Burnaby Football Club (FC) is continuing preparations for what will be the organization's toughest level of competition yet.
The black and gold's League1 British Columbia (L1BC) teams are gearing up for their inaugural semi-pro soccer campaigns starting in late April with seasoned managers at the helm.
Jonas Worth and Todd May were recently announced as the Burnaby FC L1 women's and men's head coaches respectively.
Worth, with 20 years of coaching experience to his name, has earned the promotion after serving as Burnaby FC's MWSL premier coach during the winter season.
Under a Canada Soccer "A" license, he also recently worked with Simon Fraser University's soccer teams, aiding in their double 2023 Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) titles last fall.
According to a Burnaby FC statement, Worth has coached other teams across NCAA, U SPORTS, CCAA and the USL women's league.
As a player, he protected the net as a goalkeeper for clubs in Canada, the U.K., Germany and Brazil.
On the men's side, May's promotion comes on the heels of leading Burnaby FC's under-117 boys' team to a 2023 national championship.
He was an assistant with FC Edmonton during the 2022 Canadian Premier League season as well as with SFU and the former Mountain FC prior to moving to Alberta.
May holds a UEFA "B" coaching license, a statement from Burnaby FC reads. He played in the NCAA and premier development league before moving to B.C.
Burnaby FC's new L1BC sides are set to play all home games at Burnaby Lake West Field (3677 Kensington Ave.) in doubleheaders.
League1, which also has divisions in Alberta, Ontario and Québec under the League1 Canada banner, is the third highest level of pro-am soccer in the national system behind the Canadian Premier League.
L1BC was created in 2021 "to bridge the gap between youth and professional soccer."
"This is an incredible achievement for our Club and represents a milestone for soccer in Burnaby," said Burnaby FC president Guido Titotto in an earlier release.
"Joining League1 BC provides our players a continuous pathway across all levels of player development in our province and we cannot wait to provide them with League1 BC opportunities."
For more information, you can visit the league's website.
