FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Concacaf Women Championship - Final - United States v Canada - Estadio BBVA, Monterrey, Mexico - July 18, 2022 Canada players line up during the national anthems before the match REUTERS/Daniel Becerril
TORONTO (Reuters) - A domestic professional women's soccer league is set to kick off in Canada in 2025, organisers said on Tuesday.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Calgary Foothills Soccer Club are confirmed to be the first two of eight clubs in the league with the remaining six teams expected to be confirmed in 2023.
The still-unnamed league is being created by retired Canadian national team player Diana Matheson and her business partner Thomas Gilbert at Project 8 Sports Inc.
Christine Sinclair, the all-time top scorer in international soccer who helped power Canada to a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics last year, is also involved in an advisory role.
"We believe it is important that women build this league, and we are committed to developing something that is built different, for women by women," Sinclair said in a news release.
"We want to change the soccer landscape in Canada so women's players can develop and play professionally here at home instead of having to go abroad, as every one of our national team players must do now to be successful."
The league will operate nationwide through two conferences, each comprising four teams.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Toby Davis)
