
Current champions | AS Blainville (men’s) CS Monteuil (women's) (2019) |
Current cup champions | FC Lanaudière (2019) |
TV partners | RDS.ca (streaming) |
Website | www |
History
Before the Second World War, soccer was more of a fringe activity than today; however, the best clubs in Quebec were determined in a provincial championship with the winner facing his Ontario counterpart for the title of the "National League". All the players were not amateurs; in 1934, for example, 27 professionals were identified in Quebec. The war brought a halt to Quebec's semi-professional soccer league development.
Mass immigration of quality players and ambitious leaders in the 1950s allowed Quebec to have many semi-professional teams, and even some professional clubs until the early 1960s. Organizational and competitive disagreements including unhealthy rivalries coupled with slowing immigration reduced the number of skilled young local players taking over from their predecessors. The player pool shrank.
Beginning in 1986, the semi-professional LNSQ (National Soccer League Quebec), stirred passions by creating very good memories. However, at that time the pool of players was not large enough to allow the LNSQ to survive alongside a professional team. The arrival of the Montreal Supra, with all the best players and a much greater media profile was fatal to the fledgling league which lost its splendour before giving way to today’s LSEQ.
In 2011 there are 200,000 players, 300 clubs, 25,000 coaches, 7,000 officials and 50,000 volunteers: soccer is by far the most practised sport in Quebec and is experiencing unparalleled popularity throughout the province. The organization of soccer in Quebec has changed dramatically with the recent competitions reform conducted by the Federation helping to modernize and stabilize the soccer pyramid, but also to considerably raise standards.
For several years, the senior level teams of the LSEQ (Quebec Elite Soccer League) inquired about a semi-professional competition.
The amount of coaches’ development in recent years has led to a major breakthrough in the availability of quality training offered to young participants.
Thanks to the structure of the club set up, the National Centre for High-Performance (NTC), and the Academy youth teams of the Montreal Impact, the number of top players developed in Quebec has increased sharply.
Challenges of the past are no longer as applicable, and it is hoped the PLSQ will facilitate transitioning between the club set up and amateur LSEQ to Impact de Montreal. Also, the profile of the Montreal Impact will grow with its 2012 entrance to Major League Soccer (MLS). As a result of its promotion, it is much more important for the Impact to develop its own young talent and offer attractive opportunities to players that previously would have moved to Europe.[2]
Season | PLSQ Champions League winners |
PLSQ Cup Cup winners |
---|---|---|
2012 | FC St-Léonard | |
2013 | CS Mont-Royal Outremont | |
2014 | CS Longueuil | FC Gatineau |
2015 | CS Mont-Royal Outremont | Lakeshore SC |
2016 | CS Mont-Royal Outremont | AS Blainville |
2017 | AS Blainville | AS Blainville |
2018 | AS Blainville | FC Lanaudière |
2019 | AS Blainville | CS Fabrose |
Format
Seven teams play an 18-game season. The winner gets the regular season championship. At the end of the year, there is a League Cup where the top six teams participate by separating the teams in two groups of three, with the top team in each group making it to the final. The final is played at a neutral venue.[3]
Each team has a minimum of nine paid players and is subject to a salary cap.
Men's Division
Current clubs
The following nine teams will take part in the 2020 season:
Team | City | Stadium | Founded | Joined | Head Coach |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Current teams | |||||
AS Blainville | Blainville, Laurentides | Parc Blainville | 1986 | 2012 | |
Celtix du Haut-Richelieu[4] | Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Montérégie | Stade Alphonse-Desjardins | 1969 | 2020 | |
FC Lanaudière | Terrebonne, Lanaudière | Centre de Soccer Multifonctionnel de Terrebonne | 2016 | 2016 | |
CS Longueuil | Longueuil, Montérégie | Parc Laurier | 1970 | 2014 | |
CS Mont-Royal Outremont | Mount Royal, Montréal | Parc Recreatif de TMR | ? | 2013 | |
CS Monteuil[5] | Laval, Laval | Centre Sportif Bois-de-Boulogne | 1968 | 2019 | |
CS St-Hubert | Saint-Hubert, Montérégie | Centre Sportif Roseanne-Laflamme | 1980 | 2017 | |
CS Fabrose[6] | Laval, Laval | Parc Cartier | 1971 | 2018 | |
Ottawa South United | Ottawa, Ontario | 2003 | 2020 |
Former clubs
Club | City | Stadium | Founded | Joined | Left |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Former teams | |||||
FC Boisbriand | Boisbriand, Laurentides | Parc Régional 640 | 1977 | 2012 | 2013 |
FC Brossard | Brossard, Montérégie | Terrain Illinois | ? | 2012 | 2013 |
FC St-Léonard | St Leonard, Montreal | Stade Hébert | 1978 | 2012 | 2013 |
ACP Montréal-Nord | Montréal-Nord, Montreal | Parc Saint-Laurent | ? | 2014 | 2014 |
FC L'Assomption-Lanaudière | L'Assomption, Lanaudière | Parc André-Courcelles | 2011 | 2012 | 2015 |
Lakeshore SC | Kirkland, Montréal | John Abbott College | 1966 | 2015 | 2016 |
Ottawa Fury FC Academy | Ottawa, Ontario | Algonquin College | 2003 | 2015 | 2016 |
FC Gatineau | Gatineau, Outaouais | Terrain Mont-Bleu | 2013 | 2013 | 2019 |
Dynamo de Quebec | Quebec City, Capitale-Nationale | Polyvalente L'Ancienne-Lorette | 1991 | 2017 | 2019 |
Women's Division
Season | Teams | PLSQ Champions League winners |
PLSQ Cup Cup winners |
---|---|---|---|
2018 | 5 | Dynamo de Québec | none |
2019 | 7 | CS Monteuil | CS Mont-Royal Outremont |
Current clubs
The following seven teams will take part in the 2019 season:
Team | City | Stadium | Founded | Joined | Head coach |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Current teams | |||||
AS Blainville | Blainville, Laurentides | Parc Blainville | 1986 | 2018 | |
CS Monteuil | Laval, Laval | Centre Sportif Bois-de-Boulogne | 2018 | 2018 | |
CS Mont-Royal Outremont | Mount Royal, Montréal | Parc Recreatif de TMR | 2018 | 2019 | |
CS Fabrose | Laval | Parc Cartier | 2018 | 2019 | |
CS St-Hubert | Saint-Hubert, Montérégie | Centre Sportif Roseanne-Laflamme | 1980 | 2020 | |
CS Longueuil | Longueuil, Montérégie | Parc Laurier | 1970 | 2020 | |
Pierrefonds | Lac St-Louis, Montreal | ? | 2020 | Carlos Carvalho | |
Ottawa South United | Ottawa, Ontario | 2003 | 2020 |
Former clubs
Club | City | Stadium | Founded | Joined | Left |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Former teams | |||||
Dynamo de Quebec | Quebec City, Capitale-Nationale | ESLE | 1991 | 2018 | 2019 |
FC Sélect Rive-Sud | Longueuil, Montérégie | Centre Multi Sport | 2018 | 2018 | 2019 |
Notable players
Players in Bold are currently playing for PLSQ clubs.
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.
- La Federation De Soccer Du Quebec. "Historique". plsq.ca. Archived from the original on October 15, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
- "Le Fc Gatineau Et Le Cs Mont-Royal Outremont Joignent Les Rangs De La Première Ligue De Soccer Du Québec. - La Première Ligue De Soccer Du Québec". Premiereliguedesoccerduquebec.ca. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
- "PLSQ on Twitter". twitter.com. PLSQ. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
- http://plsq.ca/actualites/le-cs-monteuil-se-joindra-a-la-pslq-masculine-en-2019
- "La PLSQ accueille le CS Fabrose". plsq.ca. PLSQ. Archived from the original on March 7, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2017.