Prairies Premier League to Launch in 2026 Following Licensing Agreement witt Canada Soccer Business

The Manitoba Soccer Association (MSA) and Saskatchewan Soccer Association (SSA) announced a new licensing agreement with Canadian Soccer Business (CSB) to launch the Prairies Premier League (PPL), which will join Canada’s national system of elite pro-am soccer competitions beginning this spring.

Set to kick off in May 2026, the Prairies Premier League will represent the highest level of domestic pro-am soccer in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, providing a clearly defined competitive environment for top players, clubs, and coaches across the region. Operating within the Premier Soccer Leagues Canada (PSLC) system — part of Canadian Soccer Business’s league portfolio — the league will apply a nationally aligned pro-am model while remaining grounded in regional leadership and local soccer communities.

Developed through collaboration between MSA and SSA, the Prairies Premier League will apply the competitive and development model proven nationally under the League1 brand to address a long-standing gap for athletes in smaller provinces seeking consistent, high-level competition beyond the youth game, while also supporting the development of coaches, referees, and soccer organizations across the region.

“The Prairies Premier League shows what can be achieved when we come together with a shared purpose,” said Steven Porter, Executive Director, Saskatchewan Soccer Association. “The league was built to address a clear need and will deliver a consistent, high-performance environment while serving as a central hub for the soccer community across the Prairies.”

The inaugural season will feature seven clubs spanning Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Northern Ontario: Saskatchewan EXCEL Program, Forza Soccer Academy, QC United, FC Manitoba, Bonivital Flames, Lucania FC, and Thunder Bay Chill. 

“This league is the result of strong collaboration and leadership from our soccer communities, and we’re thankful for their commitment,” said Héctor Vergara, Executive Director, Manitoba Soccer Association. “Their investment extends far beyond matchday, helping elevate local talent and supporting the continued growth of the game throughout the Prairies.”

The launch of the Prairies Premier League coincides with a refresh across Canada’s existing system of pro-am competitions. Formerly known as League1 Canada, the system was today reintroduced as Premier Soccer Leagues Canada (PSLC), building on an already strong foundation as a credible developer of Canadian talent. This evolution reflects a broader strategy by CSB to align Canada’s domestic pathway with greater intention and clarity — both across its own league portfolio and in how the pro-am game connects with the wider professional and national soccer landscape.

Under the PSLC framework, the Prairies Premier League will join the Ontario Premier League, the Alberta Premier League, and the British Columbia Premier League as the provincial and regional leagues operating under the aligned branding and connected through the national system.

“This agreement reflects the strength of the pro-am model that already exists in Canada,” said James Johnson, Group CEO, Canadian Soccer Business. “The Prairies Premier League extends that model into a new region, creating meaningful opportunities for players and clubs while reinforcing alignment across the domestic pathway.”

The 2026 Prairies Premier League season will run from early May through mid-July, with a full competition schedule and additional operational details to be announced in the coming months.

The launch of the Prairies Premier League further reinforces the momentum of Premier Soccer Leagues Canada, as the national pro-am system continues to expand and connect community-based competition with higher levels of opportunity in the Canadian game. 

Annual General Meeting Notice

The Saskatchewan Soccer Association would like to invite you to attend the 2026 Annual General Meeting held in North Battleford. 



Friday, March 20, 2026 

Evening: Come & Go Social 

Saturday, March 21 

Morning: Annual General Meeting 

Afternoon: Member Sessions 

Evening: Awards Banquet 

Hotel Block: Book by February 18th, 2026

A block of rooms for Friday and Saturday night have been set aside at the Eagle Lodge under Saskatchewan Soccer Association. These rooms can be accessed by calling Sales and Group Bookings representative Daniel Stokalko at (306)446-8877 ext 503

Rooms will be held until February 18th at which point they will be released to the public. There are limited hotel rooms available so please be sure to confirm your booking as early as possible.  

The AGM Working Papers and official schedule, along with information on registration will be sent at a later date.  

Save the Date!

Sask Cup Power Chair

PSL Declaration's Now Being Accepted

Please submit your 2026 PSL Team declaration of interest prior to March 1, 2026.

Declarations can be submitted to Ryan Gibney at r.gibney@sasksoccer.com. Please include team name, phone number and email address of Head Coach and Manager.

Team Declaration communications will not be accepted directly from Clubs, Zones, or Teams.

The 2026 PSL season will kick-off the week of May 11th with PSL Finals being held July 24th and 25th in Regina.

Congratulations Brett Levis!

Former SSA Athlete of the Year Brett Levis is retiring a champion.

The 32-year-old announced his retirement early last week following a championship season with Atletico Ottawa of the Canadian Premier League.

Levis started his professional career with Whitecaps FC in 2015 following a stand out career at the U of S that included a Canada West title.

Levis made a number of first team appearances for the Vancouver Whitecaps and even earned a spot on Canada's 40 man roster for the 2019 CONCAF Gold Cup before moving on to play for the Winnipeg Valour in 2020. He spent three seasons in Winnipeg before heading south suiting up for both FC Tulsa and Detroit.

Although Levis signed a two-year deal with Atletico Ottawa at the beginning of the 2025 season he has decided to retire a champion.

“Soccer allowed me to live a dream I didn’t even know was possible. I want to say thank you to everyone who supported me through all the ups and downs and followed my journey from Saskatoon to Major League Soccer and everywhere in between.” said Levis via a social media post early last week.

The Saskatchewan Soccer Association would like Congratulate Brett on a phenomenal career and wish him all the best in his retirement.

Connected

To strengthen relationships and foster meaningful conversations, SSA will host Monthly Technical Meetings with Member Organizations.

These sessions are designed to share updates on SSA and CSA projects, hear your perspectives, and support early collaboration on your initiatives. 

The meeting link is provided below and was also shared in a previous email to all MO representatives. 

Connected | Meeting-Join | Microsoft Teams  

Technical Tuesday Speaker Series

Male EXCEL Program Update

We are excited to announce that Male EXCEL Program athlete Landon Bagonluri has signed with Memorial University for the fall of 2026.

2026 Referee Season Open for Registrations – To be used for all referee registrations. 

Preparations for the outdoor season are under way. Match officials represent a vital part of the game. Please encourage all returning referees to head over to your Member Organization’s RAMP portal and register if they have not done so already. Referees have a very important role in sport and having a trained pool of referees is vital to the success of your local programming.

The new season for registering referees through the 2026 Referee Season is now available and will remain open for the 2026 calendar year. 

A kind reminder that all referees 18+ must upload a current Criminal Record Check with Vulnerable Sector Check at the time of registration. 

If you need to submit a Referee Registrar Report, you can find it on our website here.   

REMINDER: The 2026 Referee season will not be active until the Member Organization activates it; this can be done in the season settings. 

RAMP Season Set Up Tutorial: RAMP Registration System Admin Tutorial  

What if not enough match officials are returning? 

The time to recruit more participants and book a referee clinic is now. Head over to the Saskatchewan Soccer Referee Courses  page for more information. Future referees are required to complete The Entry Level Referee Course Online Module via Smarter U (link accessible on the webpage and also via the individual Ramp account) before registering for the one day in person session. If your Member Organization has any questions, please contact Octavian at o.iliuta@sasksoccer.com.

Entry Level Referee Course Online Modules 

As of 2024, Canada Soccer has launched the new updated Entry Level Referee Online Modules. This has replaced the SSA Google Classroom approach aligning entry-level coach and referee development at the National level. The access keys for the online modules (purchased by each participant) will cost $40 for $2026 and $50 in 2027. 

All eligible Referee Entry Level Clinic participants (minimum of 14 years and older) are required to complete The Online Training via Canada Soccer’s SmarterU platform before moving forward with a seven-hour in-person session to complete referee certification.  

The Referee Course Registration Guide is outlined here. The Referee Entry Level Clinic process via Smarter U is available via this link. The Small Sided Referee /Futsal referee process is described here. All information is also available on the SSA Website on the Referee Courses page. 

For more information on referee courses or to schedule a practical session in your community, please contact Octavian Iliuta – Manager of Referee Development @ o.iliuta@sasksoccer.com. 

Community Referee Education Sessions

SSA will be offering Laws of the Game Refresher online education sessions (via Zoom) to all Saskatchewan Soccer registered referees. Sessions will be approximately 1-1.5 hours and will focus on several exciting topics spread over the course of four sessions. We will explore and learn together on Laws of the Game 2025-2026 Revisions, including the Goalkeeper 8 second release. You are welcome to attend one session that fits your schedule.  

Sessions take place, March 24, April 1, April 15, and April 23 with a 7:30 p.m. start time. 

Registration is on a first come, first served basis. If you are interested, please register here. Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email with details on how to access the session of your choice. 

Green Whistle Campaign

Over 80% of the new referees that took a Referee Course in 2025 were under the age of 18. 

As the Indoor season, with tournament and leagues is in full swing, a kind reminder to all participants regarding proper behaviour, and displaying a positive example, for a Positive Game Time environment. Emotions do come out, words in the moment hurt, and Referees are Human. 



Referees are essential to the participant’s experience and advancement of the game. They deserve our respect and a supportive, abuse-free, environment. You can make a difference; always treat them well and thank them for their contributions every game! 



If their whistle is Green, they are Under 18! 

Canadian Women and Sport Playbook Program

SSA took part in the Playbook Program with Canadian Women and Sport over the last couple of years. After speaking with many participants, they have designed a community of practice that organizations can invite leaders and coaches to learn more about inclusive design for girls and latest trending topics such as body image and menstruation.  These community of practices will be designed for coaches and leaders to learn and connect with other people in the sector.  

Below are the registrations links for the 2 community of practices. You don’t have to attend all sessions they will be on different topics. 

Please send this out to your coaches and leaders you think would be interested. 

You can Book the remainder of the CoP sessions here: 

• Session 2: Wednesday, Feb 11, 12:00–1:30 p.m. ET – Register Here 
• Session 3: Wednesday, Mar 4, 12:00–1:30 p.m. ET – Register Here 

2026 Membership Renewal

All Member Organizations are required to renew each year to be eligible for SSA Member Benefits.  

The deadline for renewal is March 15.  

Regular Member Organizations (register players): $75.00 Association Member Organizations (do not register players): $50.00 Renewal fees increase after March 15.  

Renew Here 

Payment can be submitted via e-transfer to ea@sasksoccer.com or by cheque payable to: Saskatchewan Soccer Association  

2026 Outdoor Season

RAMP Registration for the Outdoor 2026 Season and 2026 Referee Season are open! 

 

REMINDER: The season will not be active until the Member Organization activates it under the season settings. To learn more click Here 

Share your Veo Experience and Be Entered to Win

Our partner Veo is inviting its users to win a Veo Cam by sharing their Veo experience.



Take part in a short survey and help shape the future of Veo. By filling out the survey you will be enrolled in a giveaway of a Veo Cam (1st prize), a Veo Go (2nd prize) or $500 Amazon gift card (3rd prize).

Entry ends February 22nd.

Saskatchewan Soccer Association www.sasksoccer.com