Canadian national team player Regan becomes latest signing for Northern Super League's AFC Toronto

When it came to choosing her next professional soccer contract, budding Canadian national team midfielder Emma Regan had a myriad of choices but one stood out above the rest — a chance to play on home soil. 

The 24-year-old from Burnaby, B.C., signed with AFC Toronto Thursday and is the first active national team player to sign with the Northern Super League, Canada's new domestic professional soccer league kicking off in April 2025.

"I didn't have an opportunity like this coming out of college to play at home professionally. Playing abroad was great, but this opens another avenue for players like me who want to take their careers to the next level," she told CBC Sports.  

"There will be so many Canadians who benefit from this league. It's been a long time coming. I'm just so excited to be part of the start of it and I get to play with some of my friends, too."

In a fortuitous twist, one of Regan's original and longtime soccer teammates from Burnaby, Kaela Hansen, also signed with AFC Toronto.  

Hansen, a 24-year-old versatile and technically gifted defender, is a former member of the Whitecaps FC Academy and Canada Soccer's National EXCEL program alongside Regan. The pair began playing together as eight-year-olds with Cliff Avenue - along with Canadian national team member Julia Grosso - and later with Burnaby Girls and Mountain United (all now part of Burnaby Football Club). 

"She's one of my best friends and an amazing player," Regan said of Hansen, adding they had no idea they were both in discussions with the club.

"It just kind of happened. We were chatting about what was next and she said 'Are you going there?' and I said 'Wait, are you going there? We ended up both signing. It's nice to go to a team where you