Pro women's soccer provides 'dreams and visibility' for young players, says Sport N.B. CEO

The Northern Super League will kickoff in April and some hope it brings more than professional women's soccer to Canada. The CEO of Sport N.B., Cheryl MacDonald, hopes it will increase visibility and opportunities for aspiring players.

Northern Super League will bring pro women’s soccer to Canada in April

Oliver Pearson · CBC News · Posted: Feb 22, 2025 11:00 AM EST | Last Updated: February 22

Canada soccer player Quinn looks to kick the ball during the first half against Paraguay at Shell Energy Stadium in women's soccer action on February 25, 2024 in Houston, Texas. — Vancouver Rise FC will welcome Calgary Wild FC to B.C. Place Stadium on April 16 for the first-ever Northern Super League match. The six-team loop is Canada's first professional women's soccer league. (Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters/File)

Canada's new women's professional soccer league kicks off this April, bringing more visibility for female players and potentially more opportunities as well.

Cheryl MacDonald, the CEO of Sport New Brunswick, said she thinks the new league will be "providing dreams and visibility" for younger players.

"I can only hope that it'll increase opportunities to play because I'm someone who, especially for younger girls, believes sport is a right and not a privilege," said MacDonald.

MacDonald said for aspiring players, "you can't be what you can't see."

She said since there was no league at home, a lot of Canadian women have gone abroad to find soccer opportunities.

A woman with black hair and black rimmed glasses smiles at the camera, while sitting outside in a dressy jacket. — CEO of Sport N.B., Cheryl MacDonald, is excited for the Northern Super League's inaugural season. She hopes it will help break the barriers girls face in athletics such as access to resources. (©Philip Boudreau 2024)

MacDonald is also a scholar in gender and sport. She has focused on women's hockey in the past but draws the same conclusion for all women's sports.

"I find that women have to do twice the work. We're noticing that in every sport in terms of not only proving that they are a legitimate product on their competition surface … But also that they're capable of running these leagues and that they're worth it."

She said there's a "chicken and egg" kind of argument when it comes to building these first-of-its-kind professional women's leagues.

"Do you build this league and hope that people will buy in? Or do you expect people to buy in for gender equity purposes so that the women are able to play?"

The Northern Super League (NSL) is the first of its kind in Canada and will feature six founding clubs. The teams will be in Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.

The first matchup of the 25-game regular season will be on April 16 when Vancouver Rise FC takes on Calgary Wild FC at B.C. Place in Vancouver.

A 'moment'

MacDonald thinks the launch of this league is part of a broader moment in women's sports.

She noted the recent successes in college women's basketball and the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) in the United States as well as the one-year-old Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL).

In 2024, the PWHL set the largest attendance record ever for a women's hockey game worldwide with a crowd of 21,105 in Montreal.

The league has seen big crowds this season during its neutral-site Takeover Tour and is expected to add more teams soon.

Fans at the Bell Centre in Montreal cheer as the attendance number is displayed on the big screen during a PWHL game on April 20, 2024. — The PWHL, like other pro women's leagues, has broken engagement records over the past year. Last April, the Bell Centre hosted the largest-ever women's hockey game worldwide with a crowd of 21,105. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)

The WNBA's 2024 season was the most watched regular season in 24 years, according to the league.

College basketball also reached milestones in 2024. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) division one national championship game for women's basketball drew more viewers than their male counterparts with a peak of 24 million viewers.

The game, which featured Iowa star Caitlin Clark, became the most-watched women's college basketball game on record, according to the NCAA.

"I think that even in women's basketball growth right now, we're just seeing that this is a wonderful time for women's sports and that's motivating young girls … I just know that we're living in a really exciting time for women's sports," said MacDonald.

MacDonald did add that "it is hard to say" if other leagues' success will help pave the way for the NSL, but they do "keep the conversation going."

Barriers still in place

Though MacDonald believes these leagues illustrate possibilities for younger athletes, there are still constraints.

She said there's evidence that it's "difficult for girls and women to get access to resources."

A Canadian Women and Sport report from 2022 says roughly 38 per cent of Canadian teen girls play sports weekly, while boys participate at 56 per cent.

In the report, 46 per cent of parents said "low-quality programming is a barrier" for girls aged six to 12 participating in sport. For girls aged 13 to 18, 55 per cent of parents say the same thing.

As far as soccer, MacDonald said the sport is more accessible in comparison to other sports and has always been popular.

She said she wants to make sure that anyone who wants to play can do so.

"The idea that girls can't play or are somehow incapable or not interested — I think that if we were to set up more girls at a young age with the idea that it is possible for them, they wouldn't start off believing that it's not for them."