The British Columbia Premier League (BCPL, formerly 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 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 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.
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.
In January 2026, the league re-branded as the British Columbia Premier League, in line with a move across all the leagues in Canada. In April 2026, they announced, in partnership with the Fraser Valley Soccer League, a new fall/winter division for BCPL license holders, they would operate a fall/winter division under the FVSL umbrella, although the BCPL will retain sole authority over the competition model, the establishment of match-day standards, and technical direction and club licensing criteria, to maintain alignment with the BCPL's high-performance standards from the spring/summer season which will continue.
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.
Seasons 2022–2024: league championship decided by playoffs SeasonTeamsMen's divisionWomen's divisionJuan de Fuca PlateLeague championsRunner-upLeague championsRunner-up20227 20238 20247 – First place in regular season
2025–present: league championship decided by regular season SeasonTeamsLeague championsJuan de Fuca PlateMen's divisionWomen's division20259 20268 Langley United Vancouver Rise FC Academy Whitecaps and Rise Academies
Clubs As of 2026 there are 8 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.
British Columbia Premier League The league has 8 teams participating in the 2026 season.
Team City Stadium Capacity Founded Debut Altitude FC North Vancouver Kinsmen Park 700 2021 2022 Burnaby FC Burnaby Burnaby Lake Sports Complex West 1000 2023 2024 Langley United FC Langley Willoughby Community Park 1000 1926 2025 Kamloops United FC Kamloops Hillside Stadium 1060 2021 2022 Nanaimo United FC Nanaimo Q'unq'inuqwstuxw Stadium 1500 2022 2023 TSS FC Rovers Burnaby Swangard Stadium 5,288 1997 2022 Unity FC Surrey Cloverdale Athletic Park 2000 2021 2022 Whitecaps FC Academy Vancouver (UBC) Thunderbird Stadium 3500 2007 2022
Timeline
Former clubs Team City Stadium First season Last season Nautsa’mawt FC UBC Campus Thunderbird Stadium 2022 2023 Victoria Highlanders FC Saanich Centennial Stadium 2022 2023 Evolution FC Coquitlam Percy Perry Stadium 2025
L1BC clubs in other competitions
Men Season Club Competition Result 2022 No competition held 2023 TSS Rovers FC Canadian Championship Quarter-finals 1–0–1 2024 TSS Rovers FC Canadian Championship Preliminary round 0–1–0 2025 TSS Rovers FC Canadian Championship Preliminary round 0–0–1 2026 Langley United Canadian Championship Preliminary round 0–0–1
Women Season Club Competition Result 2022 Varsity FC Interprovincial Championship 4th 0–1–1 2023Whitecaps FC Girls Elite Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup W 1–3–1 Inter-provincial Championship W 2–0–0 Unity FC 3rd 1–0–1 2024 Whitecaps FC Girls Elite Inter-provincial Championship W 1–1–0 2025 Altitude FC Inter-provincial Championship 4th 0–1-1
See also
Canadian soccer league system League1 Canada
References
External links BC Soccer Association BC Soccer Regional Tier 3 League Operations Manual (2016)