A veteran of four World Cups as a player, Diana Matheson knows the platform presented by the women’s soccer showcase.
Matheson hopes the focus on the 2023 tournament will help launch the Canadian professional women’s soccer league her group, Project 8, is building, with a slated kickoff in 2025.
“For us, that’s a big part of the equation just in terms of raising awareness of women’s soccer, the growth of women’s professional soccer and what we’re doing,” Matheson said of the 32-country tournament, which takes place from July 20 to August 20 in nine host cities in Australia and New Zealand.
“So we’ll try to be visible during the Women’s World Cup while that extra attention is directed there. Every time we’ve been able to make a big announcement, we’ve had really good feedback. The Women’s World Cup is another platform where more eyes will be on women’s soccer and that’s always good for us. »
In April, AFC Toronto City became the new league’s third founding team, joining the Vancouver Whitecaps and Calgary Foothills. Matheson’s plan is to launch a league in 2025 with eight teams split into two associations.
Corporate partners already on board are Air Canada, Canadian Tire, CIBC and DoorDash Canada. Project 8 has already received official league recognition from Soccer Canada.
One need only look to the United States to see the importance of a national professional league. Twenty-two of the 23 players in the U.S. World Cup roster play domestically in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). Lindsey Horan, who plays with French champion Olympique Lyonnais, is the only exception.
“I think it’s a testament to the growth of the NWSL, especially over the last 18 to 24 months,” said Matheson, who played for four NWSL teams during his career.
Matheson points to the female players’ collective bargaining agreement, which has improved American league standards, as well as the entry of female-led teams like Los Angeles-based Angel City FC.
Nine of the 12 NWSL clubs are represented on Team USA.
By contrast, 13 of the 23 Canadians at the World Cup play in Europe, including nine in England. Captain Christine Sinclair, who holds the same role with the Portland Thorns, is one of eight players in the NWSL. The other two players play for an American university.
“That’s been the case for many World Cups now. When you go through the list of players and see what club they play for, it’s really only on the Canadian team that the majority of them don’t play in their country, noted Matheson.
I hope we see this for the last time at the World Cup. That’s absolutely our goal. I think we can provide a place to play for a good part of the national team and the many other Canadian women who are playing abroad or who are not yet professional.
Diana Matheson
Matheson recently obtained his Masters in Business Administration from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University. She has also completed her UEFA Executive Masters for International Players, a 20-month program designed to equip top international players with the tools to transfer their playing strengths into effective management skills off the pitch.
The fee for securing a new women’s league team is set at $1 million with an estimated need of $8-10 million in total capital invested over the first five seasons, in addition to necessary infrastructure spending. The owners buy part of the league as well as their own team.
Project 8 Sports Inc. was founded by Matheson and Thomas Gilbert.
Matheson’s stellar playing career includes the stoppage time goal that won Canada a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics. She appeared in 206 games for Canada, including 193 starts, from 2003 to 2020 .