Women's Premier Soccer League Canada

Women's Premier Soccer League Canada
Founded2021; 3 years ago (2021)
CountryCanada
ConfederationCONCACAF
DivisionsCanada East, Canada West
Level on pyramid2 (proposed)

The Women's Premier Soccer League Canada (WPSL Canada) is a proposed semi-professional women's soccer league in Canada. It announced plans to begin play as a division 2 league, which would have made it the top league for women's soccer in the Canadian soccer league system.

Development of the proposed league was put on hold following the Northern Super League's announced plan of launching a Canadian women's professional soccer league in 2025.[1]

League structure

The league shared plans to operate in two conferences: Canada West and Canada East. Clubs would have played matches each season against other clubs in their respective conferences, followed by conference playoffs and a national championship.[2]

The league would have worked with a limited partnership model as opposed to a membership model. Clubs that bought into the league would have received votes and financial incentives in a similar way that the Canadian Premier League teams have a stake in Canada Soccer Business.[3]

The league stated a desire to establish a foundation for women's soccer in Canada to attract further investment for a future professional division.[4]

Governance

As of December 10, 2021, the WPSL Canada's leadership group consisted of Santiago Almada, Sam Bacso, and the US-based WPSL organization.[3]

Teams

The league announced that all clubs would have been held to a high National 2 license standard supplied by Canadian Soccer Association (CSA). These standards would have assured that all clubs in the league met requirements in all categories to qualify to successfully participate in the league. These standards would have included financial, infrastructure, technical and sporting, administrative, governance, and legal criteria.[5][third-party source needed]

The league hinted at teams representing Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, and Vancouver as launch cities, however full details for launch clubs in those metropolitan areas were not announced.[3] Sam Basco separately confirmed that Calgary would have a team in the league.[6]

Reception

"Imagine asking any of the players in this video to come home to Canada to play in a league which is:
  • 2.5month season
  • Semi-pro
  • Second-Tier
  • Level below NWSL
It has its place... but this is not what we are fighting for."
— Stephanie Labbé, December 8, 2021[7]

The announcement of the proposed league was met with mixed reactions. While some players applauded WPSL Canada for creating new domestic opportunities for Canadians, others, including Canada women's national soccer team player Stephanie Labbé and former player Amy Walsh, criticized the proposed league for not "answering the call" for a fully professional Canadian league.[4][7][8] Several analysts also shared their skepticism at the announcement.[9][10]

References

  1. ^ "WPSL Announces the WPSL PRO, Targets 2025 as Inaugural Year". Protagonist Soccer. February 8, 2023. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2023. At this time, a league source confirmed, the earlier proposed WPSL Canada is on hold as Project 8 fleshes out their own Canadian women's soccer league.
  2. ^ Bashir, Raheem (December 10, 2021). "The WPSL Canada: A planned nationally sanctioned Division II league". Last Word On Soccer. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Jacques, John (December 10, 2021). "What You Need To Know About WPSL Canada". Northern Tribune. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Dichter, Myles (December 9, 2021). "Introduction of new Canadian women's soccer league prompts mixed reaction from players". CBC Sports. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  5. ^ "Women's Premier Soccer League - Canada". wpslcanada.com. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  6. ^ White, Ryan (December 8, 2021). "Calgary to join Women's Premier Soccer League". CTV News. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  7. ^ a b @stephlabbe1 (December 8, 2021). "Imagine asking any of the players in this video to come home to Canada to play in a league which is: 2.5month season - Semi-pro - Second-Tier - Level below NWSL - It has its place... but this is not what we are fighting for" (Tweet). Retrieved December 12, 2022 – via Twitter.
  8. ^ Téotonio, Jean-François (December 9, 2021). "La WPSL veut créer les " fondations " d'une ligue professionnelle au Canada" [The WPSL wants to create the "foundations" of a professional league in Canada]. La Presse (in French). Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  9. ^ @onesoccer (December 9, 2021). "The @WPSL announced it would be "answering the call" and bringing a women's soccer league to Canada... ...but for #CanWNT GK @stephlabbe1? "This is not what we are fighting for." Here's @AndiPetrillo recapping the story + NEW UPDATE" (Tweet). Retrieved April 27, 2023 – via Twitter.
  10. ^ Campbell, Morgan (host) (December 22, 2021). "WPSL Canada misses the mark, is a professional women's soccer league in Canada viable?". Bring It In. CBC. CBC Sports. Retrieved April 27, 2023.