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If there's something you want to do and you feel like you're the right person for the job, go do it
Some athletes pursue glory and accolades, driven by a work ethic forged in backyards and on neighbourhood fields. When their careers conclude, many transition to coaching, management, or take a brief hiatus from a lifetime of training and competition. A select few, however, recognize the opportunity beyond the pitch to build something with enduring and far-reaching impact.
Few embody that spirit more completely than Diana Matheson, the Canadian national team star midfielder who has transitioned from a decorated playing career to leading a movement in women’s soccer. Once celebrated for orchestrating play on the field, she led the development, construction and launch of something far greater off it: Canada’s first professional women’s soccer league.
Raised in Oakville, Ontario, Matheson grew up in a Canada that couldn’t yet imagine soccer success on the global stage. But from her first touches of the ball, she was determined to change that. After starring at Princeton University, she joined the Canadian women’s national team in 2003. Over 206 international appearances, Matheson became the heartbeat of Canada’s midfield, helping to drive the national team to unprecedented success. By the time she retired in 2021, Matheson had done it all…except play professionally in her own country.
Following her retirement, Matheson pivoted with purpose. She leveraged an athlete transition program run by the Canadian Olympic Committee to pursue an MBA from Queen’s University in 2023, during which she began to develop the idea for what she believed the country had long been missing: a professional home for women’s soccer in Canada.
The idea began simply, sketched on the back of a napkin in a Toronto bar with business partner Thomas Gilbert. From there, they formed Project 8 Sports, a venture with the goal of creating a league “for women, by women” that could help equalize professional opportunities for women.
In 2022, she and Gilbert publicly launched the project. What followed was a period of relentless work tapping networks of contacts, recruiting prospective ownership groups, finding sponsors, and building credibility. By 2024, Matheson’s dream had a name, the Northern Super League (NSL), and a launch date of Spring 2025.
The dream became a reality when the first NSL whistle blew in April 2025. There were six founding clubs: the Vancouver Rise FC, Calgary Wild FC, AFC Toronto, Ottawa Rapid FC, Halifax Tides FC, and Montréal Roses FC. National broadcasts on the CBC, TSN, RDS, and Radio-Canada brought matches into living rooms across the country. Crowds filled stadiums. Children wore new jerseys bearing the NSL crest.
Working to solve practical challenges like stadium access, scheduling, sponsorship, and so on got the NSL off the ground. An impressive roster of corporate sponsors, including Canadian Tire, Coca-Cola, Toyota and Bank of Montreal, helped ensure the league’s foundation was stable and its ambitions achievable.
It was Matheson’s focus though on structural and cultural aspects of the league that have truly cemented her vision. These include a $50,000 minimum salary for players and a $1.6 million team salary cap, which are amongst the highest figures globally for women’s professional soccer leagues. The league also provides players with guaranteed contracts, maternity benefits, housing assistance, and nutritional support. There are women in every level of the league’s leadership. Even the league’s name, which purposefully forgoes the word “women,” signaled a confidence in Matheson’s vision for the NSL to set new standards for how professional sport could operate in Canada with an eye on both equality and financial success.
In recognition of her pioneering role, the championship trophy bears her name. The first Diana B. Matheson Cup was awarded on November 15 to the Vancouver Rise, who beat AFC Toronto 2-1 on a cold and rainy day in Toronto.
Today, the league’s formation stands amongst the more significant milestones in Canadian sports history. It has given women a platform to compete, inspire and earn a living in Canada playing the game they love. For Matheson, the work continues as the league’s Chief Growth Officer and lead spokesperson — exploring expansion to new cities, nurturing talent, and working to ensure the NSL’s success long after its founders step aside.
