It is not just for the pleasure of getting a club together and playing matches. Even less to give oneself a clear conscience or to “prove something”.
If professional women’s soccer is preparing to establish itself in the metropolis, it is “because it was about time”, believes Annie Larouche, the president of the Montreal franchise of the Super Ligue du Nord (SLN).
After almost three years at the head of the Montreal Alliance and some 25 years with the Alouettes, the leader officially assumed her new role in recent days. Her appointment was announced at the beginning of the summer.
On the other end of the line, the manager quickly talks about the “privilege” the owners of the organization gave her by entrusting her with its management. On the administrative side, hiring is going well, she assures. The same goes for the technical and sports side, supervised by Marinette Pichon. Literally everything has to be done, within a league that is being built at the same time as its six clubs.
Training camp will open in March 2025, and the season the following month. “It’s tomorrow!” exclaims Annie Larouche. Her schedule is overflowing, but she doesn’t mind, quite the opposite.
“As much as it can be scary, because there is no structure and everything has to be built, for the owners, for Marinette, for me and for everyone around us, it’s intoxicating,” she emphasizes.
“We have the opportunity to be creative and ensure that we meet the expectations of our fans.”
The structure of the SLN is contrary to that of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (WHLL), whose first season was crowned with success, notably in Montreal. In the WHLL, every decision, including hiring, must be approved by the league. In the case of the SLN, the clubs own the league; the orientations are therefore adopted by a board of directors on which the teams are represented.
Read “The Northern Super League shows its colours”
In this context, a collaboration has been established between the franchises (Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Halifax, Calgary and Vancouver) in order to develop a common vision, which nevertheless leaves free rein to those who develop their respective organizations locally.
“We listen, we look at what is being done elsewhere. It’s very exciting!”
” Finally ! “
Despite the relatively tight schedule the new team is working under, the veteran administrator is taking uncanny care to do things not only the right way, but, she says, “for the right reasons.”
The theme comes up several times during the thirty-minute conversation.
On the one hand, it is expressed at a high level, almost on a philosophical level. The league and by extension its teams will want to give athletes all the space they need. “Finally!” adds our interlocutor.
PHOTO DENIS GERMAIN, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Annie Larouche
We want to give them the opportunity, too, to be able to make a living from their sport, to make a career out of it, to not be forced to have another part-time job or to move.
Annie Larouche, president of the Montreal team of the Super League of the North
According to a Statista compilation published in 2023, Canada has the second largest pool of female soccer players in the world, behind the United States. However, Canada is the only one, among the current top 10 FIFA, not to count on a professional league. This is what makes Annie Larouche say that “it was about time”.
Correcting this state of affairs is not an end in itself. It is important to do it, at the risk of repeating ourselves, in the right way.
The history of women’s hockey has provided, throughout its history, several examples of the wrong way. Players have long struggled to make ends meet in underfunded circuits, in front of sometimes starving crowds. It was only in 2023, with the LPHF, that they were provided with a logistical and financial framework that finally seems viable.
SLN is not trying to copy existing models. But it is aware of the importance of not missing its mark.
“We want to ensure sustainability, not just make a fireworks display and stop after one season,” illustrates Annie Larouche. “We’re not doing it to silence the detractors. If we decide to embark on this adventure, it’s because we want to do things well. Not to prove something.”
Commitment
This sustainability will obviously require a commitment from supporters. The market is ready for a women’s soccer team, it is calculated. It still needs to be conquered.
Both with the Montreal Alouettes and the Alliance, Annie Larouche has placed ties with the community very high in her priorities.
“Being close to people, inspiring young people, connecting with them,” she lists. “We have to be honest and transparent in our approaches. That way, fans want to be part of it. They have to believe in it.”
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Montreal team co-owners Isabèle Chevalier and Jean-François Crevier with Super Ligue du Nord founder Diana Matheson (foreground)
Internally, we also surrounded ourselves with “people who eat soccer culture” in order to be in tune with the public we are addressing. “You can’t pretend, you can’t lie to people,” continues the manager.
She hopes that this attention to detail will translate into success “at every stage” over the coming months, as the team comes to life…and beyond.
Winning championships is obviously the goal of any sports team. But seeing the athletes gain visibility and the club experience a long and fruitful life would be, for its president, equivalent victories.
“When I retire, in my rocking chair, I want to be able to say to myself: ‘I started that team!'”
Annie Larouche laughs as she says these words. She knows all too well that the task ahead of her is gargantuan. So she might as well tackle it. In the right way. For the right reasons.
Still no home
Among the most pressing issues to resolve is the stadium where the future team will play and train. “Discussions” to this effect are still ongoing. For the games, there are essentially four possible locations: Saputo Stadium, the Claude-Robillard Centre and the stadiums of the Université de Montréal and McGill University. As soon as the team project was unveiled, it was established that the club would have a “shared custody” home, and all options still seem to be on the table. “Things are coming along really well,” says Annie Larouche, without however going any further. The training camp, in March, will also take place in Quebec, so adequate indoor facilities will have to be found.