2008 Canadian Championship

The 2008 Canadian Championship (officially the Nutrilite Canadian Championship^[1] for sponsorship reasons) was the first edition of the Canadian Championship – Canada's domestic cup competition. The soccer tournament took place in the cities of Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver from May to July, 2008.

The tournament consisted of a home and away series between each team for a total of six games. Participating teams were the Montreal Impact, Toronto FC, and the Vancouver Whitecaps. The winner of the tournament, Montreal, gained entry into the qualifying round of the 2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League,^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] where they played against the Nicaraguan representative Real Estelí in a home and away series to determine entrance to the group stages.^[6]

The Montreal Impact were awarded the Voyageurs Cup trophy as winners of the tournament, the seventh occasion it had been presented.^[7]

Media coverage

The 2008 Canadian Championship was broadcast by the CBC. Games were broadcast on CBC Bold and online at CBC Sports. Nigel Reed and Jason de Vos provided commentary for the games.

Standings

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal differential; 3) number of goals scored; 4) drawing of lots.^[8]
(C) Champion and qualification for the Champions League qualifying round

Schedule

May 27, 2008

19:30 EDT

Saputo Stadium, Montreal, Quebec

Attendance: 12,083

Referee: Paul Ward

Man of the Match: Rocco Placentino / Marco Vélez
Assistant referees: Joe Fletcher
Amato DeLuca
Fourth official: Carol-Anne Chénard

June 17, 2008

19:30 EDT

Saputo Stadium, Montreal, Quebec

Attendance: 10,054

Referee: Silviu Petrescu

Man of the Match: Joey Gjertsen / Jason Jordan
Assistant referees: Pierre Cantave
Héctor Vergara
Fourth official: Jonathan Lavergne

June 25, 2008

20:00 PDT

Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, British Columbia

Attendance: 4,412

Referee: Domenic Scali

Man of the Match: Steve Kindel / David Testo
Assistant referees: Darren Clark
Martin Reid
Fourth official: Paul Ward

July 1, 2008

16:00 EDT

BMO Field, Toronto, Ontario

Attendance: 18,938

Referee: Steve Depiero

Man of the Match: Carl Robinson / Martin Nash
Assistant referees: Amato DeLuca
Joe Fletcher
Fourth official: Silviu Petrescu

July 9, 2008

19:30 PDT

Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, British Columbia

Attendance: 5,228

Referee: Carol-Ann Chénard

Man of the Match: Eduardo Sebrango / Rohan Ricketts
Assistant referees: Darren Clark
Martin Reid
Fourth official: Paul Ward

July 22, 2008

19:00 EDT

BMO Field, Toronto, Ontario

Attendance: 20,107

Referee: Silviu Petrescu

Man of the Match: Rohan Ricketts / Roberto Brown
Assistant referees: Joe Fletcher
Daniel Belleau
Fourth official: Steven DePiero

Top goalscorers

References

^ "Association announces title partner for new Nutrilite Canadian Championship". CSA Website. May 23, 2008. Archived from the original on June 21, 2009. Retrieved May 23, 2008.
^ "Canada to create new club championship". Canadian Soccer Association. January 31, 2008. Archived from the original on February 29, 2008. Retrieved February 11, 2008.
^ "Canadian soccer on its way to qualifying for FIFA". Vancouver Sun. January 28, 2008. Archived from the original on January 30, 2008. Retrieved February 11, 2008.
^ "Canada's soccer teams unveil details for CONCACAF Champions League". Toronto FC Media Relations. March 26, 2008. Archived from the original on May 26, 2008. Retrieved March 26, 2008.
^ "Canadian qualification for CONCACAF Champions League". Canadian Soccer Association. March 26, 2008. Archived from the original on April 7, 2008. Retrieved March 27, 2008.
^ "Preliminary round match-ups unveiled for 2008-09 CONCACAF Champions League". CONCACAF. June 11, 2008. Archived from the original on June 14, 2008. Retrieved June 13, 2008.
^ "The Impact will face the Toronto FC in the Nutrilite Canadian Champion League". Montreal Impact. May 23, 2008. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved May 23, 2008.
^ "Canadian qualification for CONCACAF Champions League". canadasoccer.com. March 26, 2008. Archived from the original on April 7, 2008. Retrieved July 23, 2008.