Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.
VANCOUVER – Christine Sinclair has always wanted to leave soccer in a better place for future players.
The Canadian legend believes her latest role as part owner of Vancouver’s new professional women’s soccer team will do just that.
Vancouver Rise FC announced Monday that Sinclair is joining Greg Kerfoot in the club’s ownership group as the National Super League prepares to launch in April.
“The future of soccer in Canada depends on the Northern Super League, depends on clubs like Vancouver Rise,” Sinclair said on a video call. “And it’s a privilege and an honor for me to be a part of it.”
Children need to see women’s professional sports to know they too can play for a living, says the soccer star.
“I think about myself as a 10-year-old, if I had the opportunity to go and watch professional women’s football every other weekend, how would that have affected my life, how would that have changed my life,” said Sinclair.
“Because I was convinced I was going to be a major league baseball player because that’s all I could see on TV. These young women growing up will have a completely different reality.”
Hailing from Burnaby, BC, Sinclair is one of Canada’s most revered athletes and ended her international career last year as the world’s leading goal scorer with 190 goals.
She helped the women’s national team win gold at the Tokyo Olympics, and bronze at the 2016 Games in Rio and the 2012 Games in London.
Sinclair, 41, announced last month that she would retire from professional soccer later this year after playing her 11th season with the Portland Thorns of the Women’s National Soccer League.
The Thorns are set to play the Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite in a CONCACAF W Champions Cup match at BC Place in Vancouver on October 15 before closing out the regular season campaign on November 1.
Not being able to play professional soccer for a team in Vancouver is a regret that Sinclair said will last as her playing days are over.
“That would have been a dream,” “That would have been a dream,” said Sinclair, who previously played semi-pro soccer with the Vancouver Whitecaps in the USL W-League. “But when you know you’re done, you’re done. And I’m proud to hang up the boots at the end of this season.”
Rise sporting director Stephanie Labbe admitted she hoped to see her former national team-mate wearing a Vancouver shirt, but understood Sinclair’s decision.
“I know all too well that feeling of when you’re ready to retire, you’re ready to retire and move on to what’s next,” Labbe said. “So it was a quick change of direction from, ‘Well, if you’re not coming as a player, what else can you do? How else can we get you involved?’
“To have Sinc involved in the club in some way is very big.”
Launching a new league is nothing new for Sinclair. She was involved when the now defunct Women’s Professional Football debuted in 2009, and when the NWSL started in 2013.
Those experiences have shown what is important to a new league, he said, from how much players are paid to how many teams are included.
“I think previous leagues started way too big and then they couldn’t sustain themselves,” Sinclair said. “I think what the Northern Super League is doing is starting on a realistic footing.”
With six founding teams in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax, the NSL is set to begin its inaugural season in April. Each team is expected to play a 25-game schedule next year.
Labbe said she expects Rise to announce the names of the club’s first players and head coach in the coming weeks.
Sinclair declined to say what her ownership percentage will be, instead calling it a “small stake” and saying her role will be to bring awareness to the club and help it grow.
“Whatever they need from me, I’ll be there to help support,” he said.
The desire and support for women’s sports is growing, Sinclair said, so joining the NSL “makes perfect sense.”
“The time is now for women’s sport,” she said.
“If you go across Canada – obviously we did with the national team – people are begging to be able to watch professional sports here in Canada, women’s professional sports.”
This report was first published by The Canadian Press on October 7, 2024.
(Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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