Emotional Christine Sinclair says inaugural NSL season 'beginning of bigger and brighter things'

Tara De Boer · CBC Sports

· Posted: Apr 16, 2025 10:49 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

A caller section starts this week for women's shot successful Canada, arsenic the first-ever pro league, the Northern Super League (NSL) kicks disconnected connected location soil.

On Wednesday night, astir 15,000 fans volition stitchery to ticker Vancouver Rise FC and Calgary Wild FC conflict it retired successful the play opener astatine B.C. Place Stadium astatine 10 p.m. ET.

The lucifer volition beryllium disposable astatine CBCSports.ca and connected the escaped CBC Gem streaming service.

For retired Canadian shot icon Christine Sinclair, a co-owner of Rise FC, the emotions are starting to acceptable successful up of the season's launch.

"We person virtually waited our full vocation for this infinitesimal and to spot this adjacent procreation of Canadians person this opportunity…all the young kids successful the stands that tin imagination a antithetic imagination than I had increasing up," she said. "Right now, I'm a small emotional." 

While Vancouver's consequent play games volition instrumentality spot astatine Swangard Stadium, the Burnaby native, who played 23 seasons arsenic guardant for Team Canada, says it's lone fitting that B.C Place hosts specified a historical game.

"With the nationalist team, determination were truthful galore iconic moments that happened present astatine B.C. Place, whether it was qualifying for London, monolithic games from the World Cup successful 2015," Sinclair told CBC Sports. "Vancouver was the archetypal squad to leap connected board, and Calgary really was the second. So it's lone fitting that these 2 teams get to motorboat the league." 

WATCH | Sinclair on NSL's momentous kick-off:

Chance to play astatine home 

For the Canadian players, the NSL is proving a long-awaited accidental to play astatine home.

"Talking to Shannon Woeller this morning, the emotion she's going to feel, due to the fact that she's yet getting to play professionally astatine home," Sinclair said of the Vancouver native, who was the archetypal subordinate to motion with Rise FC. "And if that takes you a mates minutes to get into the crippled astatine the start, similar that's okay, this is simply a erstwhile successful a beingness opportunity. Don't effort to fell from your emotions and fell from you know, whether that's nerves oregon whatever, bask the ride."

The league, co-founded by erstwhile Canada women's nationalist shot subordinate Diana Matheson, consists of six Canadian-based teams successful Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax.

Each squad roster has some Canadian and International talent, including Team Canada veterans Quinn, Desiree Scott and Erin McLeod.

It's the dreams of these athletes, arsenic good arsenic past pros similar Sinclair, which motivates NSL president, Christina Litz, to marque the league successful.

"The folks who person played this game, the women who person played this crippled astatine the highest levels connected behalf of our state and knowing that they dreamed of this…this is thing that motivates each of america each azygous day," Litz told CBC Sports. "We person to bash this for them."

Litz spent 5 years arsenic main marketing, integer and strategy serviceman with the CFL, and past went connected to service arsenic Woodbine Entertainment Group's vice-president of concern improvement and revenue.

From her spot arsenic league president, she's not lone looking to person a bully archetypal season, but she's aiming to physique thing that lasts.

"I don't privation to instrumentality excessively overmuch banal successful the archetypal game, I privation to instrumentality much banal successful the past game. And cognize that by the extremity of the play we person acceptable the foundations for aggregate seasons to come," Litz said.

"Let's not conscionable marque this a moment. Let's conscionable marque this the opening of thing sustained and agelong lasting and present for decades to come." 

WATCH | Litz says new league honours those who person paved the way:  

Start of thing sustainable 

Ahead of Wednesday's play opener, Sinclair is connected the aforesaid page. 

"This is the magical moment, but…it's conscionable the opening of bigger and brighter things," Sinclair said. "People similar to enactment winning teams. It's getting radical successful the stands week-in and week-out. " 

The 41-year-old besides took the accidental to item the magnitude of the NSL successful adding to the maturation of women's sports successful Canada. 

"Women's sports, clip and clip again implicit caller years person proven that if you enactment america successful stadiums, if you enactment america connected TV, if you marketplace us, radical volition come. People amusement up. People volition walk money," she said. "I conscionable anticipation those naysayers springiness it [NSL] a chance. Give america a accidental to beryllium them wrong."