TORONTO (AP) 鈥� A throng of fans packed into York Lions Stadium on the outskirts of Toronto shortly after the start of the .
As drums beat, a girls soccer team chanted, 鈥淭wo, four, six, eight! Who do we appreciate? Not the king, not the queen, just our favorite football team!鈥�
The team on the receiving end of the enthusiastic support that day was AFC Toronto, part of the Northern Super League, Canada鈥檚 professional women鈥檚 league. The club drew about 2,500 fans to see Toronto take on the Montreal Roses the day after the Canadian men鈥檚 national team played Bosnia-Herzegovina to a in the .
While other leagues in North America took long breaks during the World Cup, the NSL 鈥� in just its second year 鈥� continued play.
The National Women鈥檚 Soccer League returned to play this weekend, Major League Soccer is out until July 16 and the Canadian Premier League had a 16-day break before returning on June 26.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a whole other level when you鈥檙e hosting (the World Cup),鈥� said Christina Linz, president of the NSL. 鈥淎nd so you can already see already an interest in soccer in a way that you don鈥檛 always see as much.鈥�
Seizing the moment
While their strategy was different, the : Seize this moment to build excitement for the game. And that’s even more crucial for the fledgling NSL.
鈥淭he fact that we鈥檙e one of the few leagues playing in the world right now, those tickets that are relatively expensive for the World Cup, I think we are more affordable, and fans can catch a game,鈥� AFC Toronto coach Marko Milanovic said. 鈥淥bviously the level is not the same, but the sport is. We just hope it brings more eyes to football, and football in this country.鈥�
NSL players across the league agreed that having the World Cup co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico is an opportunity for casual fans to discover there鈥檚 professional soccer 鈥� both men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 鈥� they can watch year-round in their home cities.
鈥淚 hope that after the World Cup games they can be like, `Wow, that was really fun. I wonder if maybe there鈥檚 a local team I can go and watch?鈥� And that鈥檚 us, and we鈥檙e so fun to watch,鈥� Vancouver Rise midfielder Nikki Stanton said.
The NWSL had a different approach, with watch parties and special matches like the Challenge Cup. Gotham FC will host The Queen’s Classic against the Washington Spirit on July 15 at Citi Field, which is expected to draw some 40,000 fans. Ahead of the game, fans will be able to watch a World Cup semifinal match in Atlanta on big screens at the ballpark.
鈥淲e鈥檙e anywhere and everywhere,鈥� said Gotham spokesman Jeff Greer. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been able to find other ways to get involved, and we鈥檒l continue to do that into July, and obviously the big game will be an exclamation point on that involvement.鈥�
Chicago Stars marketing chief Kay Bradley said her NWSL club benefited from the city hosting the U.S. men in a send-off match against Germany, but the main goal is to use this World Cup as a springboard for the , the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles and the .
鈥淭hat is what鈥檚 really exciting, kind of coming from the club side. Partners are engaging and figuring out how they can best work with us and partner with us and engage fans,鈥� Bradley said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e figuring out what鈥檚 working and what鈥檚 not working and what is driving interest and excitement, so it鈥檚 a really good way for us to kind of test drive.鈥�
Continued growth
While the World Cup being in North America is helping plenty, the NWSL and NSL are also benefiting from soccer becoming more popular in both the United States and Canada.
Jonathan Lintner, vice president of marketing and communications for Racing Louisville, said he felt as though soccer was much more isolated when he was growing up, but he鈥檚 seeing more access to the sport now.
鈥淓very time we have a World Cup, we reach a percentage more of people into acceptance of soccer as a big sport here in the United States, and so much is made of, like, 鈥業t鈥檚 the biggest sport in the world 鈥� why is it not more popular in the U. S.?鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淏ut that gap has closed, I think, more than we鈥檙e all maybe noticing.鈥�
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Lexie Linderman is a student in John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State. ___
AP Sports Writer Anne M. Peterson in Vancouver, British Columbia, contributed to this report.
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