The Northern Super League (NSL), Canada’s professional women’s soccer league, has inked a multi-year sponsorship agreement with Canadian Tire, making the retailer a founding partner ahead of the NSL’s inaugural season in 2025.

Under the agreement, Canadian Tire will provide annual funding to the league’s clubs and the Home Field Advantage program, which is dedicated to supporting teams in upgrading their facilities prior to the inaugural season, as well as helping new players establish themselves in their community.

The partnership encompasses in-arena promotion including banners for Canadian Tire and its SportChek and Sports Experts brands, which will appear at stadiums during the regular season and playoffs, and during national broadcasts of the games on TSN, RDS and CBC Sports. Canadian Tire will also collaborate with the league clubs and athletes to produce social and digital content. The retailer’s logo will appear on the left sleeve of every club jersey.

Focused on league development and community support, the partnership builds on the work done by both partners during the league’s launch phase in May of this year, according to the companies.

“Guided by the inspiring vision of our league partners and exemplified through our collaboration with the Home Field Advantage program, we are proud to stand with the NSL as a founding partner to further our commitment to championing women’s professional sports and advancing gender equity as we strive to make life – and sport – better in Canada,” said Kim Saunders, VP of partnerships at Canadian Tire.

In addition to Canadian Tire, the NSL launched this year with DoorDash, CIBC and Air Canada as partners. In June, the league also entered into a partnership with Bell Media and CBC/Radio-Canada to broadcast 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.

When the league launched, its marketing director Aisha Mayne told MiC that Canadian fans have a lot of choices in terms of which sports leagues and teams to support, making it a challenge for the league to stand out. “[However,] we have a lot of factors in our favour with the growth of women’s sports right now and the incredible start of the PWHL,” she said. “The latest fan research from Canadian Women and Sport 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.”

The NSL will kick off in April 2025 with six clubs representing major Canadian markets, including Halifax Tides FC, Montreal Roses FC, Ottawa Rapid FC, AFC Toronto, Calgary Wild FC, and Vancouver Rise FC.