Project 8 Sports Inc. ('Project 8'), founded by Diana Matheson and Thomas Gilbert is creating a new long-awaited Women's Professional Soccer League in Canada, kicking-off in 2025 with eight teams nationwide. Calgary Foothills Soccer Club ('Foothills WFC') is set to be one of the founding franchises and is working with other founding partners CIBC and Air Canada. So far Foothills WFC is one of two confirmed franchises joining Vancouver Whitecaps FC, with the expectation that six more teams will be confirmed in 2023, prioritizing women's led groups. The eight franchises will be divided into two conferences of four teams each.
"We are thrilled to announce that the development of a Canadian professional women's soccer league is well underway," said Matheson, CEO of Project 8. "Much work has gone on behind the scenes to get to today, and we want to extend our thanks to our founding partners, CIBC and Air Canada, and Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Calgary Foothills, who have shown leadership in creating equal opportunity and recognizing the importance of bringing professional women's soccer to Canada."
Foothills WFC has been actively supporting women's soccer including a team in the United Women's Soccer league ('UWS'), which is a U.S. based pro-am league. Foothills WFC is a three-time conference champion and two-time national finalists, as well as being awarded franchise of the year and winning coach of the year twice. The UWS has hosted many well- known players including Canadian Women's national team players Stephanie Labbé (Calgary Foothills WFC), Lauren Sesselmann (Santa Clarita Blue Heat) and Zoe Burns (Santa Clarita Blue Heat). Foothills WFC players have also found success outside of Canada including Talia White (Australia), Tori Martyn (Sweden), Maggie Zacsko (Sweden), Alex Lamontagne (France), Emily Burns (France) and Sarah Kinzner (Hungary). Foothills WFC program has sent young players to team Canada including Sarah Kinzner (U23), Mya Jones (U20) as well as Anna Hauer and Isabel Monck (U17).
"Calgary Foothills WFC is truly excited to be one of the founding teams behind a professional women's soccer league in Canada." said Deanna Zumwalt, Calgary Foothills WFC Director of Women's Soccer "The club has been a pioneer in women's soccer showcasing Canada's talent through its participation in the United Women's Soccer League which has involved multiple divisional championships and being two-time league finalists. We are excited to continue offering and growing the opportunities available in Canada for women in soccer as players, coaches, managers and investors. We support the female leaders behind this project, and we are excited to work with all those involved to advance equal opportunity in sport by making women's professional soccer a reality in Canada.”
Foothills Girls Academy Manager & UWS Head Coach Lee Tucker added, "the Club has always been opportunity focused and driven to create a positive impact within the local community, becoming one of the founding franchises for a women's professional league in Canada enables us to strive towards our vision of changing the landscape for Canadian Soccer. We are excited to provide a home in Calgary for Professional women's soccer. We are incredibly grateful to Diana and Project 8 for taking on this bold initiative and progressing women's soccer."
Foothills WFC will be hosting at press conference Friday December 16th at 10:00am MST, at our MACRON Performance Centre (111 Exploration Ave SE, Calgary AB) as well as online via Zoom/dial-in. Deanna Zumwalt, our Director of Women's Soccer will be speaking as well as comments from Diana Matheson, Mike Mikuska a key sponsor and supporter as well as Lee Tucker, Foothills Girls Academy Manager & UWS Head Coach. To RSVP to the event please email julia@gofoothills.ca