Six weeks into its inaugural season, Canada's Northern Super League (NSL) for women's professional soccer is reporting encouraging early success with strong attendance and merchandise sales. The league, co-founded by Diana Matheson, saw over 14,000 fans at its opening game in Vancouver and has since averaged over 4,500 spectators per game across 18 matches, totaling over 82,000. Viewership on TSN/RDS and CBC Gem has reached over 1.5 million, and social media engagement has surged. Merchandise sales have exceeded projections, nearing $1 million, indicating significant commercial value and fan enthusiasm for the new league.
Northern Super League says early attendance, merchandise sales encouraging for women’s pro soccer in Canada
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TL;DR: Key points with love ❤️Six weeks into its inaugural season, Canada's Northern Super League (NSL) for women's professional soccer is reporting encouraging early success with strong attendance and merchandise sales. The league, co-founded by Diana Matheson, saw over 14,000 fans at its opening game in Vancouver and has since averaged over 4,500 spectators per game across 18 matches, totaling over 82,000. Viewership on TSN/RDS and CBC Gem has reached over 1.5 million, and social media engagement has surged. Merchandise sales have exceeded projections, nearing $1 million, indicating significant commercial value and fan enthusiasm for the new league.
Trending- 1 April 16: Northern Super League (NSL) kicked off at BC Place with the inaugural game between the Vancouver Rise and the Calgary Wild, drawing over 14,000 fans
- 2 Following month: A dozen sets of games played, with each of the six founding teams playing at least one home match
- 3 April: NSL fixtures reached over 1.5 million viewers across Canada on TSN/RDS and Radio-Canada channels
- 4 Six weeks into the season: Total attendance surpassed 82,000 across 18 matches; social media engagement surged over 15 million impressions; merchandise sales exceeded projections, nearing $1 million
- Successful launch and promising start for women's professional soccer in Canada
- High fan engagement and commercial value demonstrated for the new league
- Creation of new opportunities for Canadian and international players
- Laying a solid foundation for long-term growth of the league
What: The Northern Super League (NSL), Canada's new women's professional soccer league, is experiencing encouraging early success with strong attendance, viewership, social media engagement, and merchandise sales in its inaugural season.
When: Six weeks into the season; April 16 (inaugural game); following month (dozen sets of games); April (viewership data).
Where: Canada; BC Place, Vancouver; Calgary.
Why: The league was created to establish women's professional soccer in Canada, and its early success is attributed to strong fan appetite, competitive balance among teams, effective marketing, and the quality of play, demonstrating the potential for long-term growth.
How: The NSL launched with six founding teams, held its inaugural game at BC Place, and has been broadcasting matches across multiple platforms (TSN, RDS, CBC Gem, ESPN+, league website), engaging fans through social media, and selling merchandise.