Northern Super League Expands To Winnipeg

It’s official: the Northern Super League is expanding to Winnipeg.

The announcement of the league’s first expansion side – club number seven overall – comes just months after NSL co-founder Diana Matheson told us Winnipeg was the league’s primary target, with the expansion team set to be ushered in by local football figureheads Desiree Scott and Rob Gale, with more staffing announcements – and information about club ownership – still to come.

See Our Interview: Inside Winnipeg’s Best Shot For A Northern Super League Expansion Club

The duo has been hard at work behind the scenes to present Winnipeg for sanctioning at Canada Soccer’s Annual Meeting, and it looks like things went well.

Former Canadian international Desiree Scott will now take the reigns as the new club’s Vice President, Community & Player Experience, while Rob Gale will serve as the Manitoban club’s Chief Sporting Officer. Both call the city home and are firm on the importance of community involvement in the success of a professional side planting its flag there.

“It is an honour to bring professional women’s soccer of this calibre to Winnipeg and to join a trailblazing organization like the Northern Super League,” says Scott, a born-and-raised Winnipegger who spent last season with the Ottawa Rapid.

“As a former player, I know exactly what an elite sporting environment looks like and what athletes need to succeed. We are building a club rooted in the community, backed by a premier development pathway, and ready to compete from our very first whistle in 2027.”

“We can’t sit back and hope someone chooses to rep Winnipeg. We all have to build the city we want to live in. We all have to create what’s possible,” read a snippet from the NSL’s website. “Nothing is expected of us, so we fight for everything we get. We show up and rep the city we believe in, hard.”

Winnipeg will be banking on fans showing that belief with $50 season ticket deposits set for public sale this Friday, following a brief period of exclusivity for the 3,000 plus fans who already pledged support to the team before its formal announcement today.

The Winnipeg NSL expansion will launch in 2027, with stadium information still to come. The cavernous CFL grounds of Princess Auto Stadium will be avoided, with Gale having confirmed as such with us in a previous interview – though the club teases that ‘something big’ was brewing in that regard.

“We had some great, great fans, Valour, unbelievable in the one section, but it got lost in the bigger picture, even when we had the 10,000 fans. So that’s the aim: Central location, vibe, and great atmosphere to really feel a part of the action, which is what all sports fans want to do. We’re making very good strides to make sure that that’s a reality. Should we be able to start in 2027, we’ll have as good an atmosphere as anywhere in the league.”

That eventual stadium solution could help clear a path for a Canadian Premier League side, too.

With the Prairies presently starved for professional soccer, the Northern Super League is making a statement – and one that will come not long after the league receives up to thirty million dollars from a private equity investment firm.

“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Winnipeg to the Northern Super League,” adds NSL President Christina Litz.

“The unprecedented commercial success, rising attendance numbers, and global viewership from our debut season proved that the market for women’s professional sports is flourishing. Expanding our footprint with an ambitious group led by a former player like Desiree ensures that our league’s high standards of equity, inclusion, and elite competition will continue to soar.”

Gale told us previously that the club has had good buy-in for municipal support, with the duo looking to lock in community partners and local investors to help structure and sustain the side for the forseeable future.

As women’s soccer enjoys big gains and Manitobans look towards a new dawn of domestic, local football, perhaps the Winnipeg NSL website says it best: The energy shift is palpable. Like a cultural current propelling us forward. And Winnipeg is ready to rise with it.