There is a new top dog when it comes to soccer in B.C.
The B.C. Soccer Association approved a new eight-team High Performance League (HPL) at a special general meeting Jan. 22.
It will replace metro (girls) and selects (boys) as the highest tier of soccer.
“The metro/selects leagues got a little watered down over the years, to be honest,” said Martin Foden, executive director with Surrey United and a member of the HPL committee.
“They didn’t provide the level of competition needed on a week-in, week-out basis.
The HPL will sift out the elite players, so that the top 120 players in each age group have top-level competition every week.”
The new league, which will run a trial season this spring, will have eight teams: six in the Lower Mainland and one each on Vancouver Island and the Interior.
“The spirit of intent here is about creating the best possible conditions for player development,” said Steve Allen, a director with the B.C. Soccer Association, who chaired the HPL committee. “While our committee has been focused on developing the HPL platform for the top boys and girls players in the province, it isn’t lost on any of us that this new tier of play will also help improve the game for players at all levels.”
Under the new league, players are not restricted by geographical boundaries, meaning they can choose to try out for any club.
“The whole idea is to build regional partnerships so that we are exchanging information, players are moving freely to programs that make sense for their ability, not their geography,” Allen said. “Just because you live in Langley does not mean you can’t go to a program in Cloverdale, if that is where your skill level demands that you go.
“So there is free flow movement in this program at the highest level.”
Eleven groups have expressed interest in joining – including Surrey United. The successful applicants are expected to be announced in mid-February and the league will run a trial season this year with full kick-off in 2012. The teams will play a 21-game schedule from March to November.
“It’s an opportunity to advance our sport forward in B.C.,” said Foden. “Over the last 10 or 15 years, we haven’t provided the same amount of players to our national teams as we once did.”
The HPL schedule will also include off-weeks, which will allow players to attend elite training camps and programs. In the past, players would often find their involvement with provincial team programs or the National Training Centre (NTC) conflicting with club team schedules.
“We’ll have no conflict with dates and times,” said Foden. “The HPL will work in concert with the NTC and provincial programs.”