The newly-launched Northern Super League gets underway on Thursday, with all six clubs now accepting deposits for season tickets.
The women’s professional soccer league, which opens in April next year, will offer fans a first-come, first-served season ticket for $50 per seat. Seating priority, which is likely to open in October, will be determined in the order in which deposits are received.
Deposits are non-refundable, but if not used to purchase season tickets, they can be used as credit toward single game tickets or other ticket packages when they become available.
League president Christina Ritz called the launch of the season ticket deposit campaign “a very important step in the evolution of our fans.”
“We’re all excited to see how this plays out, but we’re in this for the long haul,” she said. “As we see this explosion of excitement around women’s sports and new leagues and new teams, I think it’s really important to keep in mind that long-term fan growth and league development takes time.
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“We have a dedicated ownership group at our club, so there are a lot of steps to take. But suffice it to say, we’re not going anywhere. This is the beginning of professional women’s soccer in Canada, and we’re not going back.”
The NSL will feature Vancouver Rise FC, Calgary Wild FC, AFC Toronto, Ottawa Rapid FC, Halifax Tides FC and a yet-to-be-named Montreal franchise in its inaugural season. Each club will host 12 or 13 home games in its inaugural season in 2025.
Halifax has already started accepting ticket deposits.
“If Halifax is a sign of enthusiasm, the market is ready and excited for it,” Ritz said. “But we know how difficult it is to sell tickets in the sports world these days. There’s a lot of competition for attention and wallet share.
“So you have to be really careful that not everyone takes that for granted, and make sure that your buildings and your experiences and your packages are really fan-centric and put the fans first.”
The new league is equally owned by the clubs, with co-founder Diana Maddison’s Project 8 group also owning the league. Maddison, a former Canadian international, is the league’s chief growth officer.
Each team plays a 25-game regular season, playing each other five times. The top four teams advance to the postseason, with the first-place team playing the fourth-place team, the second-place team playing the third-place team in the second semifinal, and then a standalone championship game.
The league is considering an initial salary cap of $1.6 million for each team (up from the originally announced $1.5 million), covering a roster of 20 to 25 players. Additional caps would apply to player benefits such as housing and transportation.
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Franchises are allowed up to seven foreign players. The league also allows teams to have one key player, whose salary is not included in the cap.
AFC Toronto plays at York Lions Stadium, Ottawa Rapids FC at TD Place and Calgary Wild FC at McMahon Stadium. Halifax is working with the city to make Wanderers Ground their home stadium, while Montreal and Vancouver Rise FC have yet to announce where they will play their games.
