Stephanie Labbe remembers arriving at a new club abroad and having to start from the ground up in building a home.
鈥淪o many times when I was an athlete and I was playing in Sweden or in the U.S. or France, you鈥檙e showing up to this apartment that doesn鈥檛 really feel like home,鈥� said the former Canadian international goalkeeper who is now sporting director of the Northern Super League鈥檚 Vancouver Rise. 鈥淚t feels like you鈥檙e living in someone else鈥檚 space.鈥�
Canadian Tire is giving players in the new NSL a helping hand on that score.
With a multi-year, multimillion-dollar partnership announced Wednesday, the company will support players as they settle into their new environments with 鈥渇unding and resources.鈥�
The Home Field Advantage program will also help the NSL鈥檚 six clubs 鈥渙ptimize facilities as they prepare for the season ahead.鈥�
Canadian Tire was one of the first corporations to jump on board when former Canadian international Diana Matheson and business partner Thomas Gilbert announced Project 8, the precursor to the new league that is set to kick off in April.
The new sponsorship deal was announced at an NSL panel discussion Wednesday, part of a Sports Marketing Canada Council event. It will also see Canadian Tire displayed at stadiums and on broadcasts with the company鈥檚 red triangle logo displayed on the left sleeve of every club jersey.
The panel featured Labbe, Helena Ruken (AFC Toronto), Isabele Chevalier (Montreal Roses), Gilbert (Ottawa Rapid), Courtney Sherlock (Halifax Tide) and Deanna Zumwalt (Calgary Wild) with Canadian Tire鈥檚 Ashley Curran, Canadian Tire鈥檚 associate vice-president, community Impact and sport partnerships, serving as moderator.
鈥淚 would say everybody that鈥檚 involved really believes this is about elevating a generation of female leaders on and off the pitch,鈥� Zumwalt told the audience. 鈥淲e know that one per cent may go on to play pro soccer but that other 99 per cent, if we can draw them into sport, keep them involved in sport, they go on to incredible things. We know that.鈥�
For Labbe, the NSL will also offer Canadian players a chance to build their own brand at home. In the past, the women had to leave Canada to find a pro team, thus missing out on domestic sponsorship deals.
鈥淥ne of the hardest things I had as an athlete was to really try to build those partnerships,鈥� she said in an interview. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one thing to be here once a year do a photo shoot and 鈥楬urray this is awesome.鈥� But to actually build something over time and have brands be able to actually access these athletes consistently, as well as for these athletes to build that relationship and connection to community, it鈥檚 a fantastic experience for them. And they are so excited for that opportunity鈥�
And Labbe suggested that Canada could actually benefit from being one of the last of the women鈥檚 elite soccer powers to create a domestic league, having learned from others.
鈥淲e get to start in a much better place and build a much better foundation so that we can grow and catch up to them in a much faster way,鈥� she told the audience. 鈥淎nd hopefully avoid a lot of the mistakes that they made over the years.鈥�
The NSL and team officials were in town for two days of separate meetings, marking the first the that club owners, presidents and sporting directors have come together in advance of the six-team circuit鈥檚 startup.
The agenda includes finalizing league competition rules, prioritizing safe-sport initiatives and reviewing the league鈥檚 2025 business plan.
The closed meetings will include an address by Kevin Blue, Canada Soccer鈥檚 chief executive officer and general secretary, as well as a visit to FIFA鈥檚 2026 World Cup office in Toronto on Thursday to get an update on tournament plans.
Wednesday鈥檚 panel came 132 days before the league鈥檚 kickoff, said NSL president Christina Litz.
The meetings include Portugal鈥檚 Jose Maria Celestino da Costa, the NSL鈥檚 head of soccer operations who landed in Canada this week. He arrives from Estoril Praia, a men鈥檚 top-tier club in Portugal, and the Portuguese Soccer Federation, helping establish the women鈥檚 league there.
New board chair Mark Cohon, who served as CFL commissioner from 2007 to January 2015, is also on hand.
