League1 Alberta
 | |
| Organising body | Canadian Soccer Association Alberta Soccer Association |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2023 |
| First season | 2024 |
| Country | Canada |
| Confederation | CONCACAF |
| Number of teams | 7 (men's) 7 (women's) |
| Level on pyramid | 3 |
| Domestic cup(s) | Canadian Championship (men) Interprovincial Championship (women) |
| Current champions | Edmonton Scottish (1st title) (2024) |
| Current Shield | Edmonton Scottish (1st title) (2024) |
| Most championships | Edmonton Scottish (1 title) |
| Most Supporters' Shields | Edmonton Scottish (1 title) |
| TV partners | Alberta's Own |
| Website | League website |
| Current: 2024 League1 Alberta season | |
League1 Alberta (L1AB) is a semi-professional men's and women's soccer league in Alberta, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Alberta Soccer Association as a third division 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 League1 Canada, the national third tier with regional division, with L1AB equivalent to Ligue1 Québec (L1Q), League1 Ontario (L1O), and League1 British Columbia (L1BC). The men's league champion qualifies for the Canadian Championship, the domestic cup championship, while the women's league champion qualifies for the League1 Canada Women's Inter-Provincial Championship.[1]
History
[edit]In 2021, a group of clubs from British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba organized the 2021 Summer Series, a series of friendly soccer matches played between Western Canadian soccer clubs to showcase a potential national second division.[2] In 2022, another exhibition showcase was organized by four clubs – three from Alberta (Calgary Foothills FC, Edmonton Scottish, BTB Soccer Academy) and one from Manitoba (FC Manitoba) – as an entity known as Central League1.[3]
In March 2023, League1 Alberta was announced with an exhibition series being organized, with six clubs participating (five in each gendered division) – the Calgary Foothills, Edmonton Scottish, St. Albert Impact, and BTB Soccer Academy would field teams of both genders, while Cavalry FC would field a team in the men's series and the Calgary Blizzard in the women's division.[4][5] The first matches were played on May 12, 2023,[6] with an official league season planned to be launch for the following season.[7][8]
In December 2023, it was announced that the league would officially be sanctioned for official competition under the League1 Canada umbrella for the 2024 season, with seven clubs participating in each division.[9][10]
Clubs
[edit]Currently seven men's teams and seven women's teams have been announced to participate in the 2024 season, of which four are based in Greater Calgary and three are based in Greater Edmonton.
Male/Female teams
Male only team
Female-only teamMen's Division
[edit]| Men's division | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | City | Principal stadium | First season | ||
| Edmonton BTB SC | Edmonton | Clarke Stadium | 2023 | ||
| Calgary Blizzard SC | Calgary | Broadview Park | 2024 | ||
| Calgary Foothills FC | Calgary | Macron Performance Centre | 2023 | ||
| Callies United | Calgary | Calgary West Soccer Centre | 2024 | ||
| Cavalry FC U21 | Foothills County | Macron Performance Centre | 2023 | ||
| Edmonton Scottish | Edmonton | Hamish Black Field | 2023 | ||
| St. Albert Impact | St. Albert | Riel Recreation Park | 2023 | ||
Women's Division
[edit]| Women's division | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | City | Principal stadium | First season | ||
| Edmonton BTB SC | Edmonton | Clarke Stadium | 2023 | ||
| Calgary Blizzard SC | Calgary | Broadview Park | 2023 | ||
| Calgary Foothills WFC | Calgary | Macron Performance Centre | 2023 | ||
| Callies United | Calgary | Calgary West Soccer Centre | 2024 | ||
| Edmonton Scottish | Edmonton | Hamish Black Field | 2023 | ||
| NDC Alberta | Calgary | Macron Performance Centre | 2024 | ||
| St. Albert Impact | St. Albert | Riel Recreation Park | 2023 | ||
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ "About". league1alberta.com/. League1 Alberta. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ^ "Press Release: Central League 1 2022 Exhibition Series". Calgary Foothills FC. May 5, 2022.
- ^ Parkes, David (May 6, 2022). "Is A League1 Prairies In The Pipeline?". Northern Tribune.
- ^ "League1 Alberta Exhibition Series confirms participating clubs for 2023". OneSoccer. March 10, 2023.
- ^ "League1 Alberta Exhibition Series Clubs Confirmed" (PDF). Alberta Soccer Association. March 10, 2023.
- ^ @league1alberta (April 17, 2023). "Opening day announced" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "League1 Alberta In The Works". Northern Tribune. January 19, 2023.
- ^ Parkes, David (March 10, 2023). "Official:League1 Alberta Exhibition Series Confirmed". Northern Tribune.
- ^ "League1 Canada announces expansion to Alberta". Canadian Premier League. December 7, 2023.
- ^ Mahmoudi, Nelson (December 8, 2023). "League1 Alberta Joins League1 Canada Alliance". Northern Tribune.
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