It’s fitting that Vancouver and Calgary meet for the inaugural Northern Super League (NSL) match on April 16. It’s the first reward for two franchises that took an initial risk on a new Canadian women’s professional soccer league.
The NSL launches at a boomtime in women’s professional sports, a surge that’s been a long time coming for those that have pushed for it.
The impetus to invest is most apparent in the cause, a chance to lay the foundation for Canadian women to earn a living playing pro soccer at home. The lasting impacts of that are positive in every way.
Making it sustainable long-term is about making it profitable.
Six teams paid a CDN $1 million franchise fee and each will be expected to pour in eight to ten times that amount over the first five seasons in investment capital according to the Canadian Press.
When co-founder and Chief Growth Officer Diana Matheson announced the vision for the NSL (then Project 8) in December, 2022, Vancouver and Calgary were already on board.
The former national team standout estimates it would be five to 10 years before franchises get into the green and that is something the league is prepared for.
“This is not a tech investment, it’s not going to pay you back in six months,” Matheson said. “You want to have your money in this for a decade.”
The Calgary Wild are owned by a group of shareholders that are spread out over North America and Europe. There is currently no controlling shareholder and they are approaching the venture as a sports startup. As is common with successful startups, the big pay day is on the exit.
“We are running this to become cash positive at the end of year four,” said Deanna Zumwalt, Board Chair.
“Right now, women’s sports is already an interesting alternative asset class. [With the NSL] You can get in at a price point that is manageable, not only for deep pocketed billionaires, but [comparatively] modest millionaires as well.”
Sinead King, Chief Business Officer of Vancouver Rise, explained that jumping in from the outset was enticing for several reasons and cited the exponential rise in franchise fees with the U.S. based National Women’s Soccer League. In January, Denver’s ownership group paid USD $110 million to become the NWSL’s 16th franchise. It was the largest expansion fee ever paid for a U.S. women’s professional sports team. King pointed to the current valuation of Angel City FC (which was listed at $250 million in July, 2024). They paid an expansion fee of $2 million to join the league just four years earlier.
“There is a huge opportunity for those that are willing to take the risk,” King said. “You look elsewhere and this franchise fee is relatively low.”
The NSL enters a landscape that did not exist for women’s professional sport in Canada prior to 2024. Three of the six Professional Women’s Hockey League teams are based in Canada - Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto - with expansion within our borders a definite possibility. Next year the Toronto Tempo will become the first Canadian WNBA franchise.
Both leagues can provide examples of sustainability for the NSL and also present competition for the upstart venture. AFC Toronto, playing in Canada’s largest market, will have to contend within an ecosystem which has options for women’s sport in person and on TV.
“I am rooting for the NSL but it’s going to get super competitive over the next two to three years,” said Michael Naraine, Associate Professor, Sport Management at Brock University, “Diana and the NSL are banking on the fact that women’s sports is hot, there is demand in the country and demand from corporate Canada to invest.
“To be an engaging product, it’s going to have to resonate with the end consumer.”
There are over 50 corporate partners at the league and club level including Air Canada, BMO, Canadian Tire and Toyota and broadcast deals have been inked with CBC and TSN along with ESPN in the U.S.
The influx of investment has allowed for employment opportunities for not only the roughly 130 players who enter a league that has a minimum salary of $50,000, but also for approximately 370 more across operations, sales, marketing and executive-level positions.
The long-term benefits at the individual level that are born from and that can extend beyond the NSL are one of the aspects Matheson is most proud of.
“What feels different is there is a clear and important purpose behind this thing, there are wider societal benefits, not just jobs, but careers available for those who haven’t found a place within the men’s game in this country.”
For the NSL, purpose must lead to profit and to that end, the reward of making dollars will have started with a risk on driving change.
“We believe in the purpose and believe in the business,” Zumwalt said. “Our investors believe in this alternative asset class that is not turning around but continuing to grow.”
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