Here’s your NWSL Crash Course, Canadian Footy Fans
About the NWSL, Canadians in the league, who to cheer for, and how to watch.
NWSL 101
The National Women’s soccer league is an American women’s professional league in its twelfth season. The league runs from March 15th to November 3rd this year, followed by playoffs from Nov 9th to 23rd. A recent innovation is the transformation of the Challenge Cup (previously an in-season tournament) to a Supercup format between last season’s league (shield) and playoff winners (San Diego v Gotham) which kicks off the season Friday March 15th. For the first time, the league will break for the Olympics (July 8 - Aug 18) which will allow teams to host or take part in international friendly tournaments to stay sharp. Additionally, each team will play four more games than in 2023, due to the addition of two expansion teams - Bay FC and the returning Utah Royals.
The inaugural season was back in 2013, when the individual team owners who had taken part in previous versions of pro leagues collaborated with three federations (USA, Canada, Mexico) to launch the NWSL, which ultimately became one of the top three women’s leagues worldwide. It is seen as a successful and sustainable league after over a decade in business, demonstrating extraordinary growth specifically in the last 3-4 years, in all areas from viewership and broadcasting, to player rights and collective bargaining. The numbers are simply telling the story of where sports trends are headed in 2024 and beyond. Those of you who remember what the early 2000s to late 2010s were like for women’s soccer in America (two “failed” leagues, WUSA and WPS), will appreciate how much that success means to the women’s soccer movement in North America and the world.
Commissioner Jessica Berman signs the NWSL’s first-ever CBA in 2022.
Recent headlines from the league are what women’s soccer dreams are made of as standards continue to rise. The list of high-profile investors is getting longer (Naomi Osaka, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Sue Bird, Eli Manning, Patrick Mahomes, Natalie Portman, Alexis Ohanian, Serena Williams, Jennifer Garner, and all types of former USWNT stars).
What teams play in the league?
There are 14 teams total spanning the country. Some teams are tied to men’s MLS or USL teams (Houston, Portland, Orlando, North Carolina), but most aren’t so you may not know their brands (yet). The teams are definitely worth learning about, especially considering the increased investment by owners and league leaders to improve and kick off it’s next phase after reaching the decade mark. Recent expansion side Bay FC paid a $50 million USD franchise fee, offset by the largest-ever sponsorship deal with Sutter Health ($13 million total over 5 years).
Who should you cheer for?
If you’re not sure which team to support you could use a few different strategies to help you decide. You could base it on the number of Canadians on the teams, then you’d pick the Houston Dash aka CanaDash, where captain Sophie Schmidt, Allysha Chapman (will miss some or all of the season due to recently giving birth), and newly drafted Amanda West play their footy. Of course, you may still be mad at them for trading Nichelle Prince to KC. Fair. There’s a new contender for favourite Canadian team in North Carolina, who picked up free agent Bianca St-Georges in the off-season and already featured Victoria Pickett and Sydney Collins (will miss the beginning of the season due to an ankle fracture) on their roster. Perhaps you’ll go with the Portlanada Thorns because beyond legends Christine Sinclair and Janine Beckie, they’ve got a Canadian sitting in the GM’s chair in Karina Leblanc. Leblanc and Head Coach Norris (formerly CanYNT GK coach) made a huge move for Jessie Fleming this off-season, once again making Portland the obvious choice for Canadian NWSL fans.
Another option would be to choose via proximity to Canada, in which case Seattle’s Reign might be the team for West Coasters, especially if they’re big Jordyn Huitema or Quinn fans, or if they love the rebrand back to the original Seattle Reign. Central Canadian's best option is the Kansas City Current, home of Desi ‘the Destroyer’ Scott, and now Nichelle Prince, too. You could also pick the Utah Royals who drafted and signed CanW20 star Zoe Burns and may rely heavily on her services at fullback or in midfield. If you’re on the East coast, you could go with the Washington Spirit, a great option for the card-carrying members of the Gabby Carle fan club. Louisville finally has a Canadian connection in Carmelina Moscato who signed on as an assistant coach.
If you’re more of a warm-weather and ocean type of person, Cali is nice too and there are two solid clubs there. Kailen Sheridan’s San Diego, who recently drafted and signed Calgarian Mya Jones, have consistently been challenging for titles since joining the league in 2022. The second option is Vanessa Gilles’ trailblazing Angel City FC (though she is currently on loan with OL). Two dual-nationals also play in LA - Burnaby’s own Sydney Leroux and Megan Reid, who we just learned has a connection to Canada through her parents. The third Cali option is Bay FC, the expansion side that’s home to GK Lysianne Proulx who just signed for a reported fee of $75k breaking an A-League record in the process. The only clubs sans Canadians? Gotham FC, and Chicago Red Stars, but we won’t hold that against them.
Beyond the Canadians, the league has long been home to the World’s best players. From USWNT stars to a number of Brazilians and increasingly players from Spain and Germany, keep an eye out for Rose Lavelle, Alex Morgan, Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith, Debinha, Kerolin, Marta, Jess Fishlock, Esther, and Felicitas Rauch, among many others.
How to watch in Canada
That is the million dollar question. Historically, it’s been a pain for Canadian fans to access the league. Whether it was poor-quality streams, being inexplicably geo-blocked, or having to access through oddball twitch accounts, it wasn’t exactly pretty or easy. That changed last year when TSN picked up 70 games on their National and streaming platforms. This year they’ve increased their coverage, adding 15 TV games and showing over 50% of all games.
TSN, NWSL+ and Amazon Prime have you covered.
TSN will show around 3 games per matchday, specifically those featuring Portland, San Diego, KC, Houston and Seattle. Amazon Prime will broadcast all the Friday night games.