The 2021 Première ligue de soccer du Québec season was the tenth season of play for the Première ligue de soccer du Québec, a Division 3 semi-professional soccer league in the Canadian soccer pyramid and the highest level of soccer based in the Canadian province of Québec.
A.S. Blainville were the defending champions. CS Mont-Royal Outremont won their fourth men's title and first since 2016.
AS Blainville competed in the 2021 Canadian Championship, losing in the first round to Canadian Premier League club HFX Wanderers FC.
Changes from 2020 and Changes due to pandemic The 2021 will have its greatest number of participating teams with 10 teams. Royal-Sélect de Beauport will field a team in the male division for the first time, while FC Lanaudière, CS Mont-Royal Outremont, and CS Monteuil return from hiatus, after not playing in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. CS Fabrose became FC Laval following a merger with two other local clubs.
As with the 2020 PLSQ season, the start of the season was delayed due to the pandemic. The men's championship will run from July 3 to October 17, with each of the ten each opposing team twice for a total of 18 games, with the Coupe PLSQ being cancelled. The Reserve Division will once again operate with each team playing 16 matches.
Teams Ten teams participated in the 2021 season. The league champion will earn a place in the 2022 Canadian Championship.
Team City Stadium A.S. Blainville Blainville, Laurentides Parc BlainvilleCeltix du Haut-RichelieuSaint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Montérégie Stade Alphonse-DesjardinsFC Laval Laval, Laval Collège MontmorencyFC Lanaudière Terrebonne, Lanaudière Parc André-Courcelles CS Longueuil Longueuil, Montérégie Parc Laurier CS Mont-Royal Outremont Mount Royal, Montréal Parc Recreatif de TMR CS Monteuil Laval, Laval Parc de Lausanne CS St-Hubert Saint-Hubert, Montérégie Centre Sportif Roseanne-LaflammeOttawa South UnitedOttawa, OntarioGeorge Nelms Sports ParkRoyal-Sélect de BeauportBeauport, Quebec CityStade Beauport
Standings On 16 September, Ottawa South United was forced to withdraw from the league due to government restrictions and cross-border difficulties, with their played matches removed from the rankings (their record was 1–2–7 at the time).
Removed Matches vs OSU (H/A)Mont-Royal Outremont–4–1Blainville2–1–Celtix du Haut-Richelieu3–1–FC Laval–2–2St-Hubert––Longueuil5–1–Monteuil4–12–0RS Beauport–1–1Lanaudière1–32–0
Throughout the season, the PLSQ teams played friendly matches with CF Montréal U23, with the matches not counting to the overall standings.
Friendlies vs CF Montréal U23 Home@ MTL@ MTLCS Mont-Royal Outremont0–61–01–2A.S. Blainville3–4––Celtix du Haut-Richelieu2–2––CS St-Hubert–2–3–FC Laval–1–2–CS Longueuil1–21–1–CS Monteuil– 0–1–Royal-Sélect de Beauport–––FC Lanaudière– 1–5–Ottawa South United– – –
Top scorers Includes goals in matches against Ottawa South United Rank Player Club Goals1Joseph Greguy Saint Simon CS Mont-Royal Outremont 122Mamadi Camara Celtix du Haut-Richelieu 113Flavio Colasanti CS Mont-Royal Outremont 8 Adama Sissoko FC Laval5Mouad Ouzane CS Mont-Royal Outremont 7 Yves Wesley Wandje Djomze CS St-Hubert7Saad Chaouki CS St-Hubert 6 Mitchell Syla FC Lanaudière
Awards AwardPlayer (club)Ref Ballon d'or (Best Player) Adama Sissoko (FC Laval) Ballon d'argent (2nd Best Player) Billal Qsiyer (CS Mont-Royal Outremont) Ballon de bronze (3rd Best Player) Peter Scuccimarri (FC Lanaudière) Golden Boot (Top Scorer) Joseph Greguy Saint-Simon (CS Mont-Royal Outremont) Coach of the Year Luc Brutus (CS Mont-Royal Outremont)
Reserve Division The league operated a reserve division. In early September, some teams (CS St-Hubert, FC Lanaudière, Ottawa South United, and Royal-Sélect de Beauport) opted out of the remaining matches in the reserve division, with their remaining matches not completed.
References