British Columbia Premier League
Canadian soccer league
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The British Columbia Premier League (formerly League1 British Columbia) 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 pro-am league in the Canadian soccer league system.
| |
| Organising body | BC Soccer Association |
|---|---|
| Founded | October 5, 2021 |
| First season | 2022 |
| Country | Canada |
| Confederation | CONCACAF |
| Number of clubs | 8 (men's) 8 (women's) |
| Level on pyramid | 3 |
| Domestic cup(s) | Canadian Championship (men) Interprovincial Championship (women) |
| Current champions | Langley United (men) Altitude FC (women) (2025) |
| Current Juan de Fuca Plate | Altitude FC (2025) |
| Most championships | TSS Rovers FC (2, men), Vancouver Whitecaps Girls Elite (3, women) |
| Most Juan de Fuca Plates | Whitecaps FC Academy (3) |
| Broadcaster(s) | Telus TV |
| Website | league1bc |
| Current: 2026 BCPL season | |
In the Canadian soccer league system, the men's division is behind the Canadian Premier League (CPL). It is part of Premier Soccer Leagues Canada, the national third tier with regional divisions, with equivalent leagues in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, and the Prairies. 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.[1][2]
History
BC Soccer originally looked into the possibility of starting a "Regional Tier 3" league in their 2016 Strategic Plan,[3] with the goal of beginning in 2018 with eight teams.[4] However, nothing came to fruition due to insufficient interest from clubs.[5][6] In June 2019, they announced their intention to begin play in 2021 with at least six clubs.[7] Teams would need to commit for three years minimum and field teams in both the male and female divisions.[5] 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.[8][9]
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.[10] On October 5, 2021, the league was officially announced by BC Soccer to begin play in May 2022.[11][12] 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.[13][14] 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.[15][16] In addition, a cedar trophy was created to be awarded to both the men's and women's division champions.[17] In November 2022, it was confirmed that the league winner would qualify for the following season's Canadian Championship, the national cup tournament.[18] For the 2023 season, the league announced its first expansion club (Harbourside FC) bringing the league up to eight clubs.[19]
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.[20] 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.[21]
In January 2026, the league re-branded as the British Columbia Premier League, in line with a move across all the leagues in Canada.[22]
Competition format
The BCPL regular season lasts approximately four months, from early April to late July. Teams play each other team home and away for a total of 14 matches in 2026. The regular season champion and runner-up advance to a single match final where the winner is crowned finals champion.
Results
By year
| Season | Teams | Men's division | Women's division | Juan de Fuca Plate | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| League champions | Regular season winner | League champions | Regular season winner | |||
| 2022 | 7 | TSS Rovers FC | Varsity FC | Whitecaps FC Girls Elite | Varsity FC | Varsity FC |
| 2023 | 8 | Whitecaps FC Academy | Victoria Highlanders FC | Whitecaps FC Girls Elite | Whitecaps FC Academy | |
| 2024 | 7 | TSS Rovers FC | Whitecaps FC Girls Elite | Whitecaps FC Academy | ||
| 2025 | 9 | Langley United | Altitude FC | Altitude FC | ||
By club
| Club | Combined | Men | Women | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LC | RS | IP | Total | LC | RS | Total | LC | RS | IP | Total | |
| Whitecaps FC Academy | 4 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 | – | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| Varsity FC | – | 2 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | – | 1 |
| TSS Rovers FC | 2 | 1 | – | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | – | – | – | – |
| Victoria Highlanders FC | – | 1 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – |
Note: This table only includes titles within the League1 Canada system.
Clubs
Current teams
Eight 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.[23]
| Team | City | Stadium | First season |
|---|---|---|---|
| Altitude FC | North Vancouver | Kinsmen Field South | 2022 |
| Burnaby FC | Burnaby | Burnaby Lake Sports Complex West | 2024 |
| Langley United | Langley | Willoughby Community Park | 2025 |
| Kamloops United FC[a] | Kamloops | Hillside Stadium | 2022 |
| Nanaimo United FC[b] | Nanaimo | Q'unq'inuqwstuxw Stadium | 2023 |
| TSS Rovers FC | Burnaby | Swangard Stadium | 2022 |
| Unity FC | Surrey | Cloverdale Athletic Park | 2022 |
| Whitecaps FC Academy | Vancouver (UBC Campus)[c] | Thunderbird Stadium | 2022 |
- Kamloops United FC was known as Rivers FC from 2022 to 2024
- Nanaimo United FC was known as Harbourside FC from 2023 to 2024
- Based on the campus of the University of British Columbia. The campus is part of the unincorporated Metro Vancouver Electoral Area A and is located just west of the City of Vancouver proper.
Current teamTimeline
Former teams
| Team | City | Stadium | First season | Last season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nautsa’mawt FC[a] | UBC Campus[b] | Thunderbird Stadium | 2022 | 2023 |
| Victoria Highlanders FC | Saanich | Centennial Stadium | 2022 | 2023 |
| Evolution FC | Coquitlam | Percy Perry Stadium | 2025 | 2025 |
- Nautsa’mawt FC was known as Varsity FC in 2022
- Based on the campus of the University of British Columbia. The campus is part of the unincorporated Metro Vancouver Electoral Area A and is located just west of the City of Vancouver proper.
L1BC clubs in other competitions
Men
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Women
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