Toronto Croatia

Early years (1956–1967)

Croatian National Sports Club Toronto Croatia was formed by the Croatian diaspora in Toronto, Ontario on October 5, 1956 in order to foster closer links with the homeland by promoting organized sporting events and competitions. The original founders of the club were Kreso Mance, Franjo Jurisic, and Juraj Boljkovac who served as the club's first president. Vlado Romanov was selected as the inaugural head coach, while Mance was appointed the first team captain. The club originally competed in the Metro Toronto League, and made its debut against Belfast United. During the club's fledgeling years the team saw little on-field success with their biggest achievement occurring in the 1959 season, when Toronto Croatia participated in the Continental Soccer League and claimed the Continental Cup after defeating Germania by a score of 2–1. In the 1960s the club received support from club president Nikola Baric, the Croatian community, and Rev. Dragutin Kamber's Croatian parishioners, and the club began to develop into a solid team. Toronto Croatia joined the Toronto and District League in 1960, where they played for two seasons, then transitioned to the professional Canadian National Soccer League (CNSL) in 1962. After several mediocre seasons Toronto Croatia reached the championship finals in the 1966 season, finishing second to Windsor Teutonia.

National Soccer League success (1970–1975)

Having established themselves as a NSL-title contender,…

North American Soccer League: 1 Soccer Bowl '76 Canadian National Soccer League: 4 1971, 1974, 1988, 1992 Canadian Soccer League: 6 2000, 2004, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2015 CNSL Playoff Champions: 3 1971, 1974, 1988 CNSL Regular Season: 4 1970, 1971, 1972, 1992 CSL Regular Season: 1 2012 Canadian Open Cup: 3 1971, 1972, 1973 NSL/CNSL Cup: 6 1972, 1975, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993 NSL Canada Cup: 1 1989 Canadian International Soccer League: 2 1995, 1996 Croatian World Club Championship: 2 2007, 2011