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League 1 Alberta/Prairies


Watchmen

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This may have been asked, but is League1 Alberta replacing the AMSL? I ask because Cavalry has their academy (or u23 depending on source) side scheduled for the League1 Alberta exhibition series this year, but they also have an u21 side scheduled for this years AMSL (which consists of 9 teams).

Only 2 of the teams that are competing in the AMSL are in the League1 Alberta exhibition this year which makes me question whether or not the AMSL will continue.

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3 hours ago, Big_M said:

not replacing...l1 would be too demanding for a lot of teams

 

1 hour ago, rydermike said:

Like BigM said, it's just going to supplement. Kind of like what happened with Ontario and Quebec.

Quebec teams that could handle it moved to the PLSQ, while the rest just stayed with LSEQ.

Ontario teams that could handle it moved to L1O, while the rest just stayed in the OSL

So, more than likely, the AMSL will just shrink by 2 teams unless others take their place?

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On 4/25/2023 at 8:31 PM, rydermike said:

...Ontario teams that could handle it moved to L1O, while the rest just stayed in the OSL

Don't think many OSL teams wound up in L1O because that tends to be dominated by ethnic clubs that the powers that be want to sideline by using a franchise system rather than promotion and relegation for L1O.

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  • 1 month later...

Watched Foothills (Calgary) and St. Albert (Edmonton) play in the League 1 Alberta exhibition series last night. Foothills won 3-0. Good quality game, very fast with a lot of skilled players on both ends, although Foothills had much better team play, combination play, and were better at recyling the ball and then restarting their attacks, whereas St. Albert were often trying to take players on and then losing the ball. Either way, it was a good level of play. I haven't watch AMSL for a while, so hard for me to compre, but I would say the skill level was the same, but the play was faster, possibly because there were so many young players. Nobody out there looked to be older than 23 years old. If comaparing to the CPL I would say the big difference was finishing and general composure in the final 3rd. The typical CPL match (well Cavalry match) is less chaotic as well, players are better at shielding the ball and keeping the ball, although you can see many of these guys are well on their way to developing these parts of their game. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Some movement on this:

https://sasksoccer.com/article/85772

Representatives from League1 Canada, in collaboration with Saskatchewan Soccer Association and Manitoba Soccer Association, will be delivering a pair of online information sessions for organizations interested in learning more about the potential for the launch of League1 Prairies, a multi-provincial soccer competition that would expand the existing League1 Canada Alliance.

The two video sessions will take place on Thursday, June 29 and Tuesday, July 4. These sessions will start at 7pm in Manitoba, 6pm in Saskatchewan.

Representatives from organizations interested in discovering more about the opportunity to become an inaugural League1 Prairies license holder are welcome to attend either meeting, where presentations will be delivered by Dino Rossi, President, League1 Canada.

Interested parties are asked to register their intent to join one of these sessions via the following link: sport.li/nk-L1PRinfo.

League1 Prairies, which is targeted to officially kickoff in Spring 2025, would be a standards-based Division III Pro-Am League comprising both men’s and women’s divisions, just like League1 BC, League1 Ontario and Ligue1 Québec, the founding members of the League1 Canada Alliance.

Rossi said: “We look forward to taking this important first step toward expanding on the vision for League1 Canada. Bringing this level of soccer to the Prairies is a top priority for us.

“Working with both provincial soccer associations, we aim to educate and inspire while developing a better understanding of the appetite for launching League1 Prairies and to walk interested parties through the process and timelines in more detail.

“Our presentations will provide context for anyone with a passion for growing the game who would like to understand more about the role of a League1 Canada license holder.”

Rahim Z. Mohamed, CEO and Sporting Director of Saskatchewan Soccer, said: “We are excited to add to our high-performance pathway and provide a platform for our talented Saskatchewan athletes, coaches, match officials, and administrators to develop in pursuit of their goals and ambitions in soccer.

“We have enshrined supporting and expanding football culture in Saskatchewan in our Everyone’s Game Strategic Plan and look forward to the growing local supporter culture around this new competition.”

Hector Vergara, Executive Director of Manitoba Soccer Association, said: "The MSA is very pleased to partner with Saskatchewan Soccer Association and League 1 Canada to work on a plan to launch League1 Prairies in 2025. We are excited to begin on this journey with information sessions for the soccer and corporate community in the Prairies to gauge interest and start the process to meet our collective objectives.

“We believe our soccer community has a desire to see higher-level competitions, and by partnering with SSA and League1 Canada, we maximize the opportunity to make League1 Prairies a reality. We are fully committed to exploring all the options to make League1 Prairies feasible. We know that we have strong organizations interested in being part of League1 Prairies, and we will provide the necessary guidance to optimize the opportunities ahead of us."

Learn more about League1 Canada by visiting league1canada.com.

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I haven't thought about it too deeply, but I do think it makes sense for L1AB and L1P to be separate. I can't imagine MB teams travelling to AB for this and vice versa. But that runs you into the problem of do we have enough teams in SK and MB to make that league work. I also question the player pool. But hey, I would love to see it happen. Would be great for referee development, as well.

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It would be an amazing thing to have all the provinces covered with our D3 program.

But it is a stretch.

Saskatoon? Could maybe have 2/3 teams?

Regina? Maybe 2/3 teams?

Prince Albert

Moose Jaw

Brandon

Winnipeg? Maybe 2/3 local teams?

 

I lived in North Battleford a few years. Could see it with the immigration over there. If all the communties get together and get a local club. There is some talent.

Edited by P-O
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3 hours ago, P-O said:

It would be an amazing thing to have all the provinces covered with our D3 program.

But it is a stretch.

Saskatoon? Could maybe have 2/3 teams?

Regina? Maybe 2/3 teams?

Prince Albert

Moose Jaw

Brandon

Winnipeg? Maybe 2/3 local teams?

 

I lived in North Battleford a few years. Could see it with the immigration over there. If all the communties get together and get a local club. There is some talent.

Battleford just got a team into the Provincial Soccer League (PSL). I think only 11/13U for now, and they are getting shelled (though no scores are officially kept for those ages), but it's always nice to see new teams at such a level.

Forge FC, which is apparently an amalgamation of Swift Current, Moose Jaw, Yorkton, and Weyburn (don't ask me how they practice) are actually doing quite well in PSL across the board this season -- better on the women's side. I know some Moose Jaw guys play for FC Regina, might be same for girls idk.

Prince Albert has some extremely nice players but they don't have PSL teams in the higher age groups this year. For my money some of the best 17/19U boys I saw last season were PA guys.

Of course, there are those who go the Whitecaps/REX route. I honestly don't know how they compare to those playing for the local clubs. I have heard mixed things from the players at the local clubs, but they of course can be biased.

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8 hours ago, rydermike said:

Thunder Bay Chill confirmed be involved in the meeting as well by Dino Rossi

 

 

Just do not seeing Thunder Bay joining the L1P in the end, makes no sense as Thunder Bay is 700KM from Winnipeg. 

Edited by Cblake
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On 6/22/2023 at 2:09 AM, Cblake said:

Just do not seeing Thunder Bay joining the L1P in the end, makes no sense as Thunder Bay is 700KM from Winnipeg. 

But they play WSA Winnipeg in USL 2, they already do that trip.

Though I agree, I think it is a bit closer for the Chill to play the three teams in Minnesota, in Minneapolis, St. Croix and Rochester MN.

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1 hour ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

But they play WSA Winnipeg in USL 2, they already do that trip.

Though I agree, I think it is a bit closer for the Chill to play the three teams in Minnesota, in Minneapolis, St. Croix and Rochester MN.

But also when it comes to playing at FC Manitoba they play a pair of games on back to back days. Not sure how that fits into the development aspect of the D3 level. Also playing in a L1P setup would see teams much farther west into Saskatchewan. 

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On 6/23/2023 at 3:05 PM, Cblake said:

But also when it comes to playing at FC Manitoba they play a pair of games on back to back days. Not sure how that fits into the development aspect of the D3 level. Also playing in a L1P setup would see teams much farther west into Saskatchewan. 

Could potentially be that Thunder Bay Chill plays a number of their home games in Winnipeg? For example, if they are playing FC Manitoba then they play at home in Thunder Bay, but against a Saskatoon team, they play in Winnipeg. I am sure there are some creative ways to make it work.

Expect an exhibition-type tournament first to test the waters on what works.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 6/29/2023 at 12:02 PM, Sonny Heung-min said:

Could potentially be that Thunder Bay Chill plays a number of their home games in Winnipeg? For example, if they are playing FC Manitoba then they play at home in Thunder Bay, but against a Saskatoon team, they play in Winnipeg. I am sure there are some creative ways to make it work.

Expect an exhibition-type tournament first to test the waters on what works.

I know it's not the same, but Thunder Bay Chill have a reserve/u17 side in one of the Winnipeg youth leagues (WYSA Premier League). Obviously, with all the other teams being based in Winnipeg, Thunder Bay used various fields as their 'home' ground ranging from Thunder Bay Chapples Park to Shaughnessy Park or Memorial Park. I would agree with your idea that they would play a Sask team in Winnipeg, more than likely at Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex.

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7 hours ago, EnigMattic1 said:

I know it's not the same, but Thunder Bay Chill have a reserve/u17 side in one of the Winnipeg youth leagues (WYSA Premier League). Obviously, with all the other teams being based in Winnipeg, Thunder Bay used various fields as their 'home' ground ranging from Thunder Bay Chapples Park to Shaughnessy Park or Memorial Park. I would agree with your idea that they would play a Sask team in Winnipeg, more than likely at Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex.

That's similar to what I saw happen in Ontario youth leagues when I was younger. A team from like North Bay or Sudbury would come down to Toronto/York Region/Durham region (depending on opponents) and play 4 games over a weekend (Sat AM and PM, Sun AM and PM) once a month to get their 16 games in. Definitely a realistic posibility for TB in L1P

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

Saw this report online, Saskatchewan Soccer and Manitoba Soccer announced they are accepting applications for soccer clubs to operate both men's and women's teams in a 2024 exhibition season ahead of a proposed start in 2025 of the new semi-pro Division-3 League1 Prairies. Will be interesting to see how many teams express interest and the breakdown from each province? 

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  • 3 months later...

Great news coming from Alberta.

A potential 4 divisions with pro/rel.

1- Alberta Premier

2-Alberta Championship

3- Alberta League 1 (reserve & other teams)

4- Alberta League 2 amateur clubs.

 

+ an Alberta Cup involving all clubs except the reserves.

I love their forward thinking!

 

Looks like the Scotland model with few teams per divisions, and that 14 games in 2024. I hope they'll push it to 21 games starting in 2025.

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