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 league in three of the provinces of Canada.

League1 Canada
CountryCanada
ConfederationCONCACAF
Divisions3: L1O, L1BC, PLSQ
Number of teams41 clubs (men)
39 clubs (women)
Level on pyramid3
Domestic cup(s)Canadian Championship
Websitehttps://league1canada.ca

In total, League1 Canada is contested by clubs from three divisions; these are League1 Ontario, League1 British Columbia, and the Première ligue de soccer du Québec for both the men's and women's divisions. L1C is overseen by Canada Soccer Business, in partnership with participating provincial member federations.

History

In 2011, the Première ligue de soccer du Québec was established to begin play in 2012, marking the return of semi-professional soccer in the province of Quebec.[1] In 2013, League1 Ontario was founded as a semi-professional league by the Ontario Soccer Association to begin play in 2014 with a men's division,[2] followed by a women's division in 2015.[3] After multiple years of consideration, League1 British Columbia was founded to begin play in 2022 in both the male and female divisions.[4]

On March 31, 2022, League1 Canada was announced as an alliance of the three existing Division III pro-am leagues, aligning the national soccer pathway.[5] L1O and L1BC adopted new logos that day, with the PLSQ transitioning to a common logo for 2023.[5]

On August 12–14, 2022, the inaugural Women's Interprovincial Championship will be held in Laval, Quebec. The competition is a four-team knockout tournament featuring the champions of each of the three divisions, as well as an additional team from the PLSQ (allocated as host).[6][7]

Leagues
LeagueProvincial bodyMen's divisionWomen's division
First seasonTeamsFirst seasonTeams
League1 British ColumbiaBritish Columbia Soccer Association2022720227
League1 OntarioOntario Soccer Association201422201520
Première ligue de soccer du QuébecSoccer Quebec201212201812

Joint competitions
  • Women's Interprovincial Championship

See also

References
  1. "Retour d'une ligue semi-pro" [Return of a semi-pro league]. Ici Radio-Canada Télé. August 30, 2011.
  2. "OSA to pilot semi-pro League1 Ontario in 2014–2015". Ontario Soccer Association. November 15, 2013. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
  3. "League1 And OSA Announce 2015 Women's Division". League1 Ontario. January 28, 2015.
  4. "BC Soccer officially launches League1 British Columbia". BC Soccer. October 5, 2021.
  5. "League1 Canada officially launched today". Canadian Premier League. March 31, 2022.
  6. "PLSQ 2022 : Une Saison Chargée" [PLSQ 2022: A Busy Season]. Première ligue de soccer du Québec (in French). April 4, 2022.
  7. "BC Soccer announces League1 BC participation at the Women's Interprovincial Championship". bcsoccer.net. April 8, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
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