Stan Adamson

Serbian White Eagles has been a team of some considerable prominence before and since entering the Canadian Soccer League in 2006, but it’s now nine years since winning the CSL’s most cherished championship trophy. The club that has maintained a glowing reputation in Canada’s soccer community since qualifying for the 1975 CONCACAF Champions Cup to meet Mexican team CF Monterrey, was defeated 1-0 by Scarborough in the CSL Championship Final at Esther Shiner Stadium Sunday evening.

While the match was again a physical encounter and ended with just one goal deciding the winner, it was also one of the most attractive of the season.

It was end-to-end in the early stages until Scarborough midfielder Andy Ruiz opened the scoring, forcing the ball from a corner kick into the net from the six-yard line and out of reach of Serbian White Eagles’ goalkeeper Daniel Gosciak. The goal came at 36 minutes.

With Scarborough leading 1-0 at the interval, Serbian White Eagles coach Bojan Zoranovic brought substitute former Canadian national team defender Adrian Cann into the game. Known for his ability to distribute the ball while setting up an attack, Cann has a background with a host of Defender of the Year awards that includes Toronto FC, Vancouver Whitecaps, Louisville, Colorado, Montreal, Denmark and England. Cann played for Scarborough in 2017 before moving to Serbian White Eagles. The second half brought several near misses by the White Eagles, but Scarborough goalkeeper Jose Rodolfo was outstanding and the Toronto east side team held to the final whistle for the victory.

The victory gives Scarborough the 2025 double following its regular season league title win and it’s the team’s third CSL Championship, having won in 2019 and 2021.

“Work hard pays off for today’s game and the year”, a jubilant Kiril Dimitrov, GM and Head Coach for Scarborough commented following the final whistle.

The victory gives Scarborough its third CSL Championship, having won in 2019 and 2021.

SCARBOROUGH SC
GM and Head Coach: Kiril Dimitrov
Assistant Coach: Vladimir Dragicevic
Assistant Coach: Edmond Amadeo Badal

Championship Final line-up and substitutes:
Edmond Amadeo Badal (Defender), Francisco Calderone (Defender), Gonzalo Matias (Midfielder), Eduardo Compean (Defender), Santiago Currios (Forward), Jair Cruz (Defender), Petar Dordevic (Forward ) Mohamed El-Sabbahy (Midfielder) 86 min., Devroy Grey (Midfielder), Alex Gustavo (Midfielder) 72 min.), Marko Johansen (Defender), Edgar Lopez (Midfielder), Limane Moussa (Forward), Marko Prokic (Midfielder), Camaal Reid (Midfielder), Nandy Baquero Ruiz (Midfielder), Junior Santana (Forward), Jose Rodolfo Toledo Rios(Goalkeeper), Ramses Torijos (Defender), AmadorTorres Castillo (Midfielder), Mishel Vissuet (Midfielder).

SERBIAN WHITE EAGLES
President: Dragan Bakoc
Manager: Predrag Milkovic
Head Coach: Bojan Zoranovic
Assistant Coach: Uros Stamatovic

Goalkeeper Coach: Bojan Vranic

Championship Final line-up and substitutes:
Campbell Tayjon Altiman (Goalkeeper), Daniel Jonathan Gosciniak (Goalkeeper) Ivan Cendic (Defender), Luka Glamcevski (Midfielder), Iqbal Hussain (Midfielder), Dejan Koraksic (Defender), Marko Krasic (Midfielder), Milos Mijatovic (Defender), Damilola Oladipo (Midfielder), Marko Pavicevic (Forward), Petar Planic (Defender), Srdan Simovic (Midfielder), Vladimir Strizovic (Forward) 65 min., Nikola Timotijevic (Midfielder) Bozan Zoranovic (Forward), Luka Dusan Lavrnic (Midfielder), Adrian Cann (Defender) 45 min..

Match Officials

Referee: Timur Qayoumi Assistant:
Rizwan Johnston Assistant: Shyon
Gaeeni 4 th Official: Phil
Papanicolaou

Venue: Esther Shiner Stadium, Toronto – Photos: Edward Naiman, Ekn Photography

CSL Championship Winners
2011 Toronto Croatia
2012 Toronto Croatia SC
2013 Waterloo
2014 York Region Shooters
2015 Toronto Croatia
2016 Serbian White Eagles
2017 York Region Shooters
2018 FC Vorkuta
2019 Scarborough SC
2020 FC Vorkuta
2021 Scarborough SC
2022 Continentals FC
2023-2024 Not played
2025 Scarborough SC

Scarborough and Serbian White Eagles have both been prominent in the CSL Championship since entering the Canadian Soccer League – Serbian White Eagles was an expansion team in 2006 while Scarborough arrived in 2014. Their prominence is evident throughout with regular season titles and cup competitions which have often been followed by a strong presence in the playoffs resulting in three championships by the White Eagles and Scarborough SC has lifted the trophy twice. Scarbrough has also been a finalist four times, Serbian White Eagles twice.

The two teams dominated this 2025 regular league competition and meet on Sunday, September 28 in the 2025 CSL Championship Final, a 7 pm kickoff at Esther Shiner Stadium. Scarbrough defeated Aeem Canada 3-1 and Serbian White Eagles gained a 6-1 victory over Unity FC in the CSL Championship semi-finals played on September 21. Midfielder Ady Ruez and forwards Devroy Grey and Gonzalo Matias were the goalscorers for Scarborough, and Duresa Shubisa struck for Aeem Canada, while in the late game Nikola Timotijevic and MD Iqbal Husain each scored twice, with Luka Glamoevski and Srdjan Simovic scoring singles for Serbian White Eagles, The lone Unity FC goal was scored by defender Nelson Padillo.

Prior to the playoffs hiatus of 2023 and 2024, Scarborough reached the championship final in 2022, losing 2-1 in a squeaker to FC Continentals. A number of Scarborough players in that match,, including Defender Amador Torres, Forward Gonzalo Matias, Defender Marko Johansen, Midfielder Camaal Reid are expected to be in the upcoming final on September 28.

The CSL Championship Final will end the 2025 season.

It was well accepted that at the end of the regular season league games scheduled for Saturday September 13 would be all about goals scored and not about the points. Scarborough and Serbian White Eagles were level on points and that would be unlikely to change.

The Serbian White Eagles opening game against Unity FC from kick off to the final whistle was a one-sided aggressive attacking effort which at the interval brought a 7-0 score,  A further four goals in the second half increased the lead for an 11-0 result at the final whistle, a score that gave White Eagles and observers enough margin and an expectation of winning the league title.

 A similar attacking style was adopted by Scarborough in the second game of the double header with the midfield moving the ball forward at all times and with lively encouragement from the head coach to shoot at every opportunity. It was 12-0 at half-time, followed by four goals in the second half for a 16-0 final score to award Scarborough the 2025 regular season league title.

The east-Toronto side has held the top position in the standings since scoring a 6-0 win over Unity FC on July 26 and it is the team’s third league title following 2020 and 2023 with runner-up positions in 2019, 2021 and 2024.Scarborough also won the CSL Championship in 2019 and 2021 with CSL Championship runner-up positions in 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2022. The team has also finalists in the CSL cup competitions in 2021, 2024 and 2025.

Scarborough will meet Aeem Canada at 2 pm and Serbian White Eagles will play Unity FC in the playoff the CSL Championship semi-finals at 4 pm on Sunday, September 21. Both games at Esther Shiner Stadium.

There were five hat-tricks scored in the double header, including Scarborough forwards Andy Ruiz finding the net five times and Devroy Grey scoring four goals. Scarborough’s Gonzalo Matias Cabrera Celis and Ramses Torisos each struck three goals and Mishel Vissuet scored a single.  Serbian White Eagle player Nikola Timotijevic scored a hat-trick, Marko Pavicevic sruck two as did Nikola Djurkovic. Dejan Koraksic and MD Iqbal Hussain each scored a single

Scarborough forward Devroy Grey leads the scoring with Erick Hernandez of Unity FC, each with eight goals scored in regular league games.

 Scarborough will meet Aeem Canada at 2 pm and Serbian White Eagles will play Unity FC in the playoffs, the CSL Championship semi-finals at 4 pm on Sunday, September 21. Both games at Esther Shiner Stadium.

Scarborough held its lead position at the top of the standings with a 3-0 defeat of Unity FC, while Serbian White Eagles also continued its winning way with a 7-1 route of Ameed Canada, two games in an afternoon double header at Esther Shiner Stadium Saturday, September 6.

A highlight was a hat-trick by Serbian White Eagles’ forward Marko Krasic who struck at 32, 65 and 72 minutes in the route of CSL expansion team Aeem Canada, which is now on an eight-game losing streak. Krasic has five goals in the eight regular season games played.

Marko Pavicevic opened the scoring for Serbian White Eagles, a well-placed header out of reach of Aeem goalkeeper Henry SSozi for his third goal of the season, Lukz Glamkovsi made it 2-0 at 15 minutes which was followed by Krasic’s first goal, Damilola Oladipo increased the lead to 4-0 at 37 minutes and Nikola Djurkovic made it 5-0, the score at the break.

Ameed defender Francis Chuks was shown the red card following a second caution at 55 minutes and Yohannes Amare, playing on the left wing scored Ameed’s goal at 58 minutes. This was followed by Krasic’s second and third goals for Serbian White Eagles at 65 and 72 minutes for the 7-1 score at the final whistle.

Marko Prokic scored a spectacular goal to open the scoring for Scarborough at 12 minutes, finding the et from 40 yards over Unity FC goalkeeper Rostislav Stashko out of position while clearing. It was 1-0 at the interval. Petar Dordevic scored from close in to make it 2-0 at 52 minutes and struck a second goal from outside the box at 75 minutes for the 3-0 result.

The end of the regular season games in the Canadian Soccer League will be played on Saturday, September 13 at revised kick-off times. Serbian White Eagles are at home to Unity FC, a 4 pm kickoff, followed by Scarborough vs Aeem Canada at 6pm, both games at Esther Shiner Stadium. The CSL Championship games follow with the semi-finals on Sunday, September 21 at 2 pm and 4 pm, also at Esther Shiner Stadium.

Serbian White Eagles and Scarborough played to 1-1 draw in a hard fought, attractive opening game of two at Esther Shiner Stadium Saturday, followed in the late encounter by a 5-4 Unity FC victory over Aeem Canada.

Scarborough opened the scoring at 12 minutes from a drive on the edge of the penalty area by Devroy Grey, a 1-0 lead at the break. Serbian White Eagles, playing without Tayjon Campbell and Vladimir Strizovic both serving suspensions, equalized early in the second half when MD Iqbal Hussain headed in a cross from the left. There is no change at the top of the standings with Scarborough holding on to its top position by the narrowest of margins. Both Scarborough and Serbian White Eagles have won 5 games and have 16 points, each have tied one game and lost one. The difference is in the goals scored and goals against, with the east Toronto side’s superior edge 21-5 compared to Serbian White Eagles’ 19-7.

Unity FC continue to show increasing strength with the 5-4 defeat of Aeem. Unity has a league-leading 23 goals scored on the season. Striker Erick Hernandez, the league’s leading goal scorer, struck his second hat-trick this season at 27, 46 and 75 minutes. Hernandez, who played at a high level in Mexico, scored three goals in Unity’s season opener on June 22, which was also against Aeem Canada. Hernandes’ goal at 75 minutes ln the latest match turned out to be the winning goal . Talhah Alikhan scored twice for Unity at 18 and 54 minutes.

Aeem goals were scored by Rosham Martin at 21 minutes, Yohannes Amare at 37 minutes, Mintesnot Bayu at 60 minutes and Misganaw Amakelew at the 68th minute mark.

The next Canadian Soccer League games will be at Esther Shiner Stadium on Saturday, September 6 when Unity FC host Scarborough at 2 pm and Aeem Canada are at home to Serbian White Eagles, a 4 pm kickoff

Scarborough held on to the top position in the standings with a decisive 5-2 victory over Aeem Canada and Serbian White Eagles defeated Unity FC 4-2 in a physical and at times violent encounter, a two-game double header at Esther Shiner Stadium Saturday, August 9.

Midfielder Camal Reid opened the scoring for the east Toronto side at the 7th minute mark, and Junior Santana made it 2-0 10 minutes later. Yohannes Amare struck for Aeem Canada at 23 minutes to reduce the lead to 2-1, the score at the interval.

Petar Dordevic diverted a corner kick into the net to increase the lead to 3-1 for Scarborough and midfielder Devroy Grey increased the lead to 4-1 at the 54th minute. Amare scored his second goal for Aeem Canada at 83 minutes, heading in and out of reach of Scarborough goalkeeper Jose Rodolfo Rios for a 4-2 score. Forward Limane Moussa drove the ball just inside the post at 90 minutes to complete the scoring at 5-2 in favour of Scarborough.

Unity FC opened the scoring at 11 minutes in the second game, a goal by Talhah Alikhan, and Nikola Timotijevic headed in an equalizer for Serbian White Eagles for a 1-1 score at 20 minutes. Petar Planic put the White Eagles into a 2-1 lead at 26 minutes, the score at the break.
Brayan Avriolu equalized for Unity, a drive inside the box for a 2-2 score score at the 55th minute mark and late goals by Vladimir Strizovic with a volley at 80 minutes by Hozh at 84 minutes gave Serbian White Eagles a 4-2 result at the final whistle.

The physical game was marred by progressing into a rough and tumble affair which came to a standstill twice in the second half and resulted in Jahil Morra of Unity FC and Tayjon Campbell and Vladimir Strizovic of Serbian White Eagles being shown the red card for Violent Conduct by referee Steve Temur.

Canadian Soccer League games will be played at Esther Shiner Stadium on Saturday, August 16 with Serbian White Eagles hosting Scarborough at 2 pm and Aeem Canada will be at home against Unity FC, a 4 pm kick-off.

Scarborough SC jumped into top position in the CSL standings with a decisive 6-0 victory over Unity FC in the mid-season second game of two at Esther Shiner Stadium Saturday, July 26. Serbian White Eagles scored a 4-2 win over Aeem Canada in the opening game, but The White Eagles dropped to second position in the table on goal average while tied on points.

Aeem Canada opened the scoring just four minutes after kickoff when Yohannes Amare headed in from a right wing cross.  Nikola Timotijevic equalized for Serbian White Eagles at the 20-minute mark and MD Iqbal Hussain scored his first of two goals with a snap left foot drive from 15 yards leaving Aeem goalkeeper Henry Ssoti with no chance, a 2-1 lead for Serbian White Eagles. Hussain struck his second goal five minutes later for a 3-1 lead at the interval. Marko Stajic made it 4-1 and Christopher Gilfillian of Aeem Canada completed the scoring for a 4-2 final score in favour of Serbian White Eagles.

Scarborough forward Junior Santana found the net three times in the last 10 minutes of play to emphasize an earlier 3-0 lead and an edge the east Toronto side demonstrated in the second game of the afternoon double header.  An early drive that hit the post by midfielder Andy Ruiz was followed up at 20 minutes by Petar Dordevic finding the net with a header past Unity FC goalkeeper Rostyslav Stashko for a 1-0 half-time lead by Scarborough. Devroy Grey increased the lead to 2-0 from the penalty spot after referee Temur Qayouni pointed to the spot following an untidy challenge and foul in the box. Dordevic scored his second goal, which was his third goal of the season, at 75 minutes for a 3-0 Scarborough lead to be followed by Santana’s  hat-trick at 81, 87 and 89 minutes.

Canadian Soccer League games resume at Esther Shiner Stadium on Saturday, August 9, with Aeem Canada hosting Scarborough at 2 pm and Unity FC hosting Serbian White Eagles at 4 pm..

Unity FC exploded with six second half goals to produce a goal-fest 8-2 victory over Aeem Canada in a double header opening game at Esther Shiner Stadium Sunday afternoon. In the second game Scarborough put on a tough, gritty display while holding tight to a 1-0 first half lead through to the final whistle.

Unity striker Talhah Alikhan led the way with a mid-second half hat-trick, all three goals scored within 30 minutes at 58, 74 and 87 on the clock.  Artur Salamanka opened the scoring for Unity at the 24th minute mark and Henry Ssozi tied the game 1-1 for Aeem Canada at 35 minutes following a breakaway just past the halfway line. Artur Salamanka scored a second goal from the 6-yard line following a rebound off the post at 40 minutes for a 3-1 score. Erick Hernandez struck at 45 minutes, a 4-1 score at the break and scored a second goal following the interval. Yroslav Nidzelskyi found the net for Unity at 71 minutes. Mohamed  Kamate scored the second Aeem Canada goal at 86 minutes to complete the 8-2 final score.

Forward Gonzalo Matias struck the lone goal and winner for Scarborough, a victory that brought the east Toronto side in a position tied with Serbian White Eagles at the top of the standings. Only one goal in favor of Serbian White Eagles keeps the White Eagles at the top. Both teams have conceded only two goals in regular season competition,

Unity FC is the most prolific team at this point of the season, scoring 16 goals in the four regular season games played and forward Erick Hernandez of Unity is the league’s leading scorer with five goals in the four regular season games played. Hernandez, 32, has a strong professional background with CD Veracruz, Tigres Doridos and Delfino UGM in Mexico. Other impressive players with Unity FC includes Talhah Alikhan, 24, also a striker scoring the hat-trick in Sunday’s entertaining encounter against Aeem Canada.

 CSL games return to Esther Shiner Stadium on Saturday, July 26 when Serbian White Eagles host Aeem Canada at 2 pm followed by Scarborough vs Unity at 4pm.

Serbian White Eagles continued its near dominance of the Canadian Soccer Leage with a 4-1 victory over Unity FC in the first game of a double header at Esther Shiner Stadium Sunday. Scarborough continued its pursuit of the Toronto west-end side with a 5-0 trouncing of Aeem Canada in the second encounter of the afternoon.

The White Eagles conceded its first goal of the season in all competitions at the 70th minute of Sunday’s match when Artur Salamanka found the net for Unity’s only goal. Serbian White Eagles are also enjoying a 100 per cent win record following the Royal Cup victories which preceded the three regular league wins in the new season.

Nikola Timotijevic opened the scoring for Serbian White Eagles at the fourth minute mark and Marko Pavicevic made it 2-0 from 5 yards following a play by Drjan Koraksic and Srdjan Smovic. It was 2-0 at the break. Unity FC rallied in the second half with Erick Hernandez looking strong on attack and Artur Salamanka eventually struck Unity’s only goal at 70 minutes. Malcolm Soaza increased the White Eagles lead to 3-1 at 83 minutes and Marko Stajic completed the 4-1 score at 88 minutes.

Midfielder Devroy Grey opened the scoring for Scarborough at four minutes in the game against Aeem Canada, Daniel Kashir increased the lead to 2-0 at 11 minutes and forward Petar Dordevic made it 3-0 three minutes later, the score at the interval. Aeem Canada showed signs of a late rally, but defender Amador Torress and Mishel Vissuet each struck for Scarborough in the late stages for a 5-0 score at the final whistle.

Unity FC will host Aeem Canada for a 2 pm kickoff and Scarborough will meet Serbian White Eagles at 4 pm on Sunday, July 20, for the next CSL games. Both games are at Esther Shiner Stadium in North York, Toronto.

An early first half hat-trick in the space of six minutes by Scarborough forward Gonzalo Matias was enough for a 3-1 victory over Unity FC in the first game of a Canadian Soccer League double header at Esther Shiner Stadium Sunday. There were five goal scorers in a 5-0 Serbian White Eagles win over Aeem Canada in the second game.

Matias struck his first goal just five minutes into the game, heading in from a corner kick. A drive into the corner of the net made it 2-0 at nine minutes of play, with the hat-trick completed at the 11th minute mark for an early 3-0 lead by the east Toronto side.

Unity rallied as the game progressed, the best scoring opportunity coming from a breakaway by Vladislav Sydor Ko at 35 minutes, his drive while closing in went over the bar while taking a challenge. It was 3-0 at the break. Unity reduced the lead to 3-1, a goal at 76 minutes by Artur Sala Makad.

Nikola Timotijevic opened the scoring for Serbian White Eagles at the 10th minute mark against Aeem Canada, Srdjan Simovic increased the lead to 2-0 with a left foot drive from just inside the box at 13 minutes, Milos Mijatovic found the net for a 3-0 lead two minutes later, the score at half time. Marko Pavicevic headed in a cross from the left wing for a 4-0 lead at 69 minutes and Vladimir Strizovic completed the scoring at 75 minutes for a  5-0 result at the final whistle.

Serbian White Eagles lead the standing with six points from two games without conceding a goal. Unity FC are in second place with three points from the two games played and a goal advantage while tied for points with third place Scarbrough. Aeem Canada are in fourth position following two defeats.

CSL games resume on Sunday, July 13 at Esther Shiner Stadium with an opening game Serbian White Eagles vs. Unity FC at 2 pm followed by Scarborough vs Aeem Canada, a 4 pm kickoff.

Serbian White Eagles survived a squeaker to defeat Scarborough 1-0 in the last minute of the opening game of the Canadian Soccer League regular season Sunday, which was followed by Unity FC’s 6-0 defeat of expansion team Aeem Canada. Both games played at Esther Shiner Stadium, Toronto.

Midfielder Marko Krasic struck the winner at 89 minutes in defense of the CSL league title win of 2024, which followed the league title win of 2022 and a runner-up finish in 2023. The west Toronto team hit quick success this new season by capturing the CSL Royal Cup on June 15.

Erick Hernandez led Unity FC to the 6-0 victory with the first hat-trick of the 2025 season. He scored the opening goal of the match at the 23rd minute, his second at 78 minutes and he beat Aeem goalkeeper Fabian Mccalla a third time to complete the hat-trick at the 90th minute mark. Robina Lukas at 58 minutes, Joao Pedro Costa at 60 minutes and Alan Aluarenga at 82 minutes completed the scoring.

CSL league games return to Esther Shiner Stadium on Sunday, June 29, with Unity FC at home to Scarborough at 2 pm and Aeem Canada will host Serbian White Eagles at 4 pm

Serbian White Eagles repeated their 2024 season victory in the Royal Cup Final, defeating Scarborough 2-0 at Esther Shiner Stadium Sunday. The west Toronto club has three CSL Championships to its name and the team has won the regular season title six times since entering the Canadian Soccer League as an expansion team in 2006. But its success in Canada goes back much earlier when the club from Hamilton relocated to Toronto to become   a member of the National Soccer League and in 1974 drew attention throughout the country by being the first Canadian club to compete in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.

The final was a hard-fought encounter throughout and Scarborough found the net early with an offside goal at the 11th minute mark.

Serbian Eagles’ forward  Marko Pavicevic opened the scoring at 30 minutes with a drive from inside the box that was deflected into the net, a 1-0 lead at the break, Pavicevic struck again for a 2-0 lead at the 71st minute and while Scarborough came close and midfielder Olek Katsiba was a constant threat to break through, Serbian White Eagles held an advantage for a 2-0 score at the final whistle against a team down to 10 men following a second half red card to defender Marco Johansen which referee Ranee Arpati ruled a Violent Conduct offence at the 65th minute mark.

Serbian White Eagles’ head coach Bojan Zoranovic considered that the game went according to a determination to defend winning the trophy in 2024.  “I congratulate everyone on a good game, and my boys on a victory and great fight. A solid and competitive game, like all the games so far between Scarborough and us. We were lucky in some moments, but I think we showed more on the field and deservedly won this final. Our goal was to defend the title in the cup and we succeeded in that. New fights in the championship await us and I hope that we will be just as successful,” he said.

SERBIAN WHITE EAGLES – Royal Cup Final Roster:

Daniel Gosciniak (Goalkeeper), Petar Planic (Defender), Ivan Cendic (Defender),  Dejan Koraksic (Defender)  Christofer Gaytan Marko Krasic (Midfielder), Bojan Sisovic (Midfielder), Nikola Djurkovic (Midfielder), Christofer Gaytan (Defender), Srdjan Simovic (Defender), Milos Mijatovic (Midfielder), Marko Pavicevic (Forward), Marko Orosic (Midfielder), Vladimir Strizovic (Forward), Andrew Shahrivar (Goalkeeper), Mahmoboun Ben Hafiz, Bojan Zoranovic.

Head Coach: Bojan Zoranovic
Assistant Coach: Uros Stamatovic
President and Manager: Dragan Bakoc

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SCARBOROUGH SC – Royal Cup Final Roster

Jose Rodolfo (Goalkeeper), Marko Johansen (Defender) Mishel Vissuet (Defender), Marko Johansen (Defender) Jesus Eduardo Compean ( Defender), Francisko Rojas (Defender), Edie Badal (Defender), Amador Tores (Defender).  Mauricio Tobar (Defender),  Marko  Prokic  (Midfielder)  Junior Santana (Midfielder),  Jair Cruz (Midfielder),  Jhonatan Rodriguez  (Midfielder),  Olek Kotsiuba (Midfielder),  Ramses Torijos (Midfielder),  Ap Ap (Midfielder) Mohamed El-Sabbahy (Midfielder),  Petar Dordevic – (Forward).Alex Gustavo (Forward), Edgar Gatto (Forward), Riego Loris (Forward), Daniel (Forward).

Head Coach: Zoran Knezevic
Assistant coaches: Vladimir Dragicrvic,  Yordan Kovachev
General Manager: Kiril Dimitrov
Venue: Esther Shiner  Stadium, Toronto, ON

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Match Officials

Referee: Ranee Arpati
Assist. Referee 1: Tim Sandu
Assist, Referee 2: Yousef Yousef
4th Official: Phil Papanicolau

A jubilant Serbian White Eagles repeat last season’s triumph

Serbian White Eagles will meet Scarborough in the Royal Cup Final on Sunday, June 15 following the semi-final opening games which recorded a forfeiture of the Aeem Canada vs Serbian White Eagles encounter, the game postponed when the expansion side failed to meet an extended deadline for kickoff. The default resulted in a further league decision that awarded the game to Serbian White Eagles by a 2-0 score in keeping with CSL Rules and Regulations.

Serbian White Eagles are the present holders of the Royal Cup memorial trophy following a 2-1 victory over Scarborough in 2024.

Scarborough advanced by defeating Unity FC 4-0 in the second semi-final and are seeking their first Royal Cup after reaching the final on two occasions in 2023 and 2024.

Scarborough took the lead in Sunday’s game at 28 minutes, a goal by Deva St, followed by Junior Santana finding the net at 32 minutes for a 2-0 lead at the break. Daniel made it 3-0 at 64 minutes and Mo Hamiri completed the scoring at 78 minutes, a 4-0 result at the final whistle.

Sunday’s June 15th final will kickoff at 6 pm at Esther Shiner Stadium.

A compact four teams will kick off a new season in the Canadian Soccer League on Sunday, June 8, to continue the league’s place and status in Canada’s soccer community, now as a regional semi-professional loop playing in the province of Ontario.

The season will get underway with the Royal Cup competition, a tournament that pays tribute to CSL announcer Enio Perruzza who passed away unexpectedly on January 15, 2021 at the age of 54. Known as the voice of the CSL, Perruzza called more than 3,000 games in 20 years throughout Canadian soccer, including international matches involving popular teams from other parts of the world.  

Following the Royal Cup semi-final matches on June 8, the Royal Cup Final will be played on Sunday, June 15, to be followed by the start of the regular season on Sunday, June 22 through to September 13, The playoffs for the CSL Championship are scheduled to begin on September 21 with the CSL Championship Final on Saturday, September 27. Most games are scheduled to be played at Esther Shiner Stadium, Toronto.

Aeem Canada FC, Scarborough SC, Serbian White Eagles and Unity FC will vie for the three trophies in what will mark a 2025 season and 100 years since Toronto Ulster  played Windsor Rovers in the first game of the original  CSL forerunner league on June 19, 1926, The forerunner leagues continued during several rebranding changes, the latest being a change in the name in 2006 from the Canadian Professional Soccer League (CPSL) to the Canadian Soccer League (CSL) which followed with a  more significant change when the CPSL merged with the semi-professional National Soccer League (NSL) in 1997. 

It’s worth repeating that soccer historian Colin Jose wrote in his book ‘ON Side’ that the forerunner leagues of the CSL were borne out of turmoil in the tumultuous years of the 1920s, describing the league as having stood the test of time when other leagues have come and gone in Canada. While there has been more stability in recent years, the CSL, Canada’s top league at the time, was rocked when de-sanctioned  by the governing body Canadian Soccer Association, a decision considered by many to be unnecessary and heavy handed. The decision was arrived at following the release of a study by the Rethink Management Group, a sports consultancy organization based in San Francisco commissioned by Canada Soccer to study and recommend a course of action that will lead to Canada being more competitive in world soccer. The report put emphasis  on local player development by giving opportunities to players who are permanent residents in Canada.  CSL clubs imported many foreign players but to de-sanction the CSL was wrong, said the Canadian government’s sport disputes resolution body following a hearing before Justice Hugh L. Fraser. The investigation and hearing was highly critical and considered the Canadian Soccer Association decision unconstitutional and not within the governing body’s own by-laws.

Justice Fraser and the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC) cancelled the de-sanctioning for 12 months to allow the CSL time to decide its future governance, probably the Ontario Soccer Association. But the league decided to play as a private entity and having been independent for 12 years it has yet to seek reinstatement. The irony of this turn of events was a CSL decision in 2011 to request a change in the league’s governance from the Ontario Soccer Association to the Canadian Soccer Association during a period when the CSL was considering the prospect of a coast to coast CSL, which was long overdue. Serious discussions were taking place with interested parties in Alberta and British Columbia – two clubs in Quebec were already CSL members.

Serbian White Eagles has been a CSL member team since 2006 and is today led by Dragan Bakoc, who is also the president of the CSL. The Eagles has a reputation for importing high level players and coaches including the outstanding Dragoslav Sekularac of Serbia being appointed head coach during the early stages of the CSL competition. Sekularac was one of the top players in Europe and known world-wide. Serbian White Eagles have been in the CSL Championship final five times, winning the CSL Championship three times. The team has won the regular season title six times including the 2024 season. Bakoc was elected president of the CSL following the decision to de-sanction the league and his steadfast determination to overcome the earlier setbacks and rebilled the league is considered to have played a major part in the CSL’s continuing existence reaching the100 years centenary.

Scarborough SC was an expansion team in the CSL in 2014, and under the direction of owner/GM Kiril Dimitrov the east Toronto team has gone from a lowly position in the standings in its inaugural season to rise each and every year to be in the CSL Championship final game six times, winning the championship twice and has won the regular season title twice.  Zoran Knezevic is the head coach this coming season, assistant coach as a player coach is Edmond Amadeo Badal and goalkeeper Vladimir Dragicevic will be sharing the coaching duties in the upcoming season as the club’s goalkeeper coach.

A club founded by president Cayo Braz, Unity FC enters its second season in the Canadian Soccer League to continue with Douglas Nassif as head coach and Leonardo Vital as assistant coach. Unity FC is of South American influence which originates from Brazil.

AEEM Canada FC is an expansion team in the CSL under the direction of Eli Emmanuel Manga and majority owner MWWIIS, have appointed head coach Kebe Al Elinkine Wahid, also known as Cheikh Abdoul Khadre Kebe and ‘The Unique’ due to a successful strong background in soccer and success in other sports. A Senegal national, Kebe was appointed a Sports Director in 2020 following his certification by the Confederation of African Football in 2019. Sadio Mane, a Senegalese professional and one of the greatest African players of all time with Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr and the Senegal national team, is now a friend and team mate of Christiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia. Mane is expected to join AEEM Canada FC during the coming season. ‘Join the movement to elevate soccer’s prominence in Canada—support local teams, promote youth leagues, and help shape the future of the sport we love!’ says AEEM Canada FC on its website.

In addition to president Dragan Bakoc, Peter Kovacs continues as the league’s chief administrator, , Les Anning is the operations manager at the games, Devor Kresic the chief referee and co-ordinator of the match officials and Stan Adamson is the corporate secretary and media official..

 Opening Day – ROYAL CUP TOURNAMENT – Enio Perruzza Memorial Trophy

Sunday    June 8     Esther Shiner Stadium      Serbian White Eagles  vs  Aeem Canada    6 PM

Sunday    June 8     Esther Shiner Stadium      Scarborough SC vs Unity FC     8 PM