Winnipeg's 1st professional women's soccer team will be named Ember FC

Manitoba's first professional women's soccer team is getting a name that's sure to light up the pitch.

Winnipeg Ember FC will make their debut in the 2027 season of the Northern Super League.

The name of the first expansion team in Canada's top-division league for women's soccer was unveiled during an event at The Forks historic site in Winnipeg Wednesday.

It's inspired by the way the Prairie sky glows as the sun starts to rise in the morning or dip out of sight in the evening, said club president Dayna Spiring.

"We wanted a name that could only come from here. Something uniquely Manitoban. So we looked up," she said.

"If you've ever driven home late in a January afternoon and watched the whole sky turn pink and purple … you already know where this story starts."

The soccer club's name and crest draws inspiration from the prairie skies. (Mike Arsenault/CBC)

The club's violet, pink and gold colour scheme is rooted in that atmospheric theme.

At the centre of the newly unveiled crest is the sun dog — a phenomenon in which bright spots appear beside the sun during winter.

Winnipeg names new women's pro soccer team Ember FC

Club co-founder and Olympic soccer gold medallist Desiree Scott said sun dogs are like guardians protecting the light as the sun rises and fades in the coldest months.

"We want to tie it all together, with the Prairie skies, the sun dog of our cold winters — because we gotta be resilient, we gotta be strong, we gotta be hardy — and then the beautiful sunsets that really bring us all together," she said.

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"The warmth of the people, that's what makes Winnipeg … and 'Ember' is about that light and that never-give-up attitude."

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