Northern Super League's opening week gets positive reviews but more hard work awaits

Week 1 of the Northern Super League is done, to positive reviews. Now the hard work really begins.

High-profile opening games at Vancouver's B.C. Place Stadium and Toronto's BMO Field drew announced crowds of 14,018 and 14,518.

Vancouver Rise FC raised the curtain on the six-team league with a 1-0 win over Calgary Wild FC on Wednesday, thanks to a Quinn penalty. And Montreal Roses FC hung on for a 1-0 victory over AFC Toronto on Saturday after Tanya Boychuk turned a defensive blunder into a ninth-minute winner.

Kevin Blue, CEO and general secretary of Canada Soccer, believes the new league will have a lasting effect.

"I think certainly [it will] solidify and continue to accelerate Canada as a global leader in women's football," he told reporters at halftime of the Toronto game.

WATCH | Rise FC's Quinn scores 1st goal in NSL history:

Blue, who was also at the Vancouver opener, paid tribute to league co-founder Diana Matheson.

"It's just amazing what Diana has been able to build here and I think it's important that everyone recognize that," he said. "The perseverance, the determination, the savvy, the business skills, the entrepreneurial spirit. It's just an extraordinary accomplishment. And it's such an amazing contribution to the growth of women's football in Canada."

The future was on display Saturday, from Toronto's 17-year-old forward Kaylee Hunter and 22-year-old midfielder Nikki Small to Montreal's standout 23-year-old goalkeeper Anna Karpenko.

While the football in both opening games was a little scrappy, as one might expect from teams taking their first steps, there was plenty to admire.

"Women in Quebec, women in Canada, they deserve this," said Montreal coach Robert Rositoiu. "And I really hope that as a league we're going to keep showing what we showed today, what we showed Wednesday. A good show, to convince more young girls that they can dream. It's on."

Vancouver and Toronto will play the rest of their home schedules on smaller stages with Vancouver at Swangard Stadium and Toronto at York Lions Stadium.

All six teams are in action next week with Calgary visiting Halifax Tides FC on Saturday at Wanderers Ground. On Sunday, it's Toronto at Ottawa Rapid FC at TD Place and Montreal at Vancouver.

Canada women's coach Casey Stoney, who played in England's Women's Super League when it kicked off in 2011, says the new league has to find its own path — which includes the right venues.

"It's about playing where's suitable at the right time," she said. "The game need to continue to grow. And I think while it's growing, you put it in a stadium that's suitable. And then you try and market it. And as it keeps growing, maybe it ends up here [at BMO Field]. In England, we started on a very small scale. And look where it is now.

"You have to be patient. You have to give it time to grow. And we have to put money and investment [in] to make sure it grows in the right direction — at the right speed."

WATCH | Tanya Boychuk lifts Montreal Roses FC over AFC Toronto:

Matheson, the league's chief growth officer and part-owner of the Ottawa franchise, has said the goal is to add two expansion teams for 2027. Finding locations with suitable venues could be tricky.

Comparable countries like Denmark and Australia have a mid-size stadium for every half-million people, Matheson said. In Canada, it's one for every eight million.

"We have a massive gap [in infrastructure] in this country and it hurts the growth of this league," she said in an interview. "Because even if we have the first- or second- or third-highest average attendance in the world for women's pro soccer, if we're in the wrong stadium, you don't get the atmosphere. And if we're second or third tenants, we don't get the broadcast times or game times. We don't control revenues in the stadium so even if we're selling all these tickets, we're not seeing all the revenue for it.

"So when we're looking at expansion markets, it's already with an eye to let's go to the cities and provinces that are going to help us fill this gap. And it's going to help support the growth of our league but also, of course, other sports in the city, other community and culture events. Because there's just not enough of these types of buildings in Canada."

Matheson takes particular pride in the NSL's independence, noting many women's leagues and teams around the world are owned by men's leagues or franchises.

"And women's football is still, incredibly, the second decision they make," she said. "And it is a huge strength for us globally that we have a league that is independent, that every dollar in is going to building women's soccer in this country."

WATCH | NSL players on what a professional women's league in Canada means:

Whitecaps co-owner Greg Kerfoot is part of the ownership group of the NSL's Vancouver franchise but it is a separate entity from the MLS team.

It is up to the fans now to show support for the new league, by buying a ticket or a jersey.

"We've been working pretty hard behind the scenes for two-and-a-half years to get to this point," said Matheson. "And now it's the point where it's a little bit of a tag-team — 'You're in fans. Now it's time for you to help us build this too and build the atmosphere in stadiums and show us what it look like for your fan base and your market."'