Prairies Premier League set to bring pro-am soccer to Saskatchewan

Elite pro-am men’s and women’s soccer will be arriving in Saskatchewan this spring following the launch of the Prairies Premier League.

The PPL will join the Premier Soccer Leagues Canada system, formerly known as League1, and will serve as the highest level of domestic pro-am competition on the Prairies.

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Three teams in the province will join the league’s inaugural season in the Saskatchewan EXCEL program and Forza Soccer Academy, as well as Regina’s QC United program.

Saskatchewan Soccer Association executive director Steven Porter said it’s an opportunity which will open doors for top local athletes.

“The individuals in our province can experience something that they haven’t had the opportunity to before,” Porter said. “We can build the infrastructure here.”

The three Saskatchewan programs will make up nearly half of the PPL’s seven-team inaugural season, with clubs also competing out of Manitoba and northern Ontario.

While provinces like British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario have had their own sanctioned pro-am leagues under the League1 framework, this will be a new move into both Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Porter said their partnership with the Manitoba Soccer Association was needed to help put local players on an even playing field with the rest of the country.

“The collaboration between the two provinces has been nice,” Porter said.

“Obviously, we face some challenges that the larger provinces who have their own provincial leagues don’t, based on population. Just trying to offer that opportunity to the players, coaches and officials in our provinces.”

The PPL will be part of the third-tier of soccer in Canada sitting one level behind the Canadian Premier League and the Northern Super League, and two levels behind Major League Soccer which includes three Canadian clubs in Toronto FC, CF Montreal and Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

Porter’s hope is that the addition of pro-am soccer in the province will lead to more conversations around a Saskatoon or Regina one day being granted a Canadian Premier League or Northern Super League franchise.

“Fingers crossed, hopefully that builds the interest to maybe one day have a CPL or an NSL team that we can have here in Saskatchewan,” Porter said.

Seeing registration numbers return to or even exceed pre-COVID numbers in the province, Porter added momentum is building around minor soccer levels in Saskatchewan.

And with the FIFA World Cup coming to Canada later this summer, he’s encouraged by the room for growth in soccer in Saskatchewan which he expects over the coming months.

“I think it will be a big year for soccer in not only Saskatchewan, but Canada,” Porter said. “Hopefully, we can build on that momentum.”

The season will run from early May through mid-July, with a full schedule and operational details expected to be released in the coming months.

— With files from 980 CJME’s Britton Gray

Read more:

• U of S Huskies and U of R Cougars making the most of women’s basketball rivalry
• Taylor Barth, Savannah Sutherland named athletes of the year at Sask. Sport Awards
• Riders general manager Jeremy O’Day provides update ahead of free agency