The Northern Super League (NSL) began as a dream imagined by former Canadian women’s soccer player Diana Matheson to start the first-ever professional women’s soccer league in Canada.
Canada is home to several women’s soccer teams, including the AFC Toronto, Vancouver Rise, Ottawa Rapid, Montréal Roses, Calgary Wild, and Halifax Tides.
For many years, Canada was the only country in the top 10 Fédération Internationale de Football Association’s FIFA rankings to not have its own league, forcing most players on the national team to play abroad.
This newly created league meant more Canadians could finally play soccer professionally on their home soil. This makes it even easier for Canadian women to play at the professional level since there are more roster spots up for grabs.
The league set up a solution where, in a roster of 20-25 players, only eight of them can be international players. This gave Canadian athletes more chances to excel in the league.
The NSL also provides greater economic stability for players by offering an average salary of $75,000 and a minimum of $50,000 per year, which can increase over time.
The league’s development has been instrumental not just for players but also for fans across Canada.
Having a women’s soccer league also meant that Canadians did not have to travel or settle on a live stream if they wanted to support their favourite women’s soccer team.
With our own league, fans have teams closer to them, which they can support, attend games at, and feel a better sense of community than before.
Over 1.1 million Canadians watched the first-ever NSL final online, while in-person attendance reached 12,429. These numbers demonstrate that women’s soccer in Canada clearly has a strong fanbase that will only keep growing, as evidenced by the dedication of over 12,000 people who sat in the cold and rain to support this historic match in person. In fact, I was one of them.
And although, as an AFC Toronto supporter, I didn’t get the result I wanted (like, at all), the experience of witnessing history in my favourite sport at home was magical.
BMO Field was packed with people from across the country, wearing merch from all kinds of teams.
I saw people proudly repping Ottawa, Halifax and Calgary alike. And even though none of their teams were playing, they came to show their support for Canadian women’s soccer, which was incredibly valuable.
With all these changes and increased opportunities, women’s soccer in Canada is finally getting the support it needs and deserves. The federal government of Canada has even pledged to invest over five million dollars to continue developing women’s soccer in Canada.
The inaugural Northern Super League season has officially ended, with the Vancouver Rise crowned champions and five other teams hungry for the same glory.
I can’t wait to follow along once more as AFC Toronto chases the title of NSL Champions and The Diana B. Matheson Cup. For now, I will be constantly repping my maroon-and-white gear while I impatiently wait for the next season to begin.