Northern Super League (NSL), Canada’s professional women’s soccer league, has entered into a multi-year media partnership with Bell Media and CBC/Radio-Canada. Under the deal, Canadians will be able to watch league games beginning with the debut season in April 2025.

Bell Media will show live games on TSN and select Montreal Super League North club games on RDS. CBC Sports and Radio-Canada will broadcast on their national networks and digital platforms.

“Ensuring our matches are available to Canadians is key to the long-term growth and viability of professional women’s soccer. Our players have been behind the scenes for too long,” said Diana Matheson, NSL founder. “Having Bell Media and CBC/Radio-Canada put a national spotlight on our Canadian professional players is a huge win for fans and creates a lasting impact on women’s sport in this country.”

NSL is a new Canadian women’s professional soccer league, currently consisting of six clubs. Its name, along with its brand identity, was unveiled at the ESPNW conference held in May in Toronto. Developed in both English and French by agency Broken Heart Love Affair, the NSL brand represents the pride, bold confidence and inclusivity of the league, while paying homage to Canada’s sporting history, says its director of marketing Aisha Mayne.

Mayne tells Media in Canada that creating the brand was a six-month process in which they developed the strategic platform and brand architecture along with the name and logo. Once the brand identity and architecture were established, they worked with the Broken Heart team on a 30-second launch video called The Void (pictured), which is also available in French.

She says that Canada is a great sporting country and Canadian fans are spoiled for choice when it comes to which leagues and teams to support, making it a challenge for them to carve out a niche in people’ minds and wallets. “We have considerable tailwinds on our side with the growth of women’s sports right now, and the incredible start to the PWHL,” Mayne adds. “Canadian Women and Sport’s latest fan research shows that eight out of 10 fans are excited about the future of women’s sports in Canada, so we have that on our side.”

Canadian Tire, DoorDash, CIBC and Air Canada are on board as founding corporate partners. Over the next 11 months, both the league and its clubs will run campaigns focused on a combination of paid and earned media across a variety of channels.

NSL will be also delivering ongoing news and insights on the league, clubs and players on its website and social channels, including TikTok, Meta, X and LinkedIn. As the league prepares for its first season, it will focus on original content that will include a mix of written articles along with extensive video coverage.

Bell Media broadcasts a wide list of live sports events via TSN and RDS. The network’s roster of sports programming includes the Grey Cup, IIHF Women’s Worlds, Spengler Cup and Hockey events. CBC/Radio-Canada also has a rich history of sporting events aired on its platforms, including the Olympics, and offers programs that promote inclusion, such as Bell Athletes Connect, an initiative aimed at supporting Canadian Olympic and Paralympic athletes.