First Soccer Games in Canada Commemorative plaque, 2022.
File information | File dimensions | File size | Options |
Original JPG File | 7350 × 4650 pixels (34.18 MP) 62.2 cm × 39.4 cm @ 300 PPI |
2.5 MB | Restricted |
Low resolution print | 2000 × 1265 pixels (2.53 MP) 16.9 cm × 10.7 cm @ 300 PPI |
426 KB | Restricted |
Screen | 1265 × 800 pixels (1.01 MP) 10.7 cm × 6.8 cm @ 300 PPI |
238 KB | Restricted |
Resource ID
10104
Access
Open
Credit Line
Heritage Toronto
Date of Creation
2022
Historical Themes
Sports History, Women's History
Program Category
Historical Plaques
Rights
Heritage Toronto
Time Period
1835-1899, 1900-1953, 1954-1998, 1999-today
Caption
First Soccer Games in Canada Commemorative plaque, 2022.
Description
Established in 1879, the University of Toronto men’s soccer team is one of the oldest in North America. At an 1863 meeting in London, England, the Football Association (FA) agreed on a set of rules that became the basis of modern soccer. Before the FA rules, many ball-kicking games were popular. Some allowed players to carry the ball, and these became rugby and Canadian football. Soccer was introduced to U of T in 1876, when University College formally adopted the FA rules. At the time, women were not allowed to attend the university, and organized women’s sports were still rare. The men’s team became a dominant early force in Canadian soccer, winning the first eight intercollegiate championships and the first national title in 1889. David Forsyth, the “Father of Canadian Soccer,” was first exposed to the sport at U of T; he was a major force in popularizing the men’s game and co-founded the Ontario Football Association in 1901. In 1922, organized women’s soccer was effectively banned by the sport’s governing body in Canada, which limited the growth of the game. Since 1911, Varsity Stadium has hosted many university soccer games, as well as Canada’s first World Cup qualifier in 1957 and several 1976 Olympic matches. In 1977, women’s soccer returned with an intramural league, and the women’s varsity university team was founded in 1985.