Alberta Premier League
| Organising body | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2023 |
| First season | 2024 |
| Country | Canada |
| Confederation | CONCACAF |
| Number of clubs |
|
| Level on pyramid | 3 |
| Domestic cups |
|
| Current champions |
(2025) |
| Most championships |
|
| Broadcaster(s) | Alberta's Own |
| Website | aplsoccer |
| Current: 2025 League1 Alberta season | |
The Alberta Premier League (formerly League1 Alberta) 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 below the Canadian Premier League (CPL). It is part of Premier Soccer Leagues Canada, the national third tier with regional divisions, with Alberta Premier League equivalent to Ligue1 Québec (L1Q), Ontario Premier League, and British Columbia Premier League. The men's league champion qualifies for the Canadian Championship, the domestic cup championship, while the women's league champion qualifies for the Premier Soccer Leagues Canada Women's Inter-Provincial Championship.[1]
History
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 fielded teams of both genders, while Cavalry FC fielded 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]
In January 2026, the league re-branded as the Alberta Premier League, in line with a move across all the leagues in Canada.[11]
Clubs
Nine men's teams and nine women's teams participated in the 2025 season, of which five were based in Greater Calgary and three were based in Greater Edmonton.
See respective inserts
Rangers
Villains
Male/female teams
Male only team
Female-only team
Men's Division
| 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 | ||
| Calgary Rangers SC | Calgary | Webber Athletic Park | 2025 | ||
| Calgary Villains FC | Calgary | Villains Dome | 2025 | ||
| Callies United | Calgary | Calgary West Soccer Centre | 2024 | ||
| Cavalry FC II[a] | Foothills County | Shouldice Athletic Park | 2023 | ||
| Edmonton Scottish | Edmonton | Hamish Black Field | 2023 | ||
| St. Albert Impact | St. Albert | Riel Recreation Park | 2023 | ||
- ^ Cavalry FC II was known as Cavalry FC U21 from 2023 to 2024
Women's Division
| 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 | ||
| Calgary Rangers SC | Calgary | 2025 | |||
| Calgary Villains FC | Calgary | Villains Dome | 2025 | ||
| Callies United | Calgary | Calgary West Soccer Centre | 2024 | ||
| Edmonton Scottish | Edmonton | Hamish Black Field | 2023 | ||
| Calgary Wild FC U21[a] | Calgary | Macron Performance Centre | 2024 | ||
| St. Albert Impact | St. Albert | Riel Recreation Park | 2023 | ||
- ^ Calgary Wild FC U21 were known as ASA High Performance in 2024. In 2025, they participated as an Exhibition-only team
Seasons
| Season | Men's champion | Women's champion |
|---|---|---|
| 2023[a] | Calgary Foothills FC | Calgary Blizzard SC |
| 2024 | Edmonton Scottish (1) | Calgary Blizzard SC (1) |
| 2025 | Calgary Blizzard SC (1) | Calgary Blizzard SC (2) |
- ^ Exhibition series
See also
References
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Premier Soccer Leagues Canada Unveils New Identity Reflecting the Heart of Canada's Domestic Pathway". Canadian Premier League. January 27, 2026. Retrieved January 27, 2026.