League1 BC

League1 British Columbia (L1BC) is a semi-professional men's and women's soccer league in British Columbia, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the BC Soccer Association as a Division III Pro-Am league in the Canadian soccer league system.

In the Canadian soccer league system, the men's division is behind the Canadian Premier League (CPL). It is part of League1 Canada, the national third tier with regional division, with L1BC equaivalent to Ligue1 Québec (L1QC), League1 Ontario (L1ON), and League1 Alberta (L1AB). The men's league champion qualifies for the Canadian Championship, the domestic cup championship, for the following season.

The semi-professional league was created to fill in the gap between the top amateur leagues in the province, such as the Pacific Coast Soccer League, Fraser Valley Soccer League, Vancouver Island Soccer League and Vancouver Metro Soccer League, with the professional top tier Canadian Premier League.

History

BC Soccer originally looked into the possibility of starting a "Regional Tier 3" league in their 2016 Strategic Plan, with the goal of beginning in 2018 with eight teams. However, nothing came to fruition due to insufficient interest from clubs. In June 2019, they announced their intention to begin play in 2021 with at least six clubs. Teams would need to commit for three years minimum and field teams in both the male and female divisions. The proposed league would be open to professional clubs fielding reserve sides, provided they are not branded with "Reserves" or "U-23" in their team name.

In January 2021, the league was rumoured to be launching later that year with six or eight teams, including a development team from the Major League Soccer club Vancouver Whitecaps FC. On October 5, 2021, the league was officially announced by BC Soccer to begin play in May 2022. The inaugural league began on May 22, with the Championship Final occurring on August 1 ( British Columbia Day), with seven clubs participating in the first season. It was announced that with the creation of the league, the Juan de Fuca Plate, which was previously awarded to the top BC-based Premier Development League team in head-to-head matches, would now be awarded to the League1 BC club that accrued the greatest number of points across both the men's and women's divisions in an aggregate table. In addition, a cedar trophy was created to be awarded to both the men's and women's division champions. In November 2022, it was confirmed that the league winner would qualify for the following season's Canadian Championship, the national cup tournament. For the 2023 season, the league announced its first expansion club (Harbourside FC) bringing the league up to eight clubs.

On December 1, 2023, Canadian Soccer Business acquired L1BC from BC Soccer. CSB have owned League1 Ontario since 2018 and now oversee the day-to-day operations of both leagues. For the 2024 season, another expansion club joined, however, two original clubs withdrew from the league, bringing the total back to seven. For 2025, two additional clubs joined, bringing the league to nine clubs.

Competition format

The L1BC regular season lasts approximately two months, from late May to late July. Teams play each other team home and away for a total of 12 matches in 2022. The regular season champion and runner-up advance to a single match final where the winner is crowned finals champion.

Results

By year

By club

Note: This table only includes titles within the League1 Canada system.

Clubs

Current teams

Nine teams are members of the league, of which six are based in Greater Vancouver, one on Vancouver Island, and one in the province's interior. All teams compete in both the men's and women's divisions of the league.

Timeline

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bar:1 color:Active from:01/01/2022 till:end text:Altitude FC
bar:2 color:Active from:01/01/2022 till:12/31/2024 text:Rivers FC
bar:2 color:Active from:01/01/2025 till:end text:Kamloops United FC
bar:3 color:Active from:01/01/2022 till:end text:TSS Rovers
bar:4 color:Active from:01/01/2022 till:end text:Unity FC
bar:5 color:Former from:01/01/2022 till:12/31/2022 text:Varsity FC
bar:5 color:Former from:01/01/2023 till:12/31/2023 text:Nautsa’mawt FC
bar:6 color:Former from:01/01/2022 till:12/31/2023 text:Victoria Highlanders
bar:7 color:Active from:01/01/2022 till:end text:Whitecaps Academy
bar:8 color:Active from:01/01/2023 till:12/31/2024 text:Harbourside FC
bar:8 color:Active from:01/01/2025 till:end text:Nanaimo United FC
bar:9 color:Active from:01/01/2024 till:end text:Burnaby FC
bar:10 color:Active from:01/01/2025 till:end text:Evolution FC
bar:11 color:Active from:01/01/2025 till:end text:Langley United

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Former teams

L1BC clubs in other competitions

Men

Women

See also

* Canadian soccer league system
* League1 Canada

References

External links

BC Soccer AssociationBC Soccer Regional Tier 3 League Operations Manual (2016)

{{Canada D3 soccer seasons

Soccer leagues in Canada
Women's soccer leagues in Canada
Canada, British Columbia
2021 establishments in British Columbia
Sports leagues established in 2021
Soccer in British Columbia
Sports leagues in British Columbia
League1 Canada