Fielding interest

The GIST: Last Friday, sports data insights platform SponsorPulse made the case for why Canada is primed for women’s soccer fandom. The latest data affirms that even though Canadian interest in the sport is surging, the North remains an oft-overlooked market for American companies looking to reach soccer fans. Time to attack.

The landscape: Canada saw the potential for fan engagement and economic impact when it hosted the FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC) in 2015, fueled by its beloved CanWNT. The national team has only grown in popularity since it won Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020, though its recent drone scandal has affected its reputation.

• Although the country has three MLS teams, Canada has yet to field an NWSL team or foster any serious bids. Last year, a group led by former CanWNT star Diana Matheson launched the country’s own domestic pro women’s soccer league, the Northern Super League (NSL), which kicked off its first season last month.

• The league has seen extensive sponsorship and fan interest through its first month: Its opening week drew 14,018 fans in Vancouver and 14,518 in Toronto. Current NSL sponsors include Canadian brands like BMO Financial Group, Canadian Tire, and Toyota Canada as well as international brands like Coca-Cola.

The data: A 2024 Canadian Women & Sport report found that 67% of Canadians are fans of women’s sport, with 40% being avid fans. But with limited domestic offerings in the past, they have turned to international opportunities: 20.8M Canadians (nearly a third of all households) cheered on the national team when they hosted the 2015 WWC.

• SponsorPulse reports that the percentage of Canadians who watched women’s soccer soared by 23% YoY between 2023 and 2024. During this time frame, 27% of Canadians said they watched soccer within the previous 12 months.

• The platform also measured health across four international women’s soccer properties: the WWC, NWSL, WSL, and UEFA Women’s Champions League. Interest in these competitions has grown since 2021, with the WWC seeing a 36% peak in 2023 and NWSL interest growing from 22% in 2021 to 27% in 2024.

Zooming out: Data on WNBA and PWHL fandom consistently demonstrates that Canadian fans are a very engaged market, and SponsorPulse’s report shows that Canadians are increasingly interested in accessing women’s soccer. Existing women’s soccer and NWSL sponsors should consider opportunities to engage around CanWNT and the NSL, and not just Canadian ones.

• Sponsorship has been fairly Canadian centric so far, but if American brands make the effort to understand the Canadian landscape, there could be a significant payoff. With an estimated 40% of Canada’s women’s sports fans being more likely to support brands that bolster women’s sports, soccer could be just the white space they need.