![]() | This article needs attention from an expert in Canada. The specific problem is: inadequate content on the historical and cultural aspects of the subject.(January 2020) |
Women's soccer in Canada | |
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![]() The Canadian women's national soccer team in a soccer game against the Australian women's national soccer team during the 2016 Summer Olympics. | |
Country | Canada |
Governing body | Canadian Soccer Association |
National team(s) | Women's national team |
National competitions | |
Club competitions | |
International competitions | |
Audience records | |
Single match | 53,058 [1] |
Soccer is not traditionally a major mainstream sport in Canada, [2] [3] [4] but the sport is growing especially in places like Nova Scotia. [5] Up to 85,000 girls participate in soccer, which is 41% of all youth in the country. [6] [7] The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was hosted in Canada. [8] [9]
Women's soccer was first introduced in Canada in 1922. [10]
Soccer in Canada has often had to compete with ice hockey as a mainstream sport. [11] In 1986, the Canadian Soccer Association designed a women's soccer program in preparation for the 1988 FIFA Women's Invitation Tournament in China. [12] Which acted as a qualifier for the 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup which Canada failed to qualify for. [13] Canada won the 1998 CONCACAF Women's Championship tournament. [14] In the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, Canada played Japan in front off 23,000 people. [15] In 2002 Canada lost in the final of the Gold Cup to the U.S. [16] [17]
Canada reached the semi-finals of the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup and finished fourth place. [18]
In 2006, Canada again reached the final of the Gold Cup losing to the United States. [19]
The senior women's national soccer team's best achievement is gaining a gold medal at the 2020 Olympics, defeating Sweden. [20] [21] The national team enjoyed greater mainstream support than their male counterparts during the 2010s. [22] [23]
2025 will be the first season of professional women's soccer in Canada, following the launch of the Northern Super League. There are four regional pro-am leagues: League1 Ontario, Ligue1 Québec, League1 Alberta, and League1 British Columbia.
From 2013 to 2021, some Canadian national team players had their salaries partially paid by the CSA and other federal government athlete funding programs to play in the National Women's Soccer League in the United States. [24] The exact proportion of salaries paid by the CSA was negotiated with NWSL teams. [25] Unsubsidized Canadian players could also play in the league as part of the international quota while others play in Europe. Canadian players play in the NWSL although all franchises are located in the U.S.; no Canadian franchises play in this U.S.-based league. Financial remuneration varies in the NWSL; the four-month-long league is new as of 2013 and salaries for unsubsidized players are not high enough to support them without other outside income. [26]