Women's Premier Soccer League Canada Explained

Women's Premier Soccer League Canada
Pixels:250
Country:Canada
Confed:CONCACAF
Divisions:Canada East, Canada West
Levels:2 (proposed)

The Women's Premier Soccer League Canada (WPSL Canada) was 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

the WPSL Canada's leadership group consisted of Santiago Almada, Sam Bacso, and the US-based WPSL organization.

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]

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. Sam Basco separately confirmed that Calgary would have a team in the league.[6]

Reception

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.[7] Several analysts also shared their skepticism at the announcement.[8] [9]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: WPSL Announces the WPSL PRO, Targets 2025 as Inaugural Year . Protagonist Soccer . February 8, 2023 . 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. . April 4, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230404171704/https://www.protagonistsoccer.com/coverage-blog/2023/2/8/wpsl-announces-wpsl-pro . dead .
  2. Web site: Bashir. Raheem. December 10, 2021. The WPSL Canada: A planned nationally sanctioned Division II league. February 10, 2022. Last Word On Soccer. en-US.
  3. Web site: December 10, 2021. What You Need To Know About WPSL Canada. Jacques. John. February 10, 2022. Northern Tribune.
  4. Web site: Introduction of new Canadian women's soccer league prompts mixed reaction from players . Dichter. Myles. CBC Sports. December 9, 2021. December 12, 2022.
  5. Web site: Women's Premier Soccer League - Canada. February 10, 2022. wpslcanada.com.
  6. News: Calgary to join Women's Premier Soccer League . Ryan . White . . December 8, 2021 . April 16, 2023.
  7. News: 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 . . Jean-François . Téotonio . French . December 9, 2021 . December 12, 2022.
  8. onesoccer . OneSoccer . 1469124710306701318 . 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 . December 9, 2021 . April 27, 2023.
  9. WPSL Canada misses the mark, is a professional women's soccer league in Canada viable? . Campbell . Morgan (host) . Bring It In . . . December 22, 2021 . April 27, 2023.

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