Pro opportunity could shift U Sports women's soccer landscape ahead of 2024 campaign

When the 2024 U Sports women's soccer season begins, individual performance will be more critical than in the past.

With the introduction of Project 8, the incoming Canadian women's professional league, the landscape is changing for student-athletes nationwide.

While 17 former Canadian university women's soccer players played professional games in 2023-24, and U Sports alumni Desiree Scott and Marie-Yasmine Alidou regularly appear for the Canadian women's national team, the professional pathway hasn't been there domestically.

Although details surrounding Project 8's contractual intricacies have yet to be confirmed, the league has promoted filling the void beyond graduation on its platforms, and the impact on U Sports will likely be more significant than that of the Canadian Premier League (CPL), the men's pro league introduced in 2019. 

The CPL drafts two rounds of players from U Sports each year and offers developmental contracts to provide a professional pathway; however, often, less than half of the draft picks play competitive matches each year.

WATCH | Relive the best moments from the 2023-24 U Sports seasons:

"Playing professionally has been a goal of mine for a long time, and Project 8 is somewhere I would really like to play, and I couldn't be happier that it's finally becoming a reality in Canada," UBC rookie midfielder Bailey Doerksen said after winning the 2023 national championship. "We have super influential people, like Diana [Matheson], who are taking part in growing this game, and you can feel a lot of positivity right now."

At individual programs, the talent development process will also shift in the coming year. Although the focus remains on individual improvement in the team environment, building a