Canada Is Getting A Professional Women's Soccer League & It'll Kick Off In 2025
It's finally happening! ⚽
Christine Sinclair holding up a medal. Right: Women's soccer players at the Olympic Games in Japan in 2021.
Calling all Canadian soccer fans! Canada is officially getting its first women's professional soccer league, and there's already a lot of excitement going around.
The currently unnamed league will kick off in 2025 with eight teams in total — two of which have already been confirmed.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Calgary Foothills Soccer Club are the first teams to announce their involvement in the professional women's soccer league, with the remaining six expected to be formally named in 2023.
\u201c\ud835\ude44\ud835\ude4f'\ud835\ude4e \ud835\ude4f\ud835\ude44\ud835\ude48\ud835\ude40\n\nWe\u2019re thrilled to announce that Calgary Foothills Soccer Club will join the first Canadian Women's Professional League in 2025 \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6\n\nSupport the women's game by following @FoothillsWFC/@Project8Sports and stay tuned for more updates! #itstime\u201d— Foothills WFC (@Foothills WFC) 1670294517
What's more, the league already has Air Canada and CIBC on board as corporate sponsors.
It's being launched by Diana Matheson, a former member of the Canadian women's national soccer team, and her business partner Thomas Gilbert, under the banner of Project 8 Sports.
In an interview with CBC, Matheson said the plan is to have eight teams across Canada — four in the east and four in the west.
"And then the goal is to attract some of the world's best women soccer players to Canada, including Canadian women's national team players."
\u201cIt's time for women's professional soccer in Canada.\n\nSo, we're building a league. 8 teams across Canada, with kick-off in 2025. Let's go Canada.\n\n#ItsTime #AmbitionRises #FlyTheFlag\n@CIBC @AirCanada @WhitecapsFC @FoothillsSoccer\u201d— Project 8 (@Project 8) 1670292439
What's perhaps unique about this league is that it's going to be player-led for the most part, with stars like Olympic Gold Medallists Christine Sinclair and Stephanie Labbe contributing to its planning and development.
Sinclair described their ambition to create a league that is "built differently, for women by women," per The Canadian Press.
"We want to change the soccer landscape in Canada so women’s players can develop and play professionally here at home instead of having to go abroad, as every one of our national team players must do now to be successful," she said.
At the moment, Canada doesn't have a professional domestic league for female players. However, it is home to many successful women soccer stars, including the likes of Adriana Leon, who plays as a winger for Manchester United.
Canada remains the only nation ranked in FIFA's top 20 that doesn't currently have a professional, domestic women's league.
That's probably why news of the new league has been met with largely positive feedback. On Tuesday, Justin Trudeau congratulated everyone involved in making this a reality.
"We're looking forward to seeing the players and teams on the pitch," he tweeted.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.