By Canadian Press

Vancouver, Calgary first teams announced in new women’s pro soccer league

Dec 5, 2022 | 8:42 PM

VANCOUVER — A new professional women’s soccer league is coming to Canada.

The Vancouver Whitecaps announced Monday that it will be home to one of two founding teams when the eight-team league begins in 2025.

The other founding team belongs to Calgary Foothills Soccer Club. Homes for the six other teams are expected to be named in 2023.

The league will operate countrywide across two conferences, with four teams in each conference.

Diana Matheson, a former member of the Canadian women’s national soccer team, and her business partner Thomas Gilbert are launching the league under the banner of Project 8 Sports Inc.

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The Whitecaps say in a release that the league will be led “primarily by former national team players,” with gold medallists Christine Sinclair and Stephanie Labbe “contributing to the planning and development of the league.”

“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,” Labbe, the Whitecaps’ general manager of women’s soccer, said in a statement. “We look forward to working with stakeholders across the Canadian soccer environment to make this league successful.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2022.

The Canadian Press