With the newly named Northern Super League (NSL) officially set for kickoff, Canadian women can finally launch their careers in the beautiful game without leaving their home turf.<\/p>\n
Previously referred to as Project 8, the NSL will debut in 2025 as the first professional women’s soccer league in the country.<\/p>\n
Shannon Kerwin, Associate Professor of Sport Management at Brock University, says the NSL offers a much-needed pathway for women who play to develop in and through the Canadian system.<\/p>\n
It may also serve to encourage young women to pursue their dreams of playing professional sports here at home, says Michele Donnelly, Assistant Professor of Sport Management.<\/p>\n
The opportunity for women athletes to both \u201ccontinue their careers beyond university and earn a living playing their sport ensures that girls understand professional sport as a possibility,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Record-breaking viewership of the 2023 FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup and increased attention to qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and other friendly matches point to a \u201chealthy appetite for women\u2019s professional soccer in Canada,\u201d says Assistant Professor of Sport Management Taylor McKee.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is beyond question that Canada has desperately needed a domestic professional option to stem the churn of talented players of all ages to all corners of the globe,\u201d he says. \u201cThere is no doubt that the calibre of soccer will be high and if the overall product is relevant, thoughtfully marketed and engaging to fans, it will draw significant interest.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new league presents \u201cremarkable opportunities for women to be involved \u2014 and stay involved\u201d off the field, too, says Kerwin.<\/p>\n
Rather than the historically competitive and exclusionary spaces often encountered in professional sports, the NSL was built with inclusion and collaboration as its core guiding principles.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis type of environment of inclusion and collaboration is where women thrive,\u201d Kerwin says.<\/p>\n
The announcement comes on the tailwinds of a groundswell of milestones in professional women\u2019s sports this year.<\/p>\n
In addition to the launch of the NSL, the Professional Women\u2019s Hockey League (PWHL) recently concluded its first season and the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) announced its expansion into Canada with a Toronto franchise earlier this month. Women will also play at the World Lacrosse Box Championships for the first time in the fall.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany of us are reacting to the events of 2023 and 2024 with an \u2018it\u2019s about time\u2019 response,\u201d says Donnelly.<\/p>\n
While this wave of interest has been \u201can exciting moment for women\u2019s sport in Canada and beyond,\u201d she says recent milestones should also be viewed as part of a long-term, but inconsistent, effort to advance women\u2019s sports.<\/p>\n
The Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games being referred to as the \u201cWomen\u2019s Games\u201d is one example of a similarly positive and hopeful moment in women\u2019s sports history, Donnelly says, and it will ultimately take \u201cconsistent, intentional action to achieve gender equality in sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
Each professional sports league must also be given \u201cthe grace to succeed, or fail, without it serving as the final determination of the sport\u2019s future in Canada or whether women\u2019s sport can occupy a substantial place in the sporting marketplace,\u201d stresses McKee.<\/p>\n
Kerwin adds the demand to play, watch and lead women\u2019s professional sports teams should also not be seen as \u201ca trend or fad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ability to connect with women\u2019s sport and athletes within these leagues is far greater than anything we have seen in other leagues across the globe,\u201d she says. \u201cIf we continue to see women\u2019s sport leagues as leagues on their own merit \u2014 and not compare to men\u2019s leagues in terms of their fan base \u2014 we can start to embrace the collective movement and sustainability of women\u2019s sport leagues that are founded on excellence, collaboration and a unique value that is not, but should be, comparable to traditional sport leagues.\u201d<\/p>\n
The rapid growth recently seen in women\u2019s professional sport should not be \u201cinterpreted as the end of the story,\u201d either, adds Donnelly.<\/p>\n
\u201cRather, the story must continue with increased, sustained and intentional investment of resources in girls\u2019 and women\u2019s sport at every level in Canada and globally.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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