As the countdown to Northern Super League kick-off approaches 100 days, Diana Matheson likes what she sees.
“I feel like we’re where we need to be,” Matheson, co-founder and chief growth officer of the Women’s Professional League, said of Monday’s milestone.
“We will be ready,” added AFC co-founder Helena Ruken.
There is still a lot of work to be done before the opening on April 16th.
The NSL schedule is not yet available and the league is waiting to confirm dates for the CFL given Ottawa and Calgary’s shared facilities. Matheson expects the NSL schedule to be released in early February and jersey sales to begin in March.
Founding franchises will then launch in Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.
“Imagining an opener in every market is definitely an image I’ve had in my mind for over two years, so I’m really looking forward to the next few weeks when every team gets their home opener,” Matheson said. He enjoyed 206 caps for Canada during an outstanding international career from 2003 to 2020.
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Canada interim staff members Diana Matheson and Katelyn Collar participate in media availability ahead of the Canadian women’s national soccer team’s friendly match against Spain. In it, Matheson, co-founder of the Northern Super League, outlined her vision to help build Canada’s national program through a women’s national soccer team. Domestic professional league.
Opening Day is scheduled for one game on Wednesday, April 16th, with two more games scheduled for the 19th. The league has not yet announced a venue for the opening.
Vancouver and Montreal have yet to confirm where they will play their home games, but Roces FC has said it will use multiple stadiums in Montreal.
And while the six clubs had announced just over two dozen players before Monday, Matheson said more had already signed with “exciting” Canadian talent set to be announced this month. The league completed its coaching line-up on Friday with England’s Lydia Bedford confirmed as coach of the Calgary Wild.
Matheson also expects more sponsorship announcements this month, with “some of Canada’s top brands and multinationals” joining Canadian Tire as league partners.
The league already has a kit provider (Hummel) and even an official insurance brokerage partner (Westland Insurance). Broadcast deals with CBC and TSN/RDS are also available.
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A league spokesperson said all league matches will be aired on linear TV through broadcast partners or on NSL and partner digital platforms. Linear TV will see “significant numbers.”
Each team plays a 25-game regular season schedule, facing other clubs five times. The top four teams will advance to the postseason with 1st place playing against 4th place, 2nd place playing against 3rd place, and then playing a solo championship game through two semifinals.
And while the priority is to include female referees and assistant referees, achieving that goal will require the refereeing talent pool to grow to start with a mix of men and women, says Matheson.
The new league will be owned equally by the clubs, with Matheson and league co-founder Tom Gilbert holding ownership stakes in the Ottawa franchise. Future expansion teams will also participate in the league, with each franchise holding an equal stake.
Matheson said he would not be involved in the day-to-day operations of Ottawa Rapids FC and would instead focus on growing the league.
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“We all felt, myself included, that this was where I could continue to have the greatest impact for years to come,” Matheson said. “So I’m not active in Ottawa at all, and we’re really careful to be mindful of any conflicts of interest that may arise in any role I take on at the league level.”
Matheson will also serve as a liaison with other women’s professional leagues around the world. She and Jose Maria Celestino da Costa, the league’s vice president of soccer operations, are traveling to Spain later this month to attend a women’s league forum representing about 16 women’s leagues.
NSL franchises are independently owned and operated and ownership groups vary in size.
For example, AFC Toronto started with seven founders led by Ruken. More than two dozen investors have since joined, including track star Andre De Grasse and tennis star Milos Raonic.
“We only publicly called for investment through our website and didn’t have a large campaign, but it was always there,” Ruken said. “And it spread through word of mouth. A lot of people came to us and wanted to be a part of it and make sure there was a women’s professional team in Toronto. That’s our common thread.”
Vancouver Rise FC majority shareholder Greg Kerfoot, who is in the process of selling the MLS Whitecaps, has brought in former Canada captain Christine Sinclair, a Burnaby, B.C., native, and other partners. He has to be at the forefront of everything he does (with the team),” Matheson said.
The Calgary ownership group includes Winnipeg Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey, a Calgary native.
A club’s roster will contain between 20 and 25 players, with eight overseas players allowed per team.
The team initially operates under the salary cap of $1.6 million, with the league minimum salary set at $50,000. Each franchise is allowed to have key players not count against the salary cap.
Unlike Major League Soccer, NSL special pay slots do not come with titles (designated players in MLS), and Matheson says teams may not be able to identify the players in question.
The league’s revenue may be unstable for a while, but Ruken says he’s in it for the long haul.
“Under our business model, every club will lose money initially,” Ruken said. “That’s part of it, but we’re working a lot toward a break-even scenario.
“Our plan is to reinvest the profits back into the club and increase its value.”
The initial franchise fee was $1 million, requiring a total investment capital of approximately $8 to $10 million over the first five seasons. But future franchises will have to pay a bigger price of admission.
