The Canada Soccer National Development Centre and Canada Soccer EXCEL programs are full-time women's soccer development programs run 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 ( ...

in partnership with the various provincial associations to develop Canadian women's soccer players as part of the Canadian women's soccer pathway. There are three National Development Centres in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia and Regional EXCEL programs in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The three National Development Centres enter teams in Canada's tier 3 women's leagues:

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 so ...

League1 British Columbia League1 British Columbia (L1BC) is a semi-professional men's and women's association football, soccer league in British Columbia, Canada, which began play in May 2022. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the British ...

, 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 pa ...

NDC Ontario

The

partnered with the

Ontario Soccer Association The Ontario Soccer Association, founded in 1901, is one of the oldest and largest sport organizations in Canada. The OSA currently has more than 500,000 registered participants and provides development opportunities for players, coaches, refere ...

, Own the Podium, Sport Canada, the Canadian Sport Institute Ontario, and Bill Crothers Secondary School in Markham Ontario, to launch its Regional EXCEL (REX) program in January 2018. The REX Super Centres provide top youth female players with a centralized, daily training program to develop their skills for players from U14 to U18 as part of Canada Soccer's Long-Term Player Development (LTPD) program. In 2022, it was announced that the NDC Ontario program would join and enter a team in the

League1 Ontario women's division League1 Ontario (L1O) is a semi-professional women's soccer league in Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association as a pro-am league in the Canadian soccer league system. Th ...

. Their debut match occurred on May 22, finishing in a 1–1 draw against the

Woodbridge Strikers Woodbridge Strikers Soccer Club is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in Woodbridge, Ontario. The club was founded in 1976 as a youth soccer club and added its semi-professional club in League1 Ontario in 2014. The team plays home ga ...

. After finishing in second place in the regular season standings, NDC were crowned champions after defeating

Alliance United FC Alliance United Futbol Club is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in Markham and Scarborough, Ontario. The club was founded in 2017 to compete in League1 Ontario. The club was formed as a partnership between two youth clubs - Markha ...

in the playoff final in their debut season.

Seasons

NDC British Columbia (Whitecaps Academy REX)

In 2015, the

partnered with the

BC Soccer Association BC Soccer is the governing body of adult and youth soccer in British Columbia, Canada. They are the head association for all FIFA affiliated soccer associations in BC. BCSA is located in Vancouver, British Columbia's largest city. There are diffe ...

and the

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 Marc ...

to launch its regional EXCEL program which will be run as part of the

Whitecaps FC Academy Whitecaps FC Academy is a Canadian soccer team, the academy of professional team Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as ...

. In 2021, it was announced that the program would join the semi-professional

as a founding franchise for the 2022 season. Their home games will take place at Ken Woods Field at the National Soccer Development Centre. They played their debut match on May 22, defeating the

Victoria Highlanders Victoria Highlanders FC is a Canadian soccer team based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The club was founded in 2008 and currently play in the League1 British Columbia. The team had played in the American USL League Two from 2009 to 201 ...

5-1. During the regular season, the Whitecaps managed to finish second in the regular season standings and qualified for the Championship final, despite many of their university age players having to depart the team before the end of the season, leaving them with a roster composed of 14-17 year old players. In the Championship Final, the Whitecaps Girls defeated

Varsity FC Varsity may refer to: *University, an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in various academic disciplines Places * Varsity, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Calgary, Alberta, Canada * Varsity Lake ...

to win the inaugural women's League1 British Columbia title.

Seasons

PEF Quebec

In 2021, the

in partnership with

Soccer Quebec Soccer Quebec (formerly (french: Fédération Québécoise de Soccer FQS) or the Quebec Soccer Federation (QSF)) is the governing body for soccer in the Canadian province of Quebec. The QSF is one of thirteen provincial and territorial federations ...

set up the Programme EXCEL féminin in Quebec. In 2022, it was announced that they would field a team in the

women's division beginning in the 2022 season.

Seasons

References

{{League1 British Columbia

NDC Ontario The Canada Soccer National Development Centre and Canada Soccer EXCEL programs are full-time women's soccer development programs run by the Canadian Soccer Association in partnership with the various provincial associations to develop Canadian w ...

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite PEF Québec Canadian Soccer Association