The Genesis of the Northern Super League

The Pitch, 2025, is a Canadian documentary that chronicles the journey of Diana Matheson and Thomas Gilbert as they co-found Canada’s first female professional soccer league. Canada’s first female league was long overdue, and it took the collaborative efforts of the player’s themselves and their staunch supporters to make it happen. From a dream to a movement to an incredible reality, The Pitch walks the viewer through the powerful story of players fighting to elevate the sport of Canadian soccer, ensuring a better future. In the process, they became role models for so many Canadian women and girls.

Governance and Acquiring Membership

A core obstacle in this documentary is the Canada Soccer vote. This vote determined whether the Canadian Soccer governing body would be willing to grant the new league membership. While the need for a women’s professional league in Canada is clear, and Diana Matheson’s passion is evident, the hard work of so many is futile without recognition from Canada Soccer. Their recognition and support was required in order for the league to become a legally sanctioned team. The vote was unanimous; the league received recognition, thus securing funding, international recognition and access to resources. This series of events show the legal dynamics of sport, as Canada Soccer holds legal authority over league status. Furthermore, there is an inherently political relationship at play in this dynamic, and throughout the documentary—demonstrated, in this instance, by the voting structure, which is used to grant membership and exposes the ingrained politics of gendered biases.

Gender Equity and Women’s Sports

Canada recognizes sex as a protected class. It is enumerated in s.15 of the Charter and the Canadian Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on sex or gender identity. However, sport has often failed to recognize female athletes and support their careers. Canada failed to create a professional soccer league following the women’s national team performance in the 2012 Olympics, which culminated in a gold medal. Erin McLeod expresses female athletes’ perspective of this Canadian failure perfectly when she states, “I’ve won for Canada, but I’ve never played in Canada.” The Canadian Primer League (CPL) gave men the opportunity to play professionally in a Canadian league in 2017, and the first Canadian team joined Major League Soccer (MLS) in 2007.  A female league was long overdue, and the responsibility fell on the players to make it a reality, because although women are legally equal and supposedly protected from discrimination, sport demonstrates that female athletes must still fight to be treated equally.

Within the Northern Super League (NSL), the founders vow to treat their players equally and aim to provide similar opportunities as those granted to male professional players. The documentary discusses salaries and the importance of prioritizing a livable wage for their players. There is a common misconception that female athletes deserve less pay than their male counterparts because women’s sport does not drive viewership. This inequality was spotlighted in the recent WBNA movement Pay Us What You Owe Us due to the leagues resistance to invest in their players despite proven viewership. Although the NSL is in its infancy, its message is clear: demanding respect and recognition for the players.

The NSL’s goals go beyond equality and recognized the need for equity. Among the unique challenges that female athletes face is the forced choice between being an athlete and being a mother. The league has clarified that pregnant players will receive salary pay when on maternity leave, no longer being required to choose. This decision demonstrates a massive step forward in women’s sport as it offers a viable solution to a struggle unique to female athletes who are mothers. This is a league built by women for women.

Commercial Rights and the Canadian Soccer Business

The documentary address one crucial obstacle faced by the NSL—commercial rights. It discusses the Canadian Soccer Business (CSB) and their agreement with Canadian Soccer, which secured them Canadian soccer broadcasting and sponsorship profits in exchange for an annual lump sum payment to Canada Soccer. There are two major points to address in this deal. Firstly, it demonstrates Canada Soccer’s lack of faith in their soccer players. The federation essentially bet against their players, determining that the potential for sponsorships and broadcasting partnerships would not be worth the effort. Secondly, it poses legal issues for the NSL, who must now navigate this agreement, in order to secure their own deals without conflicting with existing CSB agreements and may be forced to negotiate with the CSB directly. The CSB agreement has the potential to be in place long-term, therefore this is going to present a legal issue which the league must continue to navigate.

Concluding Thoughts

Diana Matheson, along with her peers accomplished something that many had hoped for but not yet achieved—a Canadian female professional soccer league. It was an uphill climb, fighting to onboard six teams, negotiating with the governing body, countering misconceptions of women’s sport and grappling with current events, including the Canadian Soccer cheating scandal. However, the league was achieved and has created an opportunity for professional female soccer players to pursue their career goals within Canada while acting as role models for the next generation. Initially, there was no established structure for women’s professional soccer in Canada, but the NSL has successfully began carving out that space and is transforming the culture one game at a time.

2025 Updates on the NSL -- Post Documentary Premiere

On November 15, 2025, the Canadian government pledged to invest up to $5.45 million to the NSL to aid in the league’s development. This act demonstrates more than a financial commitment from the government: it is a vote of confidence in professional women’s sport across Canada. Additionally, the NSL has announced a plan to add a seventh team by 2027. This league expansion will give more professional female soccer players the opportunity to play in Canada and proves that this league is thriving in Canada. Finally, the Vancouver Rise have officially become the first Northern Super League champions. Their comeback victory is the perfect and exciting ending to the first season for this league.  

Access to the Documentary: If you are interested in watching the documentary The Pitch, it is available for free on TVO and YouTube.