A new professional soccer team will be calling Vancouver home starting in 2025.
It was announced today that Vancouver is one of six cities getting teams for the brand-new Northern Super League. The women’s soccer competition will begin in 2025 with six total clubs, the others are based in Montreal, Calgary, Toronto, Halifax, and Ottawa.
From nothing will come everything. Coming 2025. 🌌⚽️
Du nĂ©ant naĂ®tra une nouvelle ère. Rendez-vous en 2025. 🌌⚽️ pic.twitter.com/HeG9bGKlaW— Northern Super League (@NorthernSuperLg) May 28, 2024
Former Canadian Women’s National Team member Diana Matheson is a co-founder and one of the largest voices behind this new league.
“After years without a professional women’s domestic soccer league, the Northern Super League and its six founding clubs will fill a significant void in Canada and bring about meaningful change coast to coast,” said Matheson in a press release.
“We are proud to launch with a name that will instill pride in all those who play and love the game. With a brand that is fresh, we welcome all who want to be a part of this exciting moment in Canadian sports history.”
There are still a lot of details to be revealed, but the league does have some major corporate sponsors. Companies like Canadian Tire, SportCheck, DoorDash, Air Canada, and CIBC are backers.
All six clubs are independently owned and operated, a good sign for the health of the league. The Vancouver team will be part of the Whitecaps family but will have its own branding, name, and colour scheme per Steph Labbe today at the ESPN W Summit.
Steph Labbe announced during the NSL panel that the Vancouver team will have its own name and branding – it won’t be the Whitecaps.
— Meaghen Johnson (@MeaghenJohnson) May 28, 2024
The plans revealed today show a 25-game regular season before playoffs and an eventual championship game.
The league made the decision to not include the word “women” in its name on purpose.
“By intentionally omitting ‘women,’ the league firmly declares its ambitions to be equal to other leagues in professional sports, inviting all who love the beautiful game and who want to be a part of the growth in professional women’s sports to feel included. ‘Super League’ communicates the elite calibre of players expected to fill club rosters,” reads the press release.
Soccer fans in Vancouver should circle April 2025 on their calendars, as it’s sure to be an exciting time when this team starts to take the field.