(Vancouver) There will be a new professional women’s soccer league in Canada.
The Vancouver Whitecaps announced on Monday that they will host one of two founding teams when the eight-team league begins in 2025. The other founding team will be tied to the Calgary Foothills Soccer Club.
The cities where the other six teams will play are expected to be announced in 2023. There will be clubs across the country split into two sections, with four teams in each.
Former Women’s National Team member Diana Matheson and her business partner Thomas Gilbert will launch the league under the Project 8 Sports Inc banner.
The Whitecaps said in a statement that the league will be run “primarily by former national team players”, and that Christine Sinclair and Stephanie Labbe will contribute “to the planning and development of the league”.
In an interview with CBC, Matheson and Sinclair explained the genesis of the project. After Olympic bronze in 2012, Sinclair expected progress for women’s soccer that never came. “I really thought that 2012 was going to be a turning point in the country for women’s professional soccer. But that never happened. And there is still no concrete path here. »
So, ten years later, Sinclair and Matheson took matters into their own hands.
“The idea behind it all is to aim high. And if not, what’s the point? added Sinclair.
“So let’s aim big from the start, compete with the best leagues in the world and bring in the best talent. And yes, to have 10-year-olds watching a game and 10 years later playing for the Whitecaps would be my dream. »
Matheson, who retired from the sport in July 2021, hopes this new league will propel the entire Canadian women’s sports infrastructure forward.
“It’s health and well-being. It’s trust. It’s linked to better studies. There’s a huge connection between women in sport and women in business, Matheson told CBC. And that applies to soccer, but also to coaches, referees and women in leadership positions in sport. »
She also confided that Air Canada and CIBC are already on board as major sponsors. Matheson also promised that his league would be able to compete with the best leagues in the world in terms of salaries.