The Ontario Premier League (formerly known as League1 Ontario) is a semi-professional men's soccer league in Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association.
The Ontario Premier League consists of three tiers, with promotion and relegation between them. The top-two tiers consist of 12 teams each, while the lowest tier is uncapped in size.
In the Canadian soccer league system, the men's division is behind the fully-professional Canadian Premier League. It is part of Premier Soccer Leagues Canada (formerly League1 Canada), the national third tier with regional divisions, along with four other provincial leagues including the British Columbia Premier League, Alberta Premier League, Prairies Premier League, and LS Pro Québec. The league champion qualifies for the Canadian Championship, Canada's domestic cup tournament. Dino Rossi serves as the commissioner of the league.
History
Origins League1 Ontario was founded on November 15, 2013, in an announcement by the Ontario Soccer Association (OSA) that it would pilot the semi-professional league in 2014 and 2015 as a key pillar of long-term player development in Canada. The league would be administered by DG Sports, who also operate the province's amateur Ontario Soccer League, with Dino Rossi serving as commissioner. OSA President Ron Smale stated that the league's core group of players are to consist of U-23s, with League1 complementing the newly formed Ontario Player Development League (OPDL) elite youth league as a pathway for professional player development.
On April 8, 2014, the OSA revealed its plans for the inaugural season of League1 which would begin during the final weekend in May 2014. The season featured 10 teams, chosen through a standards-based application process, which were: ANB Futbol, Durham Power FC, Internacional de Toronto, Kingston Cataraqui Clippers, Master's FA, Sigma FC, Toronto FC Academy, Vaughan Azzurri, Windsor Stars and Woodbridge Strikers. The league champion would face the champion of the Première ligue de soccer du Québec in the Inter-Provincial Cup to determine the national Division III champion.
Dylan Sacramento of Toronto FC Academy scored the first ever goal in the league with a 10th-minute strike against Vaughan Azzurri. In the same game, Mateo Restrepo received the league's first red card. On July 22, 2014, the league and the Ontario Soccer Association announced the termination of Internacional de Toronto's license agreement due to "failure to comply with agreed-upon league standards", with league matches rescheduled for the season to accommodate the change. Toronto FC Academy were crowned the inaugural league champions on October 4, 2014, after defeating the Cataraqui Clippers 3–1 to secure the top place in the regular season standings. Vaughan Azzurri and Sigma FC contested the inaugural League1 Cup on October 19, 2014, at BMO Field, with the Azzurri winning the single-game cup final 2–1 to be crowned champions.
As the number of teams in the league continued to grow through expansion, the league introduced a two-conference format with the winner of each conference facing off in a championship match. After the 2016 season, the Inter-Provincial Cup was cancelled, with the winners of League1 Ontario and the PLSQ instead advancing to the national Canadian Championship the following season, beginning in 2018.
In 2018, the league returned to a single division, introducing playoffs for the top finishers of the league to decide the league champion. The League Cup tournament was eliminated the following season.
On November 14, 2018, the Canadian Premier League announced its purchase of League1 Ontario. According to L1O commissioner Dino Rossi, L1O would serve as "CPL's official development league."
Due to restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the league cancelled the 2020 season and delayed the start of the 2021 season. In 2022, L1O joined League1 Canada as a founding member. League1 Canada is an alliance of soccer leagues that operate at the pro-am level.
Reorganization and rebranding In 2024, League1 Ontario restructured from a single league into a three-tier competition. Existing teams were assigned to one of the top-two tiers based on the number of points they earned in the previous two seasons. The top-tier "League1 Ontario Premier" division included the top 12 teams while the second tier "League1 Ontario Championship" division featured the remaining 10 teams (with expansion to 12 teams in the 2025 season). Along with this, a third tier known as League2 Ontario debuted in 2024 with 24 teams that included existing club B teams and new teams joining the league. League2 was created as an entry point for expansion clubs to the L1O system.
Under the reorganization, teams have the ability to move up and down between tiers through a process of promotion and relegation. The 2024 season also saw the return of the L1 Cup, a league cup knockout tournament which features teams from all three tiers of the L1O system.
In January 2026, the league rebranded as the Ontario Premier League and adopted a new logo. This change coinceded with rebrands to Premier Soccer Leagues Canada (formerly League1 Canada) and the Canadian Premier League, to create a unified identity. The three tiers of the Ontario Premier League were renamed to Ontario Premier League 1, Ontario Premier League 2, and Ontario Premier League 3.
Competition format + League1 Ontario structure (2026) Tier Division 1 Ontario Premier League 112 teams ↓ relegate 1 or 2 2 Ontario Premier League 212 teams ↑ promote 1 or 2↓ relegate 1 3 Ontario Premier League 328 teams in 3 conferences ↑ promote 1 Ontario Premier League clubs are grouped into three divisions: OPL1, OPL2, and OPL3 (formerly League1 Premier, League1 Championship, and League2 Ontario, respectively). The regular season runs from April to August in which teams only play against other teams in their division. The top-two tiers use a single table round-robin format while the lowest tier is further subdivided into regional groupings. The team that accumulates the most points during the season is crowned league champions. In 2016 and 2017, the league champion was determined by a single match playoff between the winners of the east and west divisions. From 2018 to 2023, a larger playoff format was used.
Promotion and relegation results in the OPL2 team that is crowned champions being automatically be promoted to OPL1, while the team at the bottom of the OPL1 standings will be automatically relegated to OPL2. A direct swap between the best and worst sides is the first of its kind in not just Canada, but North America. A playoff will also happen between the OPL 1 and 2, where the team second from bottom (11th) in the OPL1 will face the second-placed team in the OPL2 in an all-or-nothing game for a place in the top tier in the next season.
Since 2017, the winner of the top division has qualified for the Canadian Championship. At the end of each season, the winner of the OPL2 and OPL3 divisions are promoted to the next tier up while the bottom team in the OPL1 and OPL2 divisions are relegated down.
Beginning in 2019, the Supporters Trophy was created by the Rogue Street Elite supporter group of North Mississauga SC to be given to the regular season champions.
OPL Cup
The OPL Cup (originally known as the L1 Cup) is a league cup tournament that features all OPL clubs. It runs concurrently with the regular season, with cup games usually taking place mid-week. It is not a form of playoffs and all matches are separate from the regular season and are not reflected in the season standings. The 2014 and 2015 cups included a group stage and a knockout stage but from 2016 to 2018 the format was a single-elimination tournament. Following a hiatus from 2019 to 2023, the OPL Cup returned in 2024, coinciding with the league's restructuring.
Clubs
As of 2026 there are 28 clubs of whom 4 are based in Toronto, 13 are based elsewhere in the Greater Toronto Area, 10 are based in other cities in Southern Ontario and there is 1 club based in Northern Ontario. Three more clubs compete in different leagues at a comparable level, the Thunder Bay Chill from Prairies Premier League and Ottawa South United and West Ottawa SC from LS Pro Québec.
Ontario Premier League 1
The league has 12 teams participating in the 2026 season.
Team City Stadium Capacity Founded Debut Burlington SC Burlington Corpus Christi CSS 1962 2022 International FC Vaughan Zanchin Automotive Soccer Centre 2,200 2009 2026 North Toronto Nitros Toronto Downsview Park 1,000 1980 2016 Oakville SC Oakville Bronte Athletic Park 500 1972 2015 Scrosoppi FC Milton Saint Francis Xavier CSS 2020 2021 Sigma FC Mississauga Paramount Fine Foods Centre/Hamilton Stadium 5,400 2005 2014 Simcoe County Rovers FC Barrie J.C. Massie Field 1,200 2021 2022 St. Catharines Roma Wolves St. Catharines Club Roma Stadium 1,500 1967 2021 Sudbury Cyclones Sudbury James Jerome Sports Complex 2023 2024 Unionville Milliken SC Unionville Zanchin Automotive Soccer Centre (Vaughan) 2,000 1976 2018 Vaughan Azzurri Vaughan North Maple Regional Park 500 1982 2014 Woodbridge Strikers Woodbridge Vaughan Grove Park 1,000 1976 2014
Ontario Premier League 2 The league has 12 teams participating in the 2026 season.
Team City Stadium Capacity Founded Debut Cambridge United Cambridge Fountain Street Soccer Complex 1973 2025 FC London London Tricar Field 900 2008 2016 Guelph United Guelph Centennial Bowl 500 2020 2021 Hamilton United Hamilton Ron Joyce Stadium 6,000 2013 2020 Inter Toronto II Toronto York Lions Stadium 4,000 2024 2025 Master's FA Scarborough L'Amoreaux Sports Complex 200 2009 2014 North Mississauga SC Mississauga Churchill Meadows (Mattamy Sports Park) 200 1982 2016 Pickering FC Pickering Pickering Soccer Centre 1984 2014 The Borough FC Scarborough (Toronto) Birchmount Stadium 2,000 2011 2024 Waterloo United Waterloo RIM Park 1,700 1971 2021 Whitby FC Whitby Telus Dome 1,000 1966 2018 Windsor City FC Windsor St. Clair College 2,000 2004 2014
Ontario Premier League 3 The league has 28 teams participating in the 2026 season.
Team City Stadium Founded Debut International FC B Vaughan Mount Joy Sports Dome (Markham) Reserve team Kingston Sentinels Kingston CaraCo Home Field 2025 2026 Master's FA B Scarborough / North York (Toronto) Alumni Field Reserve team Pickering FC B Pickering Pickering Soccer Centre Richmond Hill SC Richmond Hill Richmond Green Park 1968 2026 The Borough FC B Scarborough (Toronto) Birchmount Stadium Reserve team Unionville Milliken SC B Unionville (Markham) Zanchin Automotive Soccer Centre (Vaughan) Whitby FC B Whitby Telus Dome Inter Toronto III Toronto Zanchin Automotive Soccer Centre (Vaughan) Reserve team North Mississauga SC B Mississauga Churchill Meadows (Mattamy Sports Park) North Toronto Nitros B North York (Toronto) Downsview Park Rush Canada SA Oakville Sheridan Trafalgar Campus 2014 2024 Scrosoppi FC B MiltonSaint Francis Xavier CSS Reserve team Sigma FC B Mississauga Paramount Fine Foods Centre Simcoe County Rovers FC B Barrie J.C. Massie Field Sudbury Cyclones B Sudbury James Jerome Sports Complex Vaughan Azzurri B Vaughan North Maple Regional Park Woodbridge Strikers B Woodbridge (Vaughan) Vaughan Grove Field Burlington SC B Burlington Ron Joyce Field (Mcmaster stadium) Reserve team Cambridge United B Cambridge Fountain Street Soccer Complex FC London B London Tricar Field Guelph United FC B Guelph Eastview Community Park Hamilton United B Hamilton Ron Joyce Stadium Oakville SC B Oakville North Park Railway City FC St. Thomas 1Password Park 2024 2025 St. Catharines Roma Wolves B St. Catharines Club Roma Reserve team Waterloo United B Waterloo RIM Park Windsor City FC B Windsor St. Clair College
Timeline
Former clubs