The 2002 Canada Cup (known as the Government of Canada Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 5th edition of the Canadian Professional Soccer League's league cup tournament, running from late June through late September. Ottawa Wizards successfully defended the title after defeating Toronto Croatia 1-0 at Cove Road Stadium in London, Ontario. The competition format changed with the introduction of a qualifying round with a home and away two-game series instead of the traditional group stage format previously used by the league. The tournament received a title sponsor from the government of Canada after the league received a federal grant of $100,000. The original hosting rights were granted to Hamilton, but after failing to successfully organize the tournament, the responsibilities were given to London, which in return received a wild card match privilege. The decision to grant London the hosting rights produced controversy as originally Ottawa was selected by the CPSL executives to replace Hamilton, but was vetoed by the team owners as London was deemed a more reliable venue.

First round

3–3 on aggregate; Durham won on away goals.

Brampton won 6–3 on aggregate.

Mississauga won 4–2 on aggregate.

Vaughan won 6–2 on aggregate.

Ottawa won 7–3 on aggregate.

Toronto Croatia won 6–1 on aggregate.

Hamilton won 4–2 on aggregate.

Quarter-final

Brampton won 7–3 on aggregate.

Vaughan won 3–2 on aggregate.

Toronto won 4–1 on aggregate.

Wild card

Semi-final

Final

GK 1 Sa Brahima Traore RB 22 Abraham FrancoisCB 18 Shurland David (c) LB 24 Roger GroomeRM 4 Russell Shaw CM 7 Peter Mponda CM 3 Kwame TelemaqueCM 17 Urbain Some LM 21 Robin Hart ST 8 Kevin Nelson ST 9 Abraham Osman Substitutes:GK 29 Hubert Busby Jr. DF 5 Simon Bonk MF 2 Danny Sanna MF 14 Nicola Brkljaca MF 15 Sanjeev Parmar MF 19 Mario Andrijanic FW 11 Brent Antoine Manager: Klaus Linnenbruegger GK 1 George Azcurra RB 5 Robert FranCB 3 Daniel Pilas CB 4 Domagoj Sain (c)LB 2 Adrian Azcurra RM 8 Hugo Alistud CM 9 Mladen DikicCM 14 Velimir Crljen LM 17 Paul Grguric ST 13 Josip Juric ST 11 Ivica Sola Substitutes:MF 7 Nikola Andrijevic MF 15 Joseph Lewe MF 16 Danan Baljic FW 10 Peter Curic Manager: Drago Santic

Assistant referees: Amato DeLuca Joe Fletcher Fourth official: Nick Minten

References