Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984)
The Toronto Blizzard was a professional soccer club from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1971 to 1984. It started as the Toronto Metros in 1971. In 1975 half the team was bought by Toronto Croatia of the National Soccer League, and the club became the Metros-Croatia. The Metros-Croatia won NASL’s Soccer Bowl in 1976, the league’s championship, but the team faced financial problems and uncertainty.
In 1979, the Global Television Network bought about 85 percent of the team. Toronto Croatia left the NASL to return to the NSL, and with many players gone, the NASL team was renamed the Toronto Blizzard after the takeover. Under new ownership, attendances rose. From 1979 to 1983 the Blizzard played home games at Exhibition Stadium, then moved to Varsity Stadium for the 1984 season. The Blizzard stayed in the NASL until 1984, the league’s last year.
The Blizzard were runners-up in the league championship twice: in 1983, losing the Soccer Bowl 2–0 to the Tulsa Roughnecks in Vancouver, and in 1984, losing two games to none in a best-of-three final to the Chicago Sting. In the final two seasons, the team was coached by Bobby Houghton, with players including Roberto Bettega, Ace Ntsoelengoe, Jomo Sono, Gordon Sweetzer and others.
The club also fielded an indoor team in NASL’s indoor league in 1975–1976 (Metros-Croatia) and 1980–1982 (Blizzard).
Television and radio coverage were limited in the early years. CBC had a brief national TV contract in 1971, and the 1976 final wasn’t shown on Canadian TV. Blizzard games were later covered by Global Television (1979–1982) and CHIN radio carried matches not shown on TV. The 1976 Soccer Bowl-winning team was inducted into the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame in 2010.
In 1985, NASL suspended operations. Blizzard owners York-Hanover bought Dynamo Latino of the NSL with plans to rename them the Toronto Blizzard. Dynamo Latino began play as the Toronto Blizzard in 1986, continuing the franchise in a new form.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 10:18 (CET).