Global Information2003 Open Canada Cup information
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | Canada |
| Teams | 22 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | London City (1st title) |
| Runner-up | Metro Lions |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 21 |
| Goals scored | 79 (3.76 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) |  Craig Patton (4 goals) |
The 2003 Open Canada Cup was the 6th edition of the Canadian Professional Soccer League's open league cup tournament running from mid May through early September. London City defeated Metro Lions 4-2 in a penalty shootout in the final played at Cove Road Stadium, London, Ontario.[1][2][3] The victory gave London their first piece of silverware and brought an end to the Ottawa Wizards Canada Cup dynasty. The 2003 edition of the Canada Cup was a historical milestone achieved by the CPSL by opening the tournament to all Canadian professional and amateur clubs in order to provide a potential candidate for the CONCACAF Champions' Cup and a $10,000 reward for the champion.[4][5][6] The last time a Canadian club competed in the Champions' Cup was in the 1976 CONCACAF Champions' Cup represented by Toronto Italia of the National Soccer League the predecessor league of the CPSL.
The tournament featured several clubs from the Ontario League, Ottawa Carleton Soccer League, Western Ontario League, and the Ligue de Soccer Elite Quebec. The Ontario amateur clubs began the tournament in the preliminary rounds and the CPSL & LSEQ clubs were given a bye to the second round. While defending champions Ottawa Wizards received an automatic bye to the quarterfinals. For the second straight year London City were awarded the hosting rights to the finals which granted them a wild card match if they were defeated in the earlier rounds.[7] Despite the CPSL's successful attempt in organizing a national tournament the competition was without controversy. The controversy stemmed from a dispute involving Ottawa Wizards with the CPSL's board of directors over the hosting rights for the finals.[8][9][10] After failing to confirm their participation in the later rounds of the tournament the league removed Ottawa from the competition, and in return Ottawa threatened to obtain an injunction.[11] The dispute eventually reached the Superior Court of Justice which ruled in favor of the CPSL decision, and allowed the tournament to precede without the participation of Ottawa.[12][13][14]
- ^ "September 2, 2003 CPSL news from CPSL website". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-11-14.
- ^ DALLA COSTA, Morris. "September 3, 2003 CPSL London City wins Open Canada Cup (summary from London Free Press)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-11-14.
- ^ "September 7, 2003 CPSL Open Canada Cup final thoughts (It's Called Futbol)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-11-14.
- ^ Glover, Robin. "May 15, 2003 CPSL press conference in Toronto". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
- ^ Terra, Lino. "May 15, 2003 CPSL press conference from Ontario Soccer Web". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
- ^ "CPSL - Canadian Professional Soccer League". 2003-10-28. Archived from the original on 2003-10-28. Retrieved 2017-06-04.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "August 28, 2003 CPSL news from CPSL website". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
- ^ "August 24, 2003--CPSL Administrator explains Wizards removal from Open Canada Cup (from It's Called Futbol)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
- ^ "August 24, 2003--CPSL--It's Called Futbol interview with Stan Adamson". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
- ^ "August 25, 2003--CPSL--interview with Omur Sezerman of Ottawa Wizards from It' Called Futbol". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
- ^ "August 22, 2003 CPSL news from CPSL website". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
- ^ "August 29, 2003 CPSL news from CPSL website". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
- ^ "August 30, 2003 CPSL vs Ottawa Wizards court decision". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
- ^ "August 31, 2003--CPSL's Freaky Friday (from It's Called Futbol)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-11-15.