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Christine Sinclair, Diana Matheson reveal pro Canadian women’s soccer league set for kickoff in 2025

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Professional women’s soccer is coming to Canada.

Christine Sinclair and former national teammate Diana Matheson announced on Monday plans to kick off a domestic professional women’s league in 2025, featuring eight teams throughout Canada.

The two players sat down with The National‘s Adrienne Arsenault to reveal the news.

After the duo helped Canada capture bronze at the 2012 Olympics — Matheson scored the medal-clinching goal — Sinclair expected progress. After all, the team had just snapped Canada’s 108-year podium drought in the sport.

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“I really thought that 2012 was going to be a turning point for this country in bringing professional soccer home,” Sinclair told Arsenault. “But it never happened. And there’s still no pathways within this country.”

And so, a decade later, Sinclair and Matheson took matters into their own hands.

The still unnamed league would begin in April 2025 with an inaugural champion crowned sometime in the fall. Each team will have at least one Canadian international, and the goal is to bring home about half of the over-100 Canadians currently playing abroad.

 

 

Canada’s greatest athletes still without a domestic league of their own

 

Host Signa Butler explains the landscape of women’s sports leagues in Canada, as some of the country’s best athletes are without a league in their own backyard.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Calgary Foothills Soccer Club are confirmed as the first two teams to join the upstart league.

“Whitecaps FC are thrilled to be one of the first teams to sign on to a professional women’s soccer league in Canada,” said Stephanie Labbe, Whitecaps FC general manager of women’s soccer. “The creation of this league is something we have been advocating for over many years, and to be part of seeing it come to fruition is truly exciting.”

The league is being built by Matheson and her business partners at Project 8 Sports Inc. Sinclair, soccer’s all-time international scoring leader, is on board as an official advisor.

“The whole idea behind this is to aim high. And like, if you’re not, what’s the point?” Sinclair said.

“So let’s go out from the get-go and compete with the best leagues in the world and bring in the top talent. And yeah, have 10 year olds watching a game that 10 years later is on the Whitecaps, for instance. That would be my dream.”

Matheson, who retired from playing in July 2021, has visions of the league pushing the entire Canadian women’s sports infrastructure forward.

“It’s health and wellness. It’s confidence. It’s tied with better academics. There’s a huge tie between women in sport and women in business,” Matheson said. “And this is about soccer, but it’s about the coaches, it’s about the referees, it’s about women in executive roles in sport.”

Part of that women’s sports fabric comes down to marketing like jersey sales. Sinclair said she can’t even get her hands on her own jersey to gift to her niece.

“I don’t know if they exist,” Sinclair said.

Pursuing diversity

Matheson, 38, said she’s been working on obtaining her Master of Business Administration, as well as partaking in UEFA programming. She’s hoping the league becomes a Canada Soccer member by 2023, with full sanctioning by 2024

Sinclair, left, and Matheson, right, at the 2012 Olympics. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press)

She said Air Canada and CIBC are already on board as sponsors, and that it’s especially important to have the right team owners involved in the league.

“One of the things is having more diversity to begin with — more women, diverse voices to begin with, more players voices to begin with. And that’s top to bottom. I want women owners, women in the executive, women’s player voices as part of this,” Matheson said.

The Oakville, Ont., native made the case that the buy-in, which is expected to be between $8-10 million, is a worthwhile investment, noting that National Women’s Soccer League clubs, which were bought for $150,000 US 10 years ago, are now valued at a minimum of $35 million US. The Orlando NWSL franchise was purchased in 2021 for about $400 million US.

Matheson said her league can compete with average player salaries across the world right now.

“We just have way more opportunities to monetize our own brand. Players can do appearances, they can work with companies, they can run camps in a way that they just can’t when they’re playing in Italy and England,” she said.

Another point of importance for Matheson and Sinclair is ensuring players in their league are protected. Reports of abuse in the NWSL last season resulted in the resignation of half of the league’s coaches.

Sinclair is captain of the Portland Thorns, whose CEO Merrit Paulson stepped down in October following reports of systemic emotional and verbal abuse, as well as sexual misconduct.

“[It’s] unfortunate just how women are treated and taken advantage of. That’s why we need women owners. We need female executives,” Sinclair said.

Added Matheson: “It’s training, it’s vetting, it’s independent reporting systems. And for us, that’s going to mean working with those groups that are really good at doing those things.”

Sinclair autographs a fan’s ball during a men’s World Cup watch party in Toronto in November. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press)

Establishing pathways

At its crux, though, the league intends to establish pathways for young Canadian women to stay in soccer and work their way onto the national team — to foster future generations so that one day they could get their golden moment like Sinclair had in 2021 in Tokyo.

“It’s time to change the narrative and inspire the next group,” Matheson said. “I believe kids need to see it to believe that it’s possible to happen. And with the launch of this league, kids will be able to go into their own backyard and watch their heroes play and dream of one day representing their hometown professional club and maybe representing Canada.”

Sinclair said she was once one of those kids, watching the 1999 World Cup with a dream to be on that pitch herself one day.

23 years later, the Burnaby, B.C., native has accomplished nearly everything she could in her sport.

“We’ve inspired Canadians on the podium,” Sinclair said. “Now it’s time to actually make an impactful difference here in Canada.”
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Sault duo celebrates historic perfect season for university hockey team – SooToday

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With some help from a pair of Sault products, the University of New Brunswick Reds men’s hockey team capped off a historic perfect season over the weekend with a national championship.

For Cole MacKay and Camaryn Baber, a pair of childhood friends from the Sault who joined UNB’s team last season, it’s their second consecutive national championship.

UNB capped off the USPORTS national championship win on Sunday with a 4-0 win over UQTR.

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In Sunday’s win, MacKay had four shots on goal for the Reds while Baber was busy in the faceoff circle, taking 19 draws and winning eight of them.

UNB went 3-0 in the national championship tournament.

The Reds advanced to Sunday’s final by winning their semi-final game on Saturday by a 7-0 margin over Toronto Metropolitan. Baber had a goal in the win while MacKay had seven shots on goal.

UNB opened the tournament on Thursday with a 4-0 win over the Brock Badgers in quarterfinal play.

UNB won the Atlantic University Sport playoff title by running the table, first sweeping Saint Mary’s in a best-of-five semi-final series and then sweeping Moncton in a best-of-three championship series.

The Reds went 30-0 in regular season play and 38 straight including the playoffs and national championship tournament. The school’s winning streak dates back to last season’s AUS championship series when the team dropped a double-overtime decision in game two against Moncton.

UNB’s winning streak currently stands at 42 games. The team also won five exhibition games this season.

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Sean Martin takes closer look at what makes Scottie Scheffler's PLAYERS win so special – PGA TOUR – PGA TOUR

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Four of the five hardest par 4s on Sunday were on the back nine (Nos. 14, 10, 18 and 15, in order of difficulty). But the back nine also had three of Sunday’s four easiest holes (Nos. 11, 16 and 12, in order of ease). At last year’s PLAYERS, Scottie pulled five ahead by making five straight birdies on Nos. 8-12. He birdied four of those holes (Nos. 8-9, 11-12) on Sunday to tie the lead. It was almost six in a row. He missed a 12-footer for birdie on 10 and a 5-footer on 13.

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Wayne Simmonds Announces His Retirement from the National Hockey League | Philadelphia Flyers – NHL.com

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Former Philadelphia Flyer Wayne Simmonds today announced his retirement from the National Hockey League (NHL). In honor of his retirement, the Philadelphia Flyers will sign Simmonds to a one-day contract and honor his career on Saturday, April 13 when the Flyers host the New Jersey Devils at Wells Fargo Center (5 p.m. ET).

“It’s hard to describe my emotions on a day like this, but one of my very first thoughts as I look back is my life in Philadelphia and playing for the Flyers,” said Simmonds. “Taking the ice in a Flyers sweater is a special feeling and it’s one that I’m truly proud of. The history of this franchise and standard of being a Flyer that was set is unique and one that I hold in the highest regard. Perhaps the biggest reason for that is the way the fans embrace this team. It was a thrill to play for you all these years, and you mean so much to me. I’d like to thank Dan Hilferty, Keith Jones and Danny Briere for making this a special day and the fans for all their support throughout the years for me and my family.”

“I want to congratulate Wayne on an exceptional career. He was as tough and fierce of a competitor as they come. No one could ever question his commitment to his team and doing whatever it took to win, whether it was scoring goals, blocking shots, sticking up for a teammate or teaching them how to be a true professional on and off the ice,” said Chairman & CEO of Comcast Spectacor Dan Hilferty. “If there was anything that stood out more than Wayne’s dedication on the ice, it was his passion for giving back to the community. Wayne’s impact on both this city and his hometown of Scarborough through his charitable work is immeasurable and continues to be felt to this day. Simply put, Wayne Simmonds was born to be a Philadelphia Flyer and I am very proud to welcome him back.”

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“Wayne has had a tremendous career, on and off the ice, and to celebrate him and his accomplishments with the Philadelphia organization and fans on April 13 is not only fitting, but right,” said Flyers President of Hockey Operations Keith Jones. “Wayne is a special member of the Flyers family and an icon for our surrounding Philadelphia communities. It was an honor to cover his career and watch him grow into the person that he is today. Congratulations to him and his family on his well-deserved retirement from the NHL.”

“It is a privilege to congratulate Wayne on his retirement from the NHL and I look forward to celebrating his career on April 13 with our great fans,” said Flyers General Manager Daniel Briere. “He was an excellent teammate, a leader in the locker room and a class act for the Philadelphia community. He had such passion for this city and team that it was an honor to witness it all and play alongside him. I wish him all the happiness and success to him and his family as he embarks on this new chapter.”

Simmonds, 35 (8/26/88), skated in eight of his 15 NHL seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers (2011-19). The native of Scarborough, Ontario, collected 378 points (203-175=378), 91 power-play goals, 34 game-winning goals and 786 penalty minutes in 584 games. He ranks second in franchise history in hits (1,108), T-3rd in game-deciding goals (4), sixth in shootout goals (7), seventh in PPG, T-13th in GWG and 14th in goals. The right-shot winger set career highs in scoring twice with 60 points each during the 2013-14 and 2015-16 campaigns. He led the Flyers during the 2015-16 season with a career-high 32 goals and led the team and ranked T-6th in the NHL in PPG (13) that season. Simmonds also collected 15 playoff points (5-10=15) in 30 contests with the Flyers.

Simmonds was acquired by Philadelphia on June 23, 2011 from Los Angeles along with Brayden Schenn and a second-round pick (DAL, 61st overall – Devin Shore) in the 2012 NHL Draft in exchange for Mike Richards and Rob Bordson. Simmonds represented the Flyers at the 2017 NHL All-Star Game and was named the All-Star Game MVP. He won the 2011-12 Gene Hart Memorial Award, 2015-16 Yanick Dupre Class Guy Memorial Award and the 2016-17 Bobby Clarke Trophy and Toyota Cup.

Simmonds was a finalist for the 2017-18 Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award and won the award in 2018-19 with Philadelphia and Nashville. The award is presented annually to the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice, during the regular season and who plays a leading role in his community growing the game of hockey. During his tenure with the Flyers, Simmonds hosted “Wayne’s Warriors,” an in-game initiative in which he purchased a full season suite and donated every game to local military members. He served as a board member of the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation and was active with Make-A-Wish Foundation and March of Dimes. Throughout the course of his NHL career, Simmonds also founded “Wayne’s Road Hockey Warriors” which was a summer ball hockey tournament hosted in his hometown of Scarborough that allowed children to experience the game who otherwise would not be able to do so due to a lack of resources.

Simmonds registered 526 career points (263-263=526) in 1,037 NHL regular season games in 15 seasons with Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Nashville, New Jersey, Buffalo and Toronto (2008-23). He recorded 22 playoff points (8-14=22) in 53 career Stanley Cup Playoff contests with the Kings, Flyers, Predators and Maple Leafs. He skated in his 1,000th NHL regular season game on March 5, 2022 with Toronto and was originally selected by Los Angeles in the second round (61st overall) of the 2007 NHL Draft.

Internationally, Simmonds represented Canada at the 2008 IIHF World Junior Championship (gold) and at the 2013 and 2017 (silver) IIHF World Championships.

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