Historically the Canadian professional indoor soccer landscape consisted of Canadian franchises in American leagues particularly in the North American Soccer League (NASL) and the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL).[4][5][6] The height of Canadian participation in indoor soccer occurred during the 1980–81 and 1981–82 NASL seasons when four Canadian clubs participated simultaneously. The height of Canadian participation in the NPSL would eventually expand to include four teams, which consisted of the Edmonton Drillers, Montreal Impact, Toronto Shooting Stars, and Toronto ThunderHawks.[7][8] After the demise of the NPSL in 2001 the country was without a professional league structure, until the creation of the Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League (CMISL) in 2007.[9] The league served as the first exclusively Canadian professional indoor soccer league, and was primarily based in Western Canada until it ceased operations in 2012.[10]
In 2017, the Canadian Arena Soccer Association (CASA) was founded as the governing body for the sport in Canada.[11][12] The CASA sanctioned the developmental Youth Arena Premier League and the semi-professional Arena Premier League – both based in Mississauga.[13][14] The purpose of the Arena Premier League was to develop and provide talent to the Canadian national indoor team, and later to the MetroStars.[15]
Formation and dissolutionedit
The MetroStars were founded in 2018 and were one of 17 participants in the 2018–19 Major Arena Soccer League season. They made their debut on December 1 against the defending league champion Baltimore Blast. According to team owner Gladiator Sports, the MetroStars payroll for the year was about $500,000.[16] The team finished the 2018–19 season 15th in the league with a record of 4 wins, 20 losses, and ranked 14th in attendance with an average of 1,020 per game.[17]
For the 2019–20 season, the team rebranded as MetroStars Canada. They planned to play their 12 home games in six cities across Ontario (St. Catharines, Kingston, Oshawa, Windsor, Sarnia, and Brampton)[18] to spread awareness for the sport. Before playing a single game that season, the Major Arena Soccer League published a revised schedule that did not include the MetroStars.[3] Six days later, the team confirmed that they would not be participating in the season due to issues coordinating their home matches.[17]
^ abc"Mississauga Metrostars Join MASL as First Canadian Franchise". Major Arena Soccer League. September 14, 2018. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
^ ab"Mississauga MetroStars launched ahead of arena soccer season". The Mississauga News. 2018-09-14. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
^ ab"MASL announces revised 2019-2020 schedule". Major Arena Soccer League. 2019-11-23. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
^Sandor, Steven (2014-07-02). "PASL wants united North American indoor soccer scene". the11.ca. Archived from the original on 2014-07-02. Retrieved 2018-03-29.
^"A History of USA Indoor Soccer". homepages.sover.net. Retrieved 2018-03-29.
^Jose, Colin (2001). On-Side - 125 Years of Soccer in Ontario. Vaughan, Ontario: Ontario Soccer Association and Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum. p. 244.
^Sandor, Steven (2014-07-02). "MISL has interest in Canadian expansion". the11.ca. Archived from the original on 2014-07-02. Retrieved 2018-03-29.
^Sandor, Steven (2014-07-02). ""Glitches" in proposed plan to bring CMISL to Vancouver". the11.ca. Archived from the original on 2014-07-02. Retrieved 2018-03-29.
^SANDOR, Steven (2016-04-22). "CMISL to take one-year hiatus: Plans to return for 2013-14". the11.ca. Archived from the original on 2016-04-22. Retrieved 2018-03-29.
^Colpitts, Iain (2017-06-21). "Canadian Arena Soccer Association makes Mississauga home". Mississauga.com. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
^Jab TV (2017-06-27), Canadian Arena Soccer Association (CASA) Press Conference, retrieved 2018-03-29
^scttmos (2018-01-26), Inside The APL Episode #1 January 26, 2018, retrieved 2018-03-29
^Colpitts, Iain (2017-06-27). "City of Mississauga goes all in on arena soccer". Mississauga.com. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
^Davidson, Neil (30 November 2018). "Mississauga MetroStars to kick off debut MASL season in Baltimore". National Post. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
^ abcDavidson, Neil (29 November 2019). "Indoor soccer takes another hit in Toronto as MetroStars pull out of MASL". The Chronicle-Journal. Canadian Press. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
^"Metrostars Canada Launches 6-City Tour in Niagara & Hosts Marvel Super Hero Weekends!". www.metrostars.ca. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
^Canadian Press (March 1, 2019). "Mississauga MetroStars fire head coach/GM after lengthy losing run". CHAT News Today. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
^"Kingston is one of 6 cities to host games in the Major Arena Soccer League". Global News. November 18, 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2020. said MetroStars head coach John Williams.
