Matheson hopes World Cup further raises profile of women's game, boosts new Canadian league

A veteran of four World Cups as a player, Diana Matheson knows the platform the women's soccer showcase presents.

Matheson hopes attention on the 2023 tournament will help springboard the Canadian women's professional league her Project 8 group is putting together, with a planned kickoff for 2025.

"For us, it's a big piece just in terms of awareness. And awareness of women's soccer and the growth in women's professional soccer and what we're doing," Matheson said of the 32-country tournament, which runs July 20 to Aug. 20 across nine host cities in Australia and New Zealand.

"So, we'll definitely try and be visible during the Women's World Cup while that extra attention and eyeballs are on it, because every time we've been able to make a large announcement, we've got really quality inbound leads coming our way. The Women's World Cup is another platform where more eyes will be on women's soccer and that's always good for us."

In April, AFC Toronto City became the new league's third founding franchise, joining the Vancouver Whitecaps and Calgary Foothills. Matheson's plan is to launch a league in 2025 with eight teams split across two conferences.

Corporate partners already on board are Air Canada, Canadian Tire, CIBC and DoorDash Canada.

Project 8 has already received official league recognition from Canada Soccer.

You need only to look to the U.S. to see the importance of a domestic pro league. Twenty-two of the 23 players on the American World Cup roster play domestically in the National Women's Soccer League with Lindsey Horan, who is with French champion Olympique Lyonnais, the lone exception.

"I think that speaks to the growth of the NWSL, over the last 18 months to two years specifically," said Matheson, who played