Project 8: What updates did 2023 bring?
December 5th, 2022. We will never forget that date. It’s the day Diana Matheson announced the launch of Project 8 Sports and their mission to bring professional women’s soccer to Canada. Well, it’s been over a year now, so we thought it’d be a good time to look back at what’s happened since the announcement. So, what’s new and what’s next?
Sanctioning
Fans of women’s sports are familiar with that doubtful tone some haters take when they react to exciting women’s sports news. Many of those haters in the Canadian soccer community pointed to the fact that Project 8 hadn’t yet been sanctioned by Canada Soccer. That hurdle was cleared last May, about 6 months after the announcement at the federations’ AGM. Sources tell us that AFC Toronto’s launch in mid-April was instrumental in obtaining Official League Status from the governing body, which explains the timing of their launch.Though it may seem like a formality, it was an important step for the nascent league.
AFC Toronto
Speaking of AFC Toronto, the third P8 franchise is an interesting one. We learned more about their community roots, they announced a new celebrity owner, and we can make a confident guess at their home field. The women-dominated ownership group is led by CEO Helena Ruken, CMO Jill Burgin, and COO Brenda Ha. The group has close ties to North Toronto Soccer Club, where they met ond other and Technical Lead Billy Wilson. In January, Olympian Sprinter Andre DeGrasse announced his investment in the franchise, coming out as the league’s first celebrity owner.
Two new sponsors, 4 more to come
Project 8’s goal was “8 teams, 8 sponsors”. Launching with 2 sponsors and 2 teams, we’re now at 4 sponsors and 3 teams. Since the initial launch, two more sponsors have been added. Canadian Tire was announced on March 6th, 2023 in context of a multi-organization sponsorship deal including the WNBA, ESPN W Summit, TMU Sports Innovation Lab, and Canadian Women and Sport. Doordash became the fourth founding partner in late April when they coordinated the launch of AFC Toronto.
More than A League
In March, P8 hired a Marketing Director. Aisha Mayne has over a decade of marketing experience and describes herself as a serial brand builder. Her first project was “More than a League” a 10-part (so far) video series about various stakeholders in Canadian soccer who will benefit from the creation of this league. It features youth and university players, coaches, match officials, fan groups, and medical professionals and points out the opportunities that will be created across all domains.
What’s coming in 2024?
League will go ahead in 2025, League Branding, Next 3 Teams, First Club Signings, Seasons Tickets!
First, we will get official confirmation from the league that things are on track for kickoff in 2025. Then the league branding is expected to be announced in the Spring, followed by the branding for the remaining clubs (including the Whitecaps, btw). Matheson and co. have been hard at work securing more teams, more markets across the country. While the goal was 8 teams, we may only see 6 or 7 teams in the first season. We don’t know much about where those next few teams will be, but we do know that there is likely to be a Quebec franchise. It’s something Diana stressed up front, and reportedly CF Montreal has been “helping behind the scenes” despite not fielding a women’s team themselves. Other than Quebec we could see teams in Halifax, Ottawa, Hamilton, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Victoria or somewhere completely unexpected. Regardless, we can’t wait to find out. By the summer, teams will start signing their first players and staff and in the Fall fans should be able to start buying season’s tickets.