History in the Making: EMSC Attends the AFC Inaugural Match

“So do you think seeing professional athletes is going to help inspire you also to play?” is the question that one of our young female soccer players was asked by a reporter at AFC Toronto’s Inaugural Match vs. The Montreal Roses on Saturday, April 19th, at BMO Field. To which the young female player responded with “yeah”. 

Witnessing the beginning of the Northern Super League (NSL) in Toronto was special and revolutionary for Erin Mills Soccer Club (EMSC) to be a part of Saturday afternoon. The game had an impressive attendance of 14,518 Toronto fans, as well as family and friends, and young soccer players all united in passion and community. 

The NSL was founded by Diana Matheson, a Canadian professional Women’s National Team player and 2x Olympic Bronze Medalist. Matheson shares that the NSL aims to “build a women’s soccer league that would not only change the pathways and futures of Canadian players but reshape the Canadian sports industry and its fans” (NSL, 2025). Before the creation of the league, the highest level of soccer in Canada was the pro-amateur league, League 1 Canada. This historical advancement, promotes and encourages young players across Canada, to continue playing the game and be recognized for their efforts and investments. Investors of AFC Toronto Includes Andre Degrasse, one of Canada’s most decorated Olympian in Track and Field, who purchased an ownership stake, among many others. 

In recent years, Toronto has become a hotspot, to a large and demanding sports market maintaining and expanding women's teams across various sports including the Toronto Sceptres of the Professional Women’s Hockey League, (PWHL), and the Toronto Tempo joining the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) in 2026. Thus, receiving the first-ever professional women’s soccer league was a big milestone and a step towards growing the game at a provincial and national level. 

The NSL has six-founding clubs including the Halifax Tides FC, Montreal Roses FC, Ottawa Rapid FC, AFC Toronto, Calgary Wild FC, and Vancouver Rise FC. At EMSC, we are proud and excited to continue to see the growth and development that the NSL continues to generate and be a part of growing the next generation of young girls to play professional soccer, instilling in them the core values of Excellence, Accountability, Growth, Legacy, Empowerment, and Sustainability (EAGLES).   

Huge thank you to JackBox Creative, Canadian Tire Jumpstart, Northern Super League and AFC for inviting EMSC to be part of this unforgettable event!

-Erin Mills Soccer Club