By Canadian Press

Big stage for Northern Super League season-opening matches in Vancouver, Toronto

Feb 20, 2025 | 7:22 AM

Vancouver Rise FC and AFC Toronto will kick off the Northern Super League with a bang — with opening games at B.C. Place Stadium and BMO Field, respectively.

Vancouver will host Calgary Wild FC on April 16 in the first fixture of the new women’s pro league, with Toronto entertaining Montreal Roses FC three days later in the second.

Both games are one-offs. Vancouver will stage its remaining home games at Swangard Stadium in suburban Burnaby, while Toronto will play the rest of its home schedule at York Lions Stadium, which is also home to the Canadian Premier League’s York United FC.

But the two stadium openers should make for impressive curtain-raisers, showcasing the new league in the two Canadian stadiums that will stage games during the 2026 World Cup.

“You’ve only got one chance to introduce yourself to Canada, so we wanted to make a splash from Day 1,” said NSL co-founder and chief growth office Diana Matheson.

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“I think it’s pretty apt to be starting off in Vancouver. There’s been so many incredible women’s soccer moments at B.C. Place already,” added Matheson, who won 206 caps for Canada during her playing career. “And Vancouver was the first (NSL) team aboard.”

The rest of the schedule is to follow.

The six NSL teams — Halifax Tide FC and Ottawa Rapid FC are the other founding franchises — will each play a 25-game regular-season schedule from April to November, followed by playoffs and the championship game.

Each team will face the other clubs five times with the top four sides making the post-season.

It will all start at B.C. Place — “an incredibly exciting moment for our team and the league,” said Vancouver Rise president Sinead King.

“Kicking off the NSL in Vancouver feels especially meaningful, given the city’s passion for soccer and the key role our ownership played in bringing the league to life,” she added in a statement.

The game at BMO Field is a partnership with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which owns Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC and operates the city-owned BMO Field.

“MLSE and AFC Toronto aim to inspire and better our community through sport and we are proud to bring this dream to life at our inaugural game,” AFC Toronto co-founder and CEO Helen Ruken said in a statement. “Together, we are enhancing the landscape of women’s sports and encourage supporters to seize the opportunity to witness the beginning at BMO Field this April.”

Added MLS COO Nick Eaves: “We will continually look for ways to support the exciting growth of women’s professional sports to create opportunity for today’s athletes, and just as importantly, to inspire future generations of girls who dream of playing their respective sports at the professional level.”

Ruken declined to provide details of the partnership with MLSE.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 20, 2024

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press