Women's soccer in Canada

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Women's soccer in Canada
Selecoes feminina do Canada e Australia enfrentam-se em SP (28643707552).jpg
The Canadian women's national soccer team in a soccer game against the Australian women's national soccer team during the 2016 Summer Olympics.
CountryCanada
Governing body Canadian Soccer Association
National team(s) Women's national team
National competitions
Jubilee Trophy (amateur)
Club competitions
International competitions
Audience records
Single match53,058 [1]

Women's soccer is not traditionally a major mainstream sport in Canada, [2] [3] [4] but the sport has been growing since the end of the 20th century. [5] Up to 85,000 girls participate in soccer, which is 41% of all youth in the country. The Canadian Soccer Association is the governing body for the sport, responsible for overseeing the Canadian women's national team, as well as professional and amateur leagues in the country. The Northern Super League is the top level of professional women's soccer in Canada.

Contents

History

Women's soccer was first introduced in Canada in 1922. [6] [7]

In 1986, the Canadian Soccer Association designed a women's soccer program in preparation for the 1988 FIFA Women's Invitation Tournament in China. [8] Canada reached the quarterfinals of the tournament, losing 1–0 to Sweden. Canada's first major tournament win was the 1998 CONCACAF Women's Championship tournament, which was hosted in Canada. [9] In 2015, Canada hosted the FIFA Women's World Cup.

Also in 2015, League1 Ontario debuted as the first pro-am women's soccer league in Canada. As of 2024, it is one of four of such leagues under the League1 Canada umbrella. In 2025, the Northern Super League began, marking the debut of professional soccer in Canada.

National teams

The senior women's national soccer team is one of the best in the world and has regularly been ranked in the top-ten since 2011. [10] The national team enjoyed more success and greater mainstream support than their male counterparts during the 2010s. [11] [12]

The senior women's national soccer team's best achievement is gaining a gold medal at the 2020 Olympics, defeating Sweden. [13] [14]

Club soccer

In 2025, the Northern Super League played its first season. It was the first professional women's league in Canada and the first national league, with six teams from across the country. There are four regional pro-am leagues: League1 Ontario, Ligue1 Québec, League1 Alberta, and League1 British Columbia. League1 Ontario was the first to debut, in 2015.

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. [15] The exact proportion of salaries paid by the CSA was negotiated with NWSL teams. [16] 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. [17]

Women’s soccer and Canada’s challenges

Research on women in soccer has examined gender relations at the nexus of identity, sexuality, race, and ethnicity through studies of players, coaches, administrators, and supporters. [18]

While acknowledging the accomplishments of sportswomen, these studies also highlight the ongoing challenges faced by female soccer players. This is partially a reflection of soccer's historical standing outside of North America, where it is recognized as a national sport and enculturation site in addition to being a significant location for the social construction and performance of masculine identities. Women's participation in soccer is undervalued in environments where it simultaneously reinforces and reproduces nationalism and masculinity. [18]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Ramsay, Caley. "Attendance record set in Edmonton for FIFA Women's World Cup opening match". Global News.
  2. ↑ "Women's soccer growing in popularity". Toronto. Archived from the original on July 20, 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  3. ↑ "World Cup proves Canada not just a hockey nation". Sportsnet.ca . Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  4. ↑ "Women's soccer takes main stage". Canada.com . Retrieved 2012-08-01.
  5. ↑ "Girls' participation in soccer way up". CBC News . Retrieved 2012-08-01.
  6. ↑ Fan, Hong; Hong, Fan; Mangan, J. A. (March 8, 2004). Soccer, Women, Sexual Liberation: Kicking Off a New Era. Taylor & Francis. ISBN   9780714684086 – via Google Books.
  7. ↑ Hall, M. Ann (June 1, 2003). "The game of choice: Girls' and women's soccer in Canada". Soccer & Society. 4 (2–3): 30–46. doi:10.1080/14660970512331390815.
  8. ↑ "Canada Soccer from 1982 to 1992 | Canada Soccer". www.canadasoccer.com.
  9. ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup 1999™ - News - Women referees only at the 1999 Women's World Cup in the USA". www.fifa.com. Archived from the original on December 10, 2018.
  10. ↑ "World Ranking Canada". Inside FIFA. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  11. ↑ "Why the Canadian women's soccer team is more popular than the men's team". Yahoo . Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  12. ↑ Armstrong, Laura (7 July 2019). "Canada risks falling behind in women's soccer without the opportunity to play professionally at home |". The Toronto Star.
  13. ↑ "Canada beat Sweden on penalties to win gold". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  14. ↑ Jeff Blair (9 August 2012). "Canadian women's soccer team gets Olympic bronze medals". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2012-09-22.
  15. ↑ "Canada Soccer announces 2017 NWSL allocations". canadasoccer.com. Canadian Soccer Association. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Canadian allocated players announced for National Women's Soccer League". National Post. Canadian Press. April 5, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  17. ↑ Kassouf, Jeff (April 11, 2013). "A quick look at NWSL salaries". equalizer Soccer. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  18. 1 2 Reid, Kamiel; Dallaire, Christine (2020). "'I'd like to think I'm a good referee': discourses of ability and the subjectivity of the female soccer referee in Ontario (Canada)".{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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