{"id":6452,"date":"2026-07-06T08:05:50","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T08:05:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6452"},"modified":"2026-07-06T08:05:50","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T08:05:50","slug":"womens-leagues-in-canada-us-aim-to-take-advantage-of-mens-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6452","title":{"rendered":"Women’s leagues in Canada, US, aim to take advantage of men’s World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Vancouver Rise FC\u2019s Camila Reyes (10) stands on the field during a NSL match against Toronto AFC in Burnaby, British Columbia, Sunday, June 28, 2026. (AP Photo\/Abbie Parr)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

TORONTO \u2014 A throng of fans packed into York Lions Stadium on the outskirts of Toronto shortly after the start of the World Cup<\/a> .<\/p>

Read more After Asia\u2019s World Cup stumble, resignations pile up from Seoul to Riyadh<\/a><\/p>\n

As drums beat, a girls soccer team chanted, \u201cTwo, four, six, eight! Who do we appreciate? Not the king, not the queen, just our favorite football team!\u201d<\/p>\n

The team on the receiving end of the enthusiastic support that day was AFC Toronto, part of the Northern Super League, Canada\u2019s professional women\u2019s league. The club drew about 2,500 fans to see Toronto take on the Montreal Roses the day after the Canadian men\u2019s national team played Bosnia-Herzegovina to a 1-1 draw<\/a> in the first World Cup match ever on home soil<\/a> .<\/p>\n

While other leagues in North America took long breaks during the World Cup, the NSL \u2014 in just its second year \u2014 continued play.<\/p>\n

The National Women\u2019s Soccer League returned to play this weekend, Major League Soccer is out until July 16 and the Canadian Premier League had a 16-day break before returning on June 26.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a whole other level when you\u2019re hosting (the World Cup),\u201d said Christina Linz, president of the NSL. \u201cAnd so you can already see already an interest in soccer in a way that you don\u2019t always see as much.\u201d<\/p>\n

While their strategy was different, the ultimate goal for women\u2019s soccer is the same all over North America<\/a> : Seize this moment to build excitement for the game. And that\u2019s even more crucial for the fledgling NSL.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that we\u2019re one of the few leagues playing in the world right now, those tickets that are relatively expensive for the World Cup, I think we are more affordable, and fans can catch a game,\u201d AFC Toronto coach Marko Milanovic said. \u201cObviously the level is not the same, but the sport is. We just hope it brings more eyes to football, and football in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n

NSL players across the league agreed that having the World Cup co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico is an opportunity for casual fans to discover there\u2019s professional soccer \u2013 both men\u2019s and women\u2019s \u2013 they can watch year-round in their home cities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope that after the World Cup games they can be like, `Wow, that was really fun. I wonder if maybe there\u2019s a local team I can go and watch?\u2032 And that\u2019s us, and we\u2019re so fun to watch,\u201d Vancouver Rise midfielder Nikki Stanton said.<\/p>

Read more St. John\u2019s forward Donnie Freeman to miss next season following surgery on Achilles tendon<\/a><\/p>\n

The NWSL had a different approach, with watch parties and special matches like the Challenge Cup. Gotham FC will host The Queen\u2019s Classic against the Washington Spirit on July 15 at Citi Field, which is expected to draw some 40,000 fans. Ahead of the game, fans will be able to watch a World Cup semifinal match in Atlanta on big screens at the ballpark.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re anywhere and everywhere,\u201d said Gotham spokesman Jeff Greer. \u201cWe\u2019ve been able to find other ways to get involved, and we\u2019ll continue to do that into July, and obviously the big game will be an exclamation point on that involvement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chicago Stars marketing chief Kay Bradley said her NWSL club benefited from the city hosting the U.S. men in a send-off match against Germany, but the main goal is to use this World Cup as a springboard for the Women\u2019s World Cup in Brazil next year<\/a> , the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles and the 2031 Women\u2019s World Cup<\/a> .<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is what\u2019s really exciting, kind of coming from the club side. Partners are engaging and figuring out how they can best work with us and partner with us and engage fans,\u201d Bradley said. \u201cWe\u2019re figuring out what\u2019s working and what\u2019s not working and what is driving interest and excitement, so it\u2019s a really good way for us to kind of test drive.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the World Cup being in North America is helping plenty, the NWSL and NSL are also benefiting from soccer becoming more popular in both the United States and Canada.<\/p>\n

Jonathan Lintner, vice president of marketing and communications for Racing Louisville, said he felt as though soccer was much more isolated when he was growing up, but he\u2019s seeing more access to the sport now.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time we have a World Cup, we reach a percentage more of people into acceptance of soccer as a big sport here in the United States, and so much is made of, like, \u2018It\u2019s the biggest sport in the world \u2013 why is it not more popular in the U. S.?\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cBut that gap has closed, I think, more than we\u2019re all maybe noticing.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Lexie Linderman is a student in John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State. ___<\/p>\n

AP Sports Writer Anne M. Peterson in Vancouver, British Columbia, contributed to this report.<\/p>

Read more Dodgers\u2019 Eli\u00e9zer Alfonzo makes MLB debut with sister, stepmother still missing in Venezuela quakes<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

See more of AP\u2019s World Cup coverage here<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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