'This would be huge': Maritime soccer players excited about potential Canadian women's professional league
Canadian women might soon be able to play professional soccer in their own country, which is welcoming news to those who have played the game at some of its highest existing levels in the Maritimes.
"Oh my gosh, this would be huge. This would have been a dream for me," said Ciera Disipio, a three-time AUS MVP and first team all-Canadian during her long career at Cape Breton University.
Now that Disipio's glory days on the turf are over, she's working back home in Ottawa.
She says if a women's league had sprung up a couple of years earlier, she might be playing in it.
"Right now, when you finish university, especially if you're going to school in Canada, your only option to play professionally is to go to Europe," she said. “Which is great, and you'll find incredible soccer there, but it's a different style of play in North America and having the opportunity to stay in the country is massive."
The idea is spearheaded by retired Canadian soccer pro Diana Matheson and her company, Project 8.
"The future is obviously so bright. We know the women's game is going to grow," Matheson said. "Women's professional sport is a new industry. It's growing faster than men's sport and it will keep growing over the next two decades."
The league has the backing of the best of the best in women’s soccer.
"[The idea of the league is] inspiring the next generation of young Canadians. Giving young girls an opportunity to fulfill their dreams," said Canadian women’s soccer captain Christine Sinclair.
With the Canadian women's international success over the past decade, including Olympic gold last summer and interest in the sport growing with the men's World Cup, the idea is that playing at home could give the country's best athletes a better chance at a work-life balance.
Disipio says, while she wouldn't rule out the possibility of playing in the league one day, it's a bigger opportunity for women who are finishing their university careers now.
She’s excited for them, and the future of the sport.
"Seeing a women's professional league come to Canada, I think we'll actually see a shift in every kind of level of soccer that leads up to it," she said. “So, we could be in for an entire restructuring of our athlete development."
There are still details to be ironed out before the league can kick off as intended in 2025, including a league name, a broadcaster, and sponsors for six of the planned eight teams.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.