Northern Super League's opening week gets positive reviews but more hard work awaits

Neil Davidson · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Apr 20, 2025 2:01 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

Week 1 of the Northern Super League is done, to affirmative reviews. Now the hard enactment truly begins.

High-profile opening games astatine Vancouver's B.C. Place Stadium and Toronto's BMO Field drew announced crowds of 14,018 and 14,518.

Vancouver Rise FC raised the curtain connected the six-team league with a 1-0 triumph implicit Calgary Wild FC connected Wednesday, acknowledgment to a Quinn penalty. And Montreal Roses FC hung connected for a 1-0 triumph implicit AFC Toronto connected Saturday aft Tanya Boychuk turned a antiaircraft blunder into a ninth-minute winner.

Kevin Blue, CEO and wide caput of Canada Soccer, believes the caller league volition person a lasting effect.

"I deliberation surely [it will] solidify and proceed to accelerate Canada arsenic a planetary person successful women's football," helium told reporters astatine halftime of the Toronto game.

WATCH | Rise FC's Quinn scores 1st goal successful NSL history:

Blue, who was besides astatine the Vancouver opener, paid tribute to league co-founder Diana Matheson.

"It's conscionable astonishing what Diana has been capable to physique present and I deliberation it's important that everyone admit that," helium said. "The perseverance, the determination, the savvy, the concern skills, the entrepreneurial spirit. It's conscionable an bonzer accomplishment. And it's specified an astonishing publication to the maturation of women's shot successful Canada."

The aboriginal was connected show Saturday, from Toronto's 17-year-old guardant Kaylee Hunter and 22-year-old midfielder Nikki Small to Montreal's standout 23-year-old goalkeeper Anna Karpenko.

While the shot successful some opening games was a small scrappy, arsenic 1 mightiness expect from teams taking their archetypal steps, determination was plentifulness to admire.

"Women successful Quebec, women successful Canada, they merit this," said Montreal manager Robert Rositoiu. "And I truly anticipation that arsenic a league we're going to support showing what we showed today, what we showed Wednesday. A bully show, to person much young girls that they tin dream. It's on."

Vancouver and Toronto volition play the remainder of their location schedules connected smaller stages with Vancouver astatine Swangard Stadium and Toronto astatine York Lions Stadium.

All six teams are successful enactment adjacent week with Calgary visiting Halifax Tides FC connected Saturday astatine Wanderers Ground. On Sunday, it's Toronto astatine Ottawa Rapid FC astatine TD Place and Montreal astatine Vancouver.

Canada women's manager Casey Stoney, who played successful England's Women's Super League erstwhile it kicked disconnected successful 2011, says the caller league has to find its ain way — which includes the close venues.

"It's astir playing where's suitable astatine the close time," she said. "The crippled request to proceed to grow. And I deliberation portion it's growing, you enactment it successful a stadium that's suitable. And past you effort and marketplace it. And arsenic it keeps growing, possibly it ends up present [at BMO Field]. In England, we started connected a precise tiny scale. And look wherever it is now.

"You person to beryllium patient. You person to springiness it clip to grow. And we person to enactment wealth and concern [in] to marque definite it grows successful the close absorption — astatine the close speed."

WATCH | Tanya Boychuk lifts Montreal Roses FC implicit AFC Toronto:

Matheson, the league's main maturation serviceman and part-owner of the Ottawa franchise, has said the extremity is to adhd 2 enlargement teams for 2027. Finding locations with suitable venues could beryllium tricky.

Comparable countries similar Denmark and Australia person a mid-size stadium for each half-million people, Matheson said. In Canada, it's 1 for each 8 million.

"We person a monolithic spread [in infrastructure] in this state and it hurts the maturation of this league," she said successful an interview. "Because adjacent if we person the first- oregon second- oregon third-highest mean attendance successful the satellite for women's pro soccer, if we're successful the incorrect stadium, you don't get the atmosphere. And if we're 2nd oregon 3rd tenants, we don't get the broadcast times oregon crippled times. We don't power revenues successful the stadium truthful adjacent if we're selling each these tickets, we're not seeing each the gross for it.

"So erstwhile we're looking astatine enlargement markets, it's already with an oculus to let's spell to the cities and provinces that are going to assistance america capable this gap. And it's going to assistance enactment the maturation of our league but also, of course, different sports successful the city, different assemblage and civilization events. Because there's conscionable not capable of these types of buildings successful Canada."

Matheson takes peculiar pridefulness successful the NSL's independence, noting galore women's leagues and teams astir the satellite are owned by men's leagues oregon franchises.

"And women's shot is still, incredibly, the 2nd determination they make," she said. "And it is simply a immense spot for america globally that we person a league that is independent, that each dollar successful is going to gathering women's shot successful this country."

WATCH | NSL players connected what a nonrecreational women's league successful Canada means:

Whitecaps co-owner Greg Kerfoot is portion of the ownership radical of the NSL's Vancouver franchise but it is simply a abstracted entity from the MLS team.

It is up to the fans present to amusement enactment for the caller league, by buying a summons oregon a jersey.

"We've been moving beauteous hard down the scenes for two-and-a-half years to get to this point," said Matheson. "And present it's the constituent wherever it's a small spot of a tag-team — 'You're successful fans. Now it's clip for you to assistance america physique this excessively and physique the ambiance successful stadiums and amusement america what it look similar for your instrumentality basal and your market."'