Montserrat Championship

The Montserrat Championship is the top association football division in Montserrat. It was created in 1974 but has been competed-for only sporadically, partially as a result of the Soufrière Hills eruption causing widespread devastation to the island in 1997. Between 2005 and 2015, no league was played. The league restarted in 2016, but has been stopped again in 2018.[1]

Montserrat Championship
SportFootball
Founded1974
No. of teams10
CountryMontserrat Montserrat
Most recent
champion(s)
Police
Level on pyramid1
International cup(s)CFU Club Shield

History

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Football was first brought to Montserrat during World War 2 and grew in popularity during the 1960s and 1970s at which time the championship and Football Association were established,[1] The first iteration of the national championship was held in 1974 and was won by the Police.[1] A second season was played the following year, won by Bata Falcons, but following that there are no records of any form of organized competition until 1995, when the Police team again won the championship. Just as organized football on Montserrat was beginning to get going, a major eruption of the Soufrière Hills volcano caused widespread destruction of large parts of the island, with many villages being abandoned.[2] As a result, the 1996–97 season was abandoned part way through and no formal competition was held on the island until 2000, when the competition was again won by the police team.[3] Further competitions were held each year until 2004, when Ideal became only the third team to win the championship in its history.[4] This was the last recorded season of formal competition on the island until 2016 when the competition occurred again.[1]

Clubs

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Source:[5]

Most league games take place at the 1,000-capacity Blakes Estate Stadium.

Previous clubs

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Previous winners

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Season Winner
1974 Police
1975 Bata Falcons
1976–1995 not known
1995–96 Royal Montserrat Police Force
1996–97 abandoned
1998–99 no championship
2000 Royal Montserrat Police Force
2001 Royal Montserrat Police Force
2002–03 Royal Montserrat Police Force
2004 Ideal
2005–15 no championship
2016 Royal Montserrat Police Force
2017–19 not known
2020–present no championship

Source:[1]

Topscorers

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Year Best scorers Team Goals
2001   Ottley Laborde Royal Montserrat Police Force 21[6]
2002/03   Ottley Laborde Royal Montserrat Police Force 8[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Schöggl, Hans (18 December 2014). "Montserrat — List of Champions". RSSSF. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  2. ^ Schöggl, Hans (18 December 2014). "Montserrat 1996/97". RSSSF. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  3. ^ Schöggl, Hans (22 July 2004). "Montserrat 2000". RSSSF. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  4. ^ Schöggl, Hans (18 December 2014). "Montserrat 2004". RSSSF. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  5. ^ "MONTSERRAT 2017-2018". keltia.ch. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  6. ^ Schöggl, Hans (22 July 2004). "Montserrat 2000". RSSSF. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  7. ^ Schöggl, Hans (26 February 2014). "Montserrat 2002/03". RSSSF. Retrieved 12 November 2015.