League1 BC Acquired by Canadian Soccer Business
On December 1st Canadian Soccer Business announced that League1 BC has been acquired by Canadian Soccer Business (CSB) from BC Soccer, effective immediately,.
League1 BC was launched by BC Soccer in October 2021 and play commenced in 2022. The league serves as a stepping stone between the youth and the professional game for players across British Columbia and Canada, with an emphasis on development while supporting the pathway in BC to help develop the next generation.
L1BC, officially a Division III Pro-Am league for both men and women, began play in 2022 and has served as an important piece of the Canadian soccer pyramid in British Columbia, offering a strong competitive level to help players develop from the youth to professional levels.
League1 BC becomes the second Division III Pro-Am league owned and operated by CSB, following its acquisition of League1 Ontario from Ontario Soccer in November 2018. Under CSB’s leadership, League1 Ontario has grown from 30 teams in 2018 to 157 teams in 2023, with 21 Men’s Premier Division teams and 19 Women’s Premier Division teams, which currently represents the highest level of women’s soccer in Canada, complimented by a robust reserve league competition structure. Over League1 Ontario’s history, more than 200 players from the Men’s and Women’s Premier Divisions combined have gone on to sign professional deals, spanning more than 100 leagues worldwide. More than a dozen alumni of both League1 Ontario’s men’s and women’s divisions have participated in Canada’s Men’s and Women’s National Team environments.
“The Division III Pro-Am level is a key part of the pathway to the professional game in Canada, and we are grateful to BC Soccer for the work that went into making this acquisition a reality,” said Mark Noonan, CEO, Canadian Soccer Business.
League1 BC will remain part of League1 Canada, a national alliance launched in March 2022 by Canadian Soccer Business in partnership with BC Soccer, Soccer Québec, and Ontario Soccer. The League1 BC Women’s Champion will continue to compete in the League1 Canada Women’s Inter-Provincial Championships, and the League1 BC Men’s Champion will continue to earn a place in the Canadian Championship. League1 BC becomes the second Division III Pro-Am league owned and operated by CSB, following its acquisition of League1 Ontario from Ontario Soccer in November 2018. As part of the acquisition, CSB will now oversee the daily management of League1 BC.
In 2023, League1 BC had eight teams competing in both its men’s and women’s divisions, with Whitecaps FC winning both playoff championships and the women’s regular season title, while Victoria Highlanders won the men’s regular season title — which qualified them for the 2024 Canadian Championship. Previous champions TSS Rovers had an outstanding run in the 2023 Canadian Championship, where they became the first side from any League1 or otherwise semi-pro level to beat a fully professional side, defeating CPL outfit Valour FC in the first round.
With this move, CSB now operates both League1 BC and League1 Ontario, under the League1 Canada umbrella launched in 2022 in partnership with BC Soccer, Ontario Soccer and Soccer Québec in an effort to unify the pro-am level of the pyramid across Canada. L1BC will be aiming to become an established part of the development pathway similarly to League1 Ontario, which has now seen over 200 players from the men’s and women’s Premier Divisions go on to play professionally in over 100 leagues across the world, including almost 40 players on Canadian Premier League rosters in 2023 and 17 players who represented the Canadian men’s and women’s national teams this past year.
“We are proud of the growth we have seen in League1 Ontario since 2019 and we are confident League1 BC will see similar success in the coming years,” Noonan added. “As we focus on playing our part in building a thriving soccer ecosystem in Canada, it is imperative that we commit ideas and resources to developing players from the grassroots through to the semi-pro level and on to the professional game. We are pleased to be taking the next step in doing just that with League1 BC.”
As part of the acquisition, CSB will now oversee day-to-day operations of League1 BC, as it does with L1O.
Sources: https://canpl.ca/article/league1-bc-acquired-by-canadian-soccer-business
https://www.bcsoccer.net/news/posts/bc-soccer-announces-acquisition-of-league1-bc-by-canadian-soccer-business/
https://www.league1bc.ca/news_article/show/1292766