The Western Football Association (WFA) was a governing body for soccer in Southern Ontario, Canada, and is often viewed as a precursor organization to the current Canadian Soccer Association. The organization was responsible for facilitating club play in Southern Ontario, and would also send teams to compete internationally, such as Galt F.C.'s participation at the 1904 Summer Olympics.
History Founded as the Western Football Association of Ontario, the association would grant membership to any amateur association rules football club west of Toronto. Immediately after its founding, the Western Football Association organized the WFA Challenge Cup, where member clubs would compete for the regional championship between 1880 and 1930. Following the dissolution of Toronto's Dominion Football Association in 1881, the WFA became the dominant soccer organization in Canada, and acted as Canada's national soccer association before the formation of the proper Dominion of Canada Football Association (Canada Soccer) in 1912. Because of this status, the WFA created the first ever Canadian national team to represent the country internationally in 1885, where they would go on to play against the United States in the first ever international match outside of the United Kingdom. The WFA would also send their national team on tours in 1888 and 1891 to play friendly matches against various soccer clubs in England, Ireland, and Scotland. In 1904, the WFA was invited to send one of their member clubs to the 1904 Summer Olympics soccer tournament in St. Louis, where they chose to send eventual gold medalists Galt F.C. to compete with two other clubs from the United States. The Western Soccer Association eventually folded in 1940, and although the reason or reasons behind its dissolution are not entirely clear, it was likely a mix of financial issues, as well as its increased insignificance compared to the Dominion of Canada Football Association and Ontario Soccer Association.
WFA Challenge Cup List of champions:
1880: Berlin High School
1880–81: Berlin High School
1881–82: Berlin High School
1882–83: Berlin High School
1883–84: Dundas
1884–85: Berlin Rangers
1885–86: Galt F.C.
1886–87: Galt F.C.
1887–88: Berlin Rangers
1888 Fall: Berlin Rangers
1889 Spring: Berlin Rangers
1889 Fall: Toronto Varsity
1890 Spring: Toronto Scots
1890 Fall: Toronto Varsity
1891 Spring: Seaforth Hurons
1891 Fall: Detroit
1892 Spring: Michigan A.A.
1892 Fall: Preston
1893 Spring: Galt F.C.
1893 Fall: Windsor
1894 Spring: Seaforth Hurons
1894 Fall: Orwell
1895 Spring: Seaforth Hurons
1895 Fall: Berlin Mechanics
1896 Spring: Seaforth Hurons
1896 Fall: Ingersoll
1897 Spring: Berlin Rangers
1898: Berlin Rangers
1899: Berlin Rangers
1900: Berlin Rangers
1901: Galt F.C.
1902: Galt F.C.
1903: Galt F.C.
1904: Galt F.C.
1905: Seaforth Hurons
1906: Seaforth Hurons
1907: Dundas
1908: Preston
1909: Stratford
1910 Spring: Stratford
1910 Fall: Galt F.C.
1911: Woodstock
1912: Stratford
1913: Stratford
1914: Stratford
1915: Stratford
1916: No competition
1917: No competition
1918: No competition
1919: Brantford United
1920: Galt F.C.
1921: Guelph Taylor
1922: Forbes
1923: Guelph Taylor
1924: Forbes
1925: Kitchener Rangers
1926: Kitchener Rangers
1927: Owen Sound
1928: Hespeler Hummers
1929: Hespeler Hummers
1930: Newton
1931: Stratford
1932: Hespeler Hummers
International competitions
Year(s) Competition Location Team sent score Opponent(s) Result 1885 Friendly Newark, New Jersey WFA team 1–0 United States (AFA) — 1886 Friendly Newark, New Jersey WFA team 2–3 United States (AFA) — 1888 Great Britain Tour British Isles WFA team23 matches (details) — 1891Great Britain TourBritish IslesWFA/AFA team58 matches (details) — 18921904Summer OlympicsSt. Louis, MissouriGalt F.C. 7–0 Christian Brothers College Gold Medalists 4–0 Saint Rose Parish1905FriendlyHamilton, Ontario Hamilton/Dundas 2–8 Pilgrims — Niagara Falls, Ontario Niagara Falls 0–5 Berlin, Ontario Berlin Rangers 2–1 "The Championship of the World" Galt, Ontario Galt F.C. 3–3
Notable staff
+List of presidents President Year(s) J.W. Connor 1880 J.E. Bryant 1881–85 C.F. McGillivray 1886 M.N. Todd 1887 J.A. Turner 1888 J.R.L. Starr 1889 George A. Dewar 1890–91 J.C. Breckenridge 1892 J.D. Lamont 1893 Henry J. Crawford 1984 William Prendergast 1895–96 W.M. Govenlock 1897 R.C. Cheswright 1898–1905 Louis B. Duff 1906–07 D.A. McLachlan 1908–09 Dr. Lederman 1910 Dr. Louis Doering 1911 Tom G. Elliott 1912 E.A. Rea 1913 J.M. McCutcheon 1914 David Forsyth 1915–19 H.W. Brown 1920–22 Don M. Campbell 1923–24 Beverley L.H. Bamford 1925–26 Fraser Campbell 1927–28 Harry Fisher 1929–30 Gladstone Neath 1931–33 Harold Western 1934–36 Harry Fisher Jr 1937–38 Frank Westerman 1939–40
+ List of secretary-treasurers Secretary-treasurer Year(s) David Forsyth 1880–1905 H.W. Brown 1906 Solon Lutz 1907–1908 T.G. Elliott 1909–1910 H.W. Brown 1911–1912 N.R. Fiebig 1913–1915 Charles Hollins 1916–1918 C.C. Tatham 1919–1920 David Forsyth 1921–1923Jim Blake 1924–1940
Notable players
Walter W. Bowman Christman Ducker David Forsyth
John Fraser John Gourlay Parnell Gourlay Alexander Hall Hall
Albert Henderson Albert Johnson Robert Lane Ernest Linton
Gordon McDonald Frederick Steep Tom Taylor William Twaits
References