The Northern Super League begins its inaugural season tonight as Canada’s first professional women’s soccer league when Vancouver Rise FC hosts Calgary Wild FC at BC Place at 10pm ET. The match will be distributed on TSN and CBC Gem in Canada and on ESPN+ in the U.S.
NSL President Christina Litz said more than 10,000 tickets had been sold for tonight’s game as of Tuesday and that attendance for AFC Toronto’s opener against Montreal Roses FC on Saturday is also expected to exceed 10,000. Average attendance in the NWSL for the entirety of the 2024 season was 11,250.
The six-team NSL was co-founded by former Canadian women’s national team and NWSL player Diana Matheson and features independently owned clubs in the five largest metropolitan areas in Canada by population -- Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa and Calgary -- as well as Halifax (No. 12). Each ownership group paid an expansion fee of C$1M (US$716,486 with the current exchange rate).
The Northern Super League’s 11 founding sponsors include Canadian Tire, DoorDash, Sportchek, Toyota, Coca-Cola and BMO. It also has an on-field apparel deal for all six teams with Hummel.
Litz, whose previous experience includes stints at the CFL and True North Sports & Entertainment (parent company of the Winnipeg Jets), said she is particularly excited about the level of on-field talent the league has attracted for its inaugural season. Experienced Canadian national team players who have signed in the NSL this season include Vancouver Rise MF Quinn, Halifax Tides GK Erin McLeod and Ottawa Rapid MF Desiree Scott.
“It’s exceeded our expectations,” Litz said. “We have a number of players on our rosters that are already on the [Canadian] national team and we’re bringing upwards of 50 Canadians home who have been playing tier-one professional soccer around the world, as well as internationals who are seeing what we’re doing and want to be a part of building it.”
