Matheson says support growing for proposed Canadian women's soccer league

Diana Matheson's to-do list keeps growing. But so does support for her planned Canadian women's professional soccer league.

Matheson and business partner Thomas Gilbert, the co-founders of Project 8 which is behind the league, already have helping hands.

"It started as just Tom and I, obviously very much in startup mode," Matheson said in an interview. "But I think one of the real strengths of this project is it's not very hard to get people excited about it. We've found just so many people want to help and so many people want to make this happen."

"It's a Canadian league and it's going to be Canadians across the country that are helping build this. And we've seen that so far," she added. "It's really cool."

The Project 8 team includes strategic adviser Nathalie Cook, a former Bell Media and TSN vice-president. Former Olympian Georgia Simmerling and Shawn Small, co-founder/president of the RISE Integrated Sports and Entertainment consulting agency, serve as directors of global partnerships.

The Project 8 plan is to launch a league in 2025 with eight teams split across two conferences. The Vancouver Whitecaps and Calgary Foothills have already signed on.

"There is a ton to do this year and next building toward 2025," said Matheson. "But it's priorities. Obviously the next six months, the priority is securing the remainder of our six owners in six markets. And then getting the rest of our partners on board too."

The former Canadian international has a current list of some 13 potential owners, either people they have identified themselves or who have reached out to them. Project 8 has intentionally looked for a variety of potential owners, open to everything from MLS franchises to independent groups and "even foreign