League1 British Columbia (L1BC) is a semi-professional men's and women's

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

league in British Columbia, Canada, which began play in May 2022. The league is sanctioned by the

Canadian Soccer Association The Canadian Soccer Association (Canada Soccer) is the governing body of soccer in Canada. It is a national organization that oversees the Canadian men's and women's national teams for international play, as well as the respective junior sides ...

and the BC Soccer Association as a pro-am league in the

Canadian soccer league system The Canadian soccer league system, also called the Canadian soccer pyramid, is a term used in soccer to describe the structure of the league system in Canada. The governing body of soccer in the country is the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA), w ...

. The league is a member of

League1 Canada League1 Canada (L1C; french: Ligue1 Canada) is a national soccer competition in Canada which acts as the third tier in the Canadian soccer league system below the Canadian Premier League, consisting of the highest level sanctioned provincial le ...

. L1BC operates at the same level as

League1 Ontario League1 Ontario (L1O) is a semi-professional men's soccer league in Ontario, Canada. The league began play in 2014 and is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association as a pro-am league in the Canadian soc ...

and the

Première ligue de soccer du Québec The Première ligue de soccer du Québec (PLSQ) is a semi-professional soccer league created in 2012. The Quebec Soccer Federation operates both men's and women's divisions at the pro-am tier of the Canadian soccer league system. The league is ...

. 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 The Pacific Coast Soccer League is an amateur soccer league, currently featuring teams from British Columbia. In the past clubs from Washington and Oregon have competed. PCSL is considered to be British Columbia's premier summer league. Th ...

, Fraser Valley Soccer League, Vancouver Island Soccer League and

Vancouver Metro Soccer League The Vancouver Metro Soccer League (VMSL) is a soccer men's league operating in British Columbia, Canada primarily in the Lower Mainland area. History The league is an amateur league, and does not compete against or promote teams to the Canadian ...

, with the professional top tier

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; french: Première ligue canadienne, links=no) is a professional men's soccer league in Canada. At the top of the Canadian soccer league system, it is the country's primary national soccer league compe ...

. The league winner qualifies for the national

Canadian Championship The Canadian Championship (french: Championnat canadien) is an annual soccer tournament contested by premier Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and Canada's berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. It is contes ...

for the following year.

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 Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

club

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March ...

. 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 USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

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

, the national cup tournament.

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.

Yearly results

Current clubs

Eight teams are members of the league, of which five are based in

Greater Vancouver Greater Vancouver, also known as Metro Vancouver, is the metropolitan area with its major urban centre being the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The term "Greater Vancouver" is roughly coterminous with the geographic area governed b ...

, two in

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...

, and one in the province's interior. All teams compete in both the men's and women's divisions of the league.

References

External links

BC Soccer AssociationBC Soccer Regional Tier 3 League Operations Manual (2016)
{{Canada D3 soccer seasons League1 British Columbia Soccer leagues in Canada Can Professional sports leagues in Canada 2021 establishments in British Columbia Sports leagues established in 2021 Soccer in British Columbia Sports leagues in British Columbia League1 Canada