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MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
Team co-founder Desiree Scott speaks at the official announcement Tuesday of the Northern Super League\u2019s expansion to Winnipeg.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cIt took a lot of people believing in the potential of this city. It took a lot of people who love the sport and want to grow it here in the province. And a lot of phone calls, a lot of meetings, a lot of late nights,\u201d Scott told a scrum of media at The Forks.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut really, it\u2019s just the love of the sport and wanting to have an opportunity here for the future generation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The expansion was led by a pair of Winnipeggers, and endorsed by another Winnipegger within the league\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
Scott co-founded the franchise with another renowned figure in the local footy scene, Rob Gale, who was the inaugural head coach and general manager of Valour FC, the city\u2019s pro men\u2019s club for parts of four seasons.<\/p>\n
Scott will serve as the VP of community and player experience, while Gale works as chief sporting officer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just the love of the sport and wanting to have an opportunity here for the future generation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause it\u2019s Winnipeg, and it\u2019s Manitoba, and it\u2019s given me so much over the years, from being technical director here to being a national team coach here and representing Canada, but most importantly representing our province and our city. And then to do it with Valour, I thought that\u2019s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and now it\u2019s a twice-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build a club from scratch,\u201d said Gale, who was approached by Scott about the opportunity last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat an absolute privilege. How do you say no to that opportunity?\u201d<\/p>\n
And then there\u2019s NSL president Christina Litz, who was a part of the group that was searching for the first city that the league would expand into.<\/p>\n
The NSL announced last fall that it would begin its search for an expansion team, and specified that it would like that franchise to be in central or western Canada. While several cities emerged as strong fits, Litz said Winnipeg immediately stood out from the pack.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the very beginning, Winnipeg showed its desire to have this team here,\u201d said Litz, who also noted that the league is committed to adding an eighth team by 2028. \u201cI would say for me, one of the things that solidified this first was when we came here in January to do a screening of The Pitch at the (Canadian) Museum of Human Rights, and it was a sold-out crowd, and the enthusiasm, the passion, the parents and soccer kids.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n Team co-founders Rob Gale and Desiree Scott at the announcement of the first women\u2019s pro team NSL Winnipeg on Tuesday at The Forks.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then when we heard that Rob and Desi would be officially involved with this club, what that means to us is we know that the standards that they\u2019re going to set for this club are befitting of what we\u2019re trying to build at the league. That, alongside the support of Manitoba Soccer Association, Winnipeg Soccer Federation, all of these are elements that make this a great market, so we\u2019re really excited to get kicked off next year.\u201d<\/p>\n NSL Winnipeg, which has yet to be given an official name, will debut in spring 2027. The club will announce branding information such as the team name, logo and colour scheme at a later date.<\/p>\n The expansion announcement comes one week after the NSL received a $30 million investment from European sports firm Apex. A local minority group has also stepped forward with a 30 per cent stake in the franchise, while Scott and Gale have been in talks with all levels of government to secure additional funding.<\/p>\n Scott isn\u2019t blindly putting her brand on the line either. She came out of retirement to play in the NSL\u2019s inaugural season with the Ottawa Rapid, so she understands the product that she has backed so adamantly over the last 12-plus months.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Spencer Colby \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES<\/p>\n Desiree Scott (centre right) plays for the Northern Super League\u2019s Ottawa Rapid in 2025. Tuesday, the Olympic gold medalist helped announce the NSL\u2019s expansion to Winnipeg, the seventh franchise in Canada\u2019s rapidly growing professional women\u2019s soccer league.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Part of her campaign was that there is an untapped pool of female talent in Winnipeg that will now have a pathway from the grassroots level to professional sport \u2014 something she would\u2019ve killed for as an up-and-comer.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, that\u2019s the goal, right? Always, I think, not only as a city, but as athletes, there\u2019s untapped potential here,\u201d said Scott, who will not be coming out of retirement again. \u201cOften, in my career, I had to defend where I came from. People didn\u2019t know where I lived \u2014 \u2018Winnipeg? Where is that?\u2019 \u2014 and I think eyes are now going to be on this province and the prairies in general to be able to see what\u2019s here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think eyes are now going to be on this province and the prairies in general to be able to see what\u2019s here.\u201d<\/p>\n None of Scott, Gale or Litz were deterred by the recent failure of a pro men\u2019s team in the city. Valour FC, which ceased operations last fall after seven seasons in the Canadian Premier League, struggled greatly with attendance and revenue, consistently operating at a loss.<\/p>\n Instead, they pointed to the success of other pro teams like the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Winnipeg Jets and Winnipeg Sea Bears, and the overwhelming support that the city showed when the Professional Women\u2019s Hockey League landed for a game in March.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are a sporting city, as we\u2019ve said. We have some amazing pro sports men\u2019s teams here, but the big difference for me is that it is women\u2019s sport. There is no women\u2019s sport from Calgary to Toronto to Minneapolis. We are right in the epicentre, the heart of Canada, bringing it here,\u201d said Scott.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I feel like one, there\u2019s a definite market and desire for it. As well, you have people from the league level, top up, top down, who truly care about making this a success, and the people working day in and day out want to see it thrive for years to come. There\u2019s people who believe in it, who want to see it grow and make it a success. So I think that\u2019s a big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n That, and the steam of momentum that the NSL has generated through its first season-and-a-half of play.<\/p>\n The league\u2019s six original franchises in Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, Ottawa and Vancouver accrued more than $30 million in league-wide revenue with 275,000 fans attending matches in its inaugural season, and that\u2019s only expected to grow in 2026.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n NSL Winnipeg expansion team co-founder Desiree Scott (right) laughs with FC Northwest League U17 girls players Bre Horn (left) and Lyla Lagimodiere at The Forks on Tuesday. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cHaving a professional women\u2019s team here is long overdue, and the fact that it\u2019s a soccer team with our hometown hero Desiree Scott, is extra special,\u201d said Mayor Scott Gillingham. \u201cIt\u2019s an important day. It\u2019s an important day for young girls in Winnipeg, but also all young players and all families.\u201d<\/p>\n One burning question yet to be answered is where the team will play its matches.<\/p>\n That is yet to be determined.<\/p>\n Last month, the city agreed to provide $600,000 toward upgrading Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex into a facility that could support a pro team, though it has not been confirmed that Winnipeg will, in fact, play there and when that would actually be, with the impending upgrades yet to begin.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t Currently, Ralph Cantafio\u2019s primary pitch seats about 2,000 spectators.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s not enough capacity presently, but there is potential to expand the capacity,\u201d Gillingham said. \u201cCertainly, there is an idea that there is a way to expand the capacity that would accommodate our Northern Super League team.\u201d<\/p>\n More than 3,000 fans have signed a petition indicating their support for the new club. Those supporters were given first crack at securing season tickets, beginning Tuesday.<\/p>\n Season ticket deposits will be available to the general public starting Friday at 10 a.m. at winnipeg.nsl.ca.<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/joshuafreysam<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Joshua Frey-Sam Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the Free Press. Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He reports primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports. Read more about Josh<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Josh produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.<\/p>\n \t\t
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