Halifax Wanderers To Set Sail With Women’s Team In 2024

The Halifax Wanderers are treading new water with the announcement of a women’s team that is slated to launch with the expected arrival of League1 Atlantic in 2024.

The provincial semi-professional division has yet to be confirmed, with this year’s Maritime Super Series proving to be a litmus test for a more permanent league’s viability out east.

The Halifax Wanderers have put down a commitment to field both a men’s and women’s team in League1 Atlantic, which would join the rapidly growing umbrella of provincial offerings provided by League1 Canada.

“The time is now to commit to the women’s game in Nova Scotia,” adds Halifax Wanderers Founder and President Derek Martin. “Our ambition is to one day have both men’s and women’s professional football playing out of a permanent stadium at the Wanderers Grounds. We feel League1 Atlantic offers us the best opportunity to begin pursuing that ambition.

See Also: League1 Canada’s Dino Rossi On Growing The Game From Coast-to-Coast

The club has confirmed that the women’s team would feature its own unique name and logo, which are set to be revealed in a number of months. While Project 8 remains a work-in-progress and women’s professional football hasn’t arrived to the country yet, the Wanderers also state their team will help develop players with the long-term vision that a women’s professional team eventually lands in Halifax.

On the men’s side of things, the Wanderers will re-shape their current development squad to focus on the U-21 age demographic while also building off the foundations of its U-18 program, which recently won the Canada Youth Cup.

In the assumption that League1 Atlantic will arrive and eventually see its champion entered into the Canadian Championship, the Wanderers state that their affiliate side will forgo eligiblity to give other clubs the experience, while also avoids any potential matchups against the Wanderers senior team in the knockout cup competition.

“We’re excited to take this next step in the evolution of our development plans as we continue to contribute to improving the quality of male and now female player pathways in our region,” added Wanderers Sporting Director Matt Fegan.

“In the past few seasons, we’ve developed male squads from under-18 to under-23 integrating local talent in first-team training sessions, exhibition series and tournaments. This has intentionally laid the foundations for new initiatives like League1 Atlantic, which we strongly believe is needed for the long-term improvement of the game in our region.”

With Ontario and Quebec having long harboured semi-pro leagues within the League1 umbrella with British Columba arriving in 2022 and League1 Alberta also testing the waters this year, there’s certainly a boom period for grassroots football from coast-to-coast.

The Halifax Wanderers also stated that it will have further updates pertaining to investment to help the Atlantic player pathway for male and female athletes.