The Saskatchewan Soccer Association has signed a player-development partnership with Major League Soccer's Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

The partnership is being touted as the "final piece" to the SSA's high-performance stream plan, aimed at elevating the province's soccer players to the upper levels of performance and skill.

"The alliance between both organizations creates a pathway for youth throughout the province to pursue their dreams of playing within higher echelons of the game," the Whitecaps said in a press release.

The Whitecaps currently have two products of the Saskatchewan soccer system involved with the organization: Midfielder Brett Levis and prospect Thomas Hasal, both of Saskatoon.

The Whitecaps already have two soccer academies in Saskatchewan — one in Saskatoon which opened in 2013, and another that opened in Regina in 2015.

The partnership with the SSA marks the seventh partnership the Whitecaps have established with a Canadian provincial soccer association.

The others are Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island.