The situation is not looking good for soccer supporters on Vancouver Island. Yes, you read the title right. The Victoria Highlanders are reportedly folding. The news was broken officially by the Highlanders a few hours ago. This means that they will not compete in the 2024 League1BC season or the 2024 Canadian Championship. Here are all the details we know as to why this is happening.Â
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I received information from within the club from a few anonymous sources on the issue before the official announcement and the details are as follows. A large part of the club’s decision is due to League1Canada (and more importantly, the CSB) taking over League1BC from the hands of BC Soccer. Along with their full acquisition of the league, there have been new agreements put forth to all League1BC clubs. The most notable aspect of this is how the CSB wants League1BC to be aligned with the CPL. Now, while this sounds great at first, this is not a Pro-Rel system being realized. League1BC would serve similarly to the CPL as MLS Next Pro does to the MLS. The clubs in this case would still be independent from CPL teams, but they would be limited, especially on the financial side, due to this agreement.Â
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A key example of this is sponsorship. Clubs in League1BC would have to follow conflict of interest rules in their sponsorships. For example, York United and the CPL are sponsored by Carlsberg. Because they are sponsored by Carlsberg no other club in the CPL or League1BC can be sponsored by a competitor no matter the size. So, if a League1BC team wanted to be sponsored by a regional beer company (which may be worrying for the TSS Rovers and 49 Parallel), they would not be allowed to. This is despite the conflict of interest mainly coming from a different city over 4000km away. Now while we do not know if this rule has a grandfather clause of sorts where current sponsors in those industries can stay (Like 49 Parallel on the Rovers kit), this will limit the potential of new sponsors for League1BC clubs since the CSB can veto sponsors from being involved in the league whatsoever.Â
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Some other factors in the agreement that have come to light are that the CSB have gotten rid of the league’s territorial agreements. While this may sound like we, the fans, get more rivalries with new teams joining in major hubs in BC, this would harm profits for current League1BC teams. If new teams popped up in Victoria it would put the Highlanders in a less advantageous position. It is also possible that this act may have been a contributor in the arrival of Burnaby FC to the league as the Rovers already technically play at Burnaby’s Swangard Stadium. Simply put, it is far too early for them to scrap territorial boundaries when the league is so young. Rather than looking to expand in the current areas it would be smarter to prioritize expansion to new cities such as Kelowna, Prince George, Coquitlam, Chilliwack etc. The other factor is that the CSB would now be able to revoke the league license from team after a certain number of years. From an investment perspective, the possibility of just being thrown out of your league does not look too great.Â
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This is especially true for the Highlanders since they are the only team in the league not to have a large group or organization of people behind the club. Because of this, the Highlanders did not sign the agreement. Not only will they not participate in either men's or women’s play in League1BC, but their men’s side will not partake in the Canadian Championship. Whether or not this is because of their refusal to sign the deal or simply a lack of interest because the team would not compete in any other competitions this season, it is an unfortunate ending to the Highlanders tenure in League1BC. Based on the reactions of the sources I talked to, especially on the men’s side, this is a very disappointing way to go out. Â