League1… Atlantic?: L1 Canada Reps Visit the Maritimes
By It was announced today that representatives from League1 Canada will be visiting the east coast in preparation for the eventual launch of League1 Atlantic.
In a press release published on Tuesday, the main body for pro-am soccer in the country said that League1 Canada President Dino Rossi and the Canada Soccer Business Director of Interprovincial Affairs, John Gibson, were to lead two meetings scheduled for March 30th and March 31st in Halifax and Moncton respectively.
These meetings are being promoted as an chance for “representatives from organizations interested in discovering more about the opportunity to become inaugural League1 Atlantic License Holders”.
No organizations have yet come forward formally or publicly as interested parties in a potential east coast pro-am league, however rumours and speculation have swirled for some time.
Should a League1 Atlantic come to be, the pro-am league would become the highest level of women’s soccer on the east coast and the second-highest men’s level behind the CPL’s Halifax Wanderers.
Says Dino Rossi of the visit, “Our presentations will provide context for anyone with a passion for growing the game,” adding that Canada Soccer Business and L1Canada were ‘excited by the potential to deliver a competition in this part of the country’.
These two meetings are seen as the next step towards establishing the franchising process and finalizing timelines with interested parties.
Earlier this year, Northern Tribune published an exclusive interview with Rossi in which he was asked about the potential for a League1 Atlantic. While he provided no major details back in January, he had hinted that there would be a League1 Atlantic ‘sooner than later’, and these meetings seem to show that there is good progress being made on this front.
With a litmus test for League1 Alberta concurrently in the works, the semi-professional game in Canada is in the midst of significant potential growth from coast-to-coast.
League1 Canada is the overseeing body for all the regional standards-based pro-am leagues in Canada, including League1 BC, League1 Alberta, League1 Ontario, and Premiere Ligue de Soccer du Quebec (PLSQ).