British Columbia News

During Monday’s Special General Meeting, BC Soccer’s Full Members (Adult Leagues and Youth Districts) voted to amend the association’s voting structure from a 50-50 split between the Youth Districts and Adult Leagues to a more fair and equitable voting structure based on the registered players within each member organization (1 vote per 2,500 registered players or portion of). These amendments received the requisite number of votes in favour to pass the amendments, which changes the voting structure that has been in place for the last 24 years, when the BC Soccer Association and the BC Youth Soccer Association merged to form the Association we have today. Governance reform is a key aspect of BC Soccer’s 2024 strategic plan and this area received increased focus since September 2021 when Canada Soccer provided a directive to BC Soccer to amend its voting structure to be more fair, equitable, and based on the stakeholders in BC – the registered players. The directive included timelines and potential suspension as a member association. After the Special General Meeting, BC Soccer Executive Director Jason Elligott, expressed his appreciation that the association would not be at risk of suspension by Canada Soccer: “There has been a lot of discussion and work done over the last 12 months, and we are thankful to the members for their support of these bylaw changes to ensure BC Soccer stays in good standing with Canada Soccer.”

BC Soccer President Gayle Statton is extremely grateful to the voting members for understanding the positive implications of this historic vote, which she thinks will ultimately move the game forward: “Striving for good governance is a major aspect of strategic planning, and with these bylaws passing we lay the foundation for further improvement that makes our game more fair and equitable. I fully appreciate that sometimes change is difficult and it feels like a lot of change is happening all at once. Our focus now is to keep moving forward and working to make it easier for our members to be successful and to provide great experiences for our most critical stakeholders; the participants.”

TWO TEAMS ACHIEVE NATIONAL YOUTH CLUB LICENCE

The Process of earning Canada Soccer’s National Youth Club License is extensive and comprehensive, particularly in the last 2 years, when there has been significant disruption in activity and in some cases, administrative resources. BC Soccer are very pleased to recognize both Port Moody SC and Ridge Meadows SC for completing the process and achieving National Youth Club Licence status.

“The Port Moody SC is thrilled to have achieved this milestone in our club’s history. Achieving our National Youth Club License has positive implications for all members of our soccer community, and we have experienced this as we went through the licensing process this past year. We look forward to joining the BCSPL with our Girls and Boys teams next season, as this allows us as a club to provide Long Term Player Development pathway for all our players and to provide them the opportunities to play in their community and with their friends. This pathway has enormous positive impact for all our players from Recreational to High Performance, as well as for our coaches, and referees.” - Port Moody Soccer Club Executive Director Srdjan Djekanovic: “The Ridge Meadows Soccer Club is honoured to have been granted a National Youth Club license by the Canadian Soccer Association. This achievement would not have been possible without the extraordinary effort and commitment by our Club’s leadership and Board to meet the high standards of technical instruction, administration and governance associated with the highest achieving soccer organizations in Canada. Special thanks to Canada Soccer and to BC Soccer for their support throughout the licensing process. We’re excited about what this means for the future of our Club, and for the opportunities that we will be able to provide to all members of the Ridge Meadows Community going forward.” -Ridge Meadows Soccer Club President, Mike Savignano. Having received BC Soccer Board approval, both clubs have been accepted into the BCSPL, with Port Moody kicking off with U13 boys and girls in September of 2023, while Ridge Meadows will join at the U13 age group for boys and girls in September of 2024. Each will club with then continue to introduce U13 teams in subsequent seasons.