Commissioner Lisa King wants to bring the Women's Football Alliance to Canada.
The WFA has partnered with Cosmos Sports & Entertainment, a sports-marketing firm based in Mississauga, Ont., to search for ownership groups in Canada for teams to play in the league's pro division starting next season.
“The WFA has spent over 15 years building the strongest foundation in women’s tackle football," said King. "Our franchise model is designed to support long-term success for owners and communities alike."
Also involved in the WFA's expansion north is Terry Smith, the inspiration behind the American television series "Ted Lasso." Smith, who in March purchased the Brantford Red Sox of Ontario's Intercounty Baseball League with his family, also has an ownership stake in the pro women's tackle football league.
Cary Kaplan, the owner/president of Cosmos Sports, feels that with the emergence of pro women's hockey and soccer in Canada and the WNBA's Toronto franchise starting play in 2026, it's an ideal time for the WFA to expand north of the border.
“The growth of the PWHL, emergence of the WNBA in Toronto, and launch of the Northern Super League have all been rapid indicators of the power of women’s sports in Canada,” Kaplan said. "That said, nothing in North American sports is as big as football and the NFL, and clearly, it's time for the Women’s Football Alliance to take its place in Canada in a big way.
"We've been contacted already by many players, coaches and managers, there's a lot of excitement within the Canadian women's football community. Now our push is to find the right owners that want to do this properly."
The WFA has been in operation since '09 and has over 60 franchises in three separate tiers. It has national television deals (ESPN, All Women Sports Network) and corporate sponsorships.
The WFA plays American football on a traditional American-sized field (100 yards long with 10-yard end zones, 53.3 yards wide).
Kaplan said the plan is to add Canadian teams to the WFA's Pro Division, which currently has 12 squads all based in the United States. The '25 season began April 26 and will culminate July 12 with the league championship game being televised at Canton, Ohio, the site of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Kaplan believes there's no shortage of solid football markets in Canada, starting with the nine cities that currently have CFL franchises.
"I'm a CFL fan myself but I also like Halifax a lot, same with other cities like Moncton, Saskatoon, London, Ont., Kingston and Quebec City," Kaplan said. "To me, there's probably 15 good options but we'll go where the right owners are.
"We don't have to be in places like Regina or Hamilton but those seem like obvious options. Ideally, we'd like to have a Canadian division of maybe six teams but we'd certainly start with some Canadian teams."
Kaplan said the WFA is looking for Canadian owners who are interested in growing the women's game.
"You want to have an owner that's going to commit to growing and take it as a serious league," he said.
Kaplan added the search will be aimed at cities that already have a football venue in place.
"I think it's important but I don't think you need to have a CFL stadium," he said. "Many of the markets we're talking about would have a stadium that would accommodate the league."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 13, 2025.
Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press
