Burnaby Selects and the Sapperton Rovers Men's Club announced earlier this week that the two groups will be working together to improve soccer development in the Burnaby District.
The tier 2 Metro league Selects represent youth soccer players in Burnaby and New Westminster aged 13 to 18, following a recent move that brought the two associations under the Burnaby District Youth Soccer Association.
Sapperton Rovers are the 2006 B.C. provincial champions with teams in the under-21, Men's Premier Open and Masters divisions of the Vancouver Metro Soccer League.
Djiba Camara will coach the u-21 team with assistance from John Penman of the Selects.
Burnaby Selects players will get opportunities on the u-21 team or on the Rovers men's premier team.
"This will create a low-cost development pathway for Burnaby and New Westminster youth," said Penman in a Burnaby Selects press release. "The key is to keep our youth program at a reasonable cost for those parents and players."
Rovers club president Bryan Wevers added working together will benefit both groups.
"A great feeder system like that offered by Burnaby Selects can only help us win another provincial championship" added Wevers in the release.
"The addition of Djiba Camara, one of only two FIFA approved agents in B.C., is bound to keep the best players with the Burnaby Selects and move many of them to the Rovers."
In an unrelated move, Royal City Youth Soccer Club left the 5District Westminster youth soccer association to come under the umbrella of the Burnaby district and will therefore be available to play with the Selects in the tier 2 soccer league.
Other Royal City club teams will now play at the gold, silver and bronze levels in the 4District league along with local Burnaby, Vancouver, Richmond and North Shore clubs.
"It's a good thing," said Royal City president Colin Meldrum of the move that brought both the boys' and girls' teams into the same soccer district. Another reason for the move was the less travel involved in the 4District league, Meldrum said.
