View source for Montserrat Championship

{{Short description|Association football league in Montserrat}}
{{more citations needed|date=December 2010}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox sports league
|logo = 
|sport=[[Association football|Football]]
|founded=1974
|teams=10
|levels=[[Football in Montserrat|1]]
|country= {{Flagicon|Montserrat}} [[Montserrat]]
|champion=Police
|website=
|confed_cup=[[CFU Club Shield]]
}}

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.<ref name="RSSSFChamp" />

==History==
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 [[Montserrat Football Association|Football Association]] were established,<ref name="RSSSFChamp">{{cite web |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesm/montserratchamp.html |title=Montserrat&nbsp;— List of Champions |last1=Schöggl |first1=Hans |date=18 December 2014 |website=[[RSSSF]] |access-date=12 November 2015}}</ref> The first iteration of the national championship was held in [[1974 Montserrat Championship|1974]] and was won by the Police.<ref name ="RSSSFChamp" /> A second season was played [[1975 Montserrat Championship|the following year]], won by [[Bata Falcons]], but following that there are no records of any form of organized competition until [[1995-96 Montserrat Championship|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.<ref name="RSSSF96">{{cite web |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesm/montserrat97.html |title=Montserrat 1996/97 |last1=Schöggl |first1=Hans |date=18 December 2014 |website=[[RSSSF]] |access-date=12 November 2015}}</ref> As a result, the [[1996-97 Montserrat Championship|1996&ndash;97 season]] was abandoned part way through and no formal competition was held on the island until [[2000 Montserrat Championship|2000]], when the competition was again won by the police team.<ref name="RSSSF2000">{{cite web |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesm/montserrat00.html |title=Montserrat 2000 |last1=Schöggl |first1=Hans |date=22 July 2004 |website=[[RSSSF]] |access-date=12 November 2015}}</ref> Further competitions were held each year until [[2004 Montserrat Championship|2004]], when [[Ideal SC|Ideal]] became only the third team to win the championship in its history.<ref name="RSSSF2004">{{cite web |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesm/montserrat04.html |title=Montserrat 2004 |last1=Schöggl |first1=Hans |date=18 December 2014 |website=[[RSSSF]] |access-date=12 November 2015}}</ref> This was the last recorded season of formal competition on the island until 2016 when the competition occurred again.<ref name="RSSSFChamp" />

==Clubs==
Source:<ref>{{cite web |title=MONTSERRAT 2017-2018 |url=http://www.keltia.ch/Ecussons/Outremer/ecumontserrat.htm |website=keltia.ch |access-date=28 June 2019}}</ref>

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

*[[Bata Falcons]]
*[[Elberton FC]]
*[[Ideal SC]]
*[[Jolly Roger FC]]
*[[Little Bay FC]]
*[[Montserrat Volcano Observatory Tremors]]
*[[P.C. United FC|PC United]]
*[[Royal Montserrat Police Force]]
*[[Seven Day Adventists Trendsetters FC]]
*[[St. John's FC]]

===Previous clubs===
*[[Montserrat Secondary School]]
*[[Salem FC]]
*[[Kinsale FC]]

==Previous winners==
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
!scope=col|Season
!scope=col|Winner
|-
!scope=row|[[1974 Montserrat Championship|1974]]
|Police
|-
!scope=row|[[1975 Montserrat Championship|1975]]
|[[Bata Falcons]]
|-
!scope=row|1976&ndash;1995
|''not known''
|-
!scope=row|[[1995-96 Montserrat Championship|1995&ndash;96]]
|Royal Montserrat Police Force
|-
!scope=row|[[1996-97 Montserrat Championship|1996&ndash;97]]
|''abandoned''
|-
!scope=row|1998&ndash;99
|''no championship''
|-
!scope=row|[[2000 Montserrat Championship|2000]]
|Royal Montserrat Police Force
|-
!scope=row|[[2001 Montserrat Championship|2001]]
|Royal Montserrat Police Force
|-
!scope=row|[[2002-03 Montserrat Championship|2002&ndash;03]]
|Royal Montserrat Police Force
|-
!scope=row|[[2004 Montserrat Championship|2004]]
|[[Ideal SC|Ideal]]
|-
!scope=row|2005&ndash;15
|''no championship''
|-
!scope=row|[[2016 Montserrat Championship|2016]]
|Royal Montserrat Police Force
|-
!scope=row|2017&ndash;19
|''not known''
|-
! scope="row" |2020&ndash;present
|''no championship''
|}
{{small|Source:<ref name="RSSSFChamp" />}}

==Topscorers==

{| bgcolor="#f7f8ff" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" border="1" style="font-size: 95%; border: gray solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse;"
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center"
| width="100" | '''Year'''
| width="200" | '''Best scorers'''
| width="220" | '''Team'''
| width="100" | '''Goals'''
|- align=center
|'''2001'''
|{{flagicon|Montserrat}} Ottley Laborde || [[Royal Montserrat Police Force]] || 21<ref name="RSSSF2001">{{cite web |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesm/montserrat00.html |title=Montserrat 2000 |last1=Schöggl |first1=Hans |date=22 July 2004 |website=[[RSSSF]] |access-date=12 November 2015}}</ref>
|- align=center
|'''2002/03'''
|{{flagicon|Montserrat}} Ottley Laborde || [[Royal Montserrat Police Force]] || 8<ref name="RSSSF2002">{{cite web |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesm/montserrat02.html |title=Montserrat 2002/03 |last1=Schöggl |first1=Hans |date=26 February 2014 |website=[[RSSSF]] |access-date=12 November 2015}}</ref>
|-
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Montserrat Championship seasons}}
{{Football in Montserrat}}
{{CONCACAF Leagues}}

[[Category:Montserrat Championship]]
[[Category:Football competitions in Montserrat]]
[[Category:Top level football leagues in the Caribbean]]
[[Category:Sports leagues established in 1974]]
[[Category:1974 establishments in Montserrat]]


{{Montserrat-stub}}