The beginning of a new era of soccer in Vancouver, the Vancouver Rise FC

Vancouver sports fans, we have a new professional sports league coming to our city! The Vancouver Rise, a professional women’s soccer team is set to join the Northern Super League (NSL) in their inaugural season.

The NSL

What is the NSL? The NSL is a brand-new professional women’s soccer league set to kick off on April 16, 2025.

In their inaugural season, the league is made up of six teams, all of which are Canadian, and listed below from west to east: 

• Vancouver Rise FC - Vancouver, British Columbia

• Calgary Wild FC - Calgary, Alberta

• AFC Toronto - Toronto, Ontario

• Ottawa Rapid FC - Ottawa, Ontario

• Montreal Roses FC - Montreal, Quebec

• Halifax Tides FC - Halifax, Nova Scotia

The NSL will use the standard point system used in Major League Soccer (MLS). In this system teams receive three points for a win, one for a draw, and zero for a loss. 

Each team will play 25 regular season matches in their first year. The top four teams of the regular season will compete in home-and-away semifinals, with the higher-seeded club hosting the second leg. Higher aggregate goals in each matchup will be the determining factor in who will advance to the championship game played on November 15, 2025.

Vancouver Rise Logo

The Vancouver Rise FC announced their official team name and logo on August 26, 2024, with a deep focus on the club’s identity and creating a welcoming space for everyone.

The Rise logo was created by Victory Creative Group and is comprised of three main parts: 

• Three peaks to highlight Vancouver’s Cypress Mountain, Grouse Mountain, and Mount Seymour

• A rising sun to bring people together across BC, and the stars of the club. The sun has six rays, representing the original six clubs in the NSL.

• Three main colours: teal, which shows BC and its beauty; gold, which shows Vancouver’s sunsets; and black, which highlights the Pacific Ocean, specifically its deepness and power.

A lot of thought and hard work went into the design of the Rise name and logo, which is clearly shown through its creation and through the people they have brought to be a part of this team.

Vancouver Rise Ownership and Head Coach

On October 7, 2024, Vancouver Rise FC announced that Christine Sinclair would join the ownership group as a co-owner of the club. Sinclair has had a significant impact for women in soccer and continues to do so in her role for the Rise. She joins majority owner Greg Kerfoot as a part of this team.

Throughout her career, Sinclair represented Canada’s women’s national team (CANWNT) 331 times, starting in each of those matches. She scored 190 goals and had 54 assists. Before her retirement, she played for the Portland Thorns in the National Women’s Soccer Leagues (NWSL)

Roughly a month and a half after announcing Sinclair as a part of the Rise’s ownership, they announced the hiring of their first head coach in history, Anja Heiner-Møller. Before joining the Rise, Heiner-Møller served as the head coach for Denmark’s U-19 national team, her native team. 

This is not her first time coaching in Vancouver, as she worked with the Vancouver Whitecaps FC as an academy coach and with North Shore Girls Soccer. 

First Player in their History

The Vancouver Rise officially started putting their roster together on December 16, 2024, when they announced their first signing in the club’s history, Vancouver's very own, Shannon Woeller.

Woeller, a defender, started her career with the Vancouver Whitecaps in the USL W-League. For the past 11 years, Woeller has played for five different countries around Europe.

Throughout her career, Woeller has made 21 appearances for CANWNT, starting in 13 of those matches. She has assisted on one goal playing with this international team.

The addition, veteran Woeller will help lead the team and support their defense in their inaugural season.

First Goalkeeper Signed

Morgan McAslan, born in Ontario, was the first goalkeeper signed to the Vancouver Rise. She was signed two days after Woeller on December 18, 2024.

Before signing with the Rise, McAslan played with the Whitecaps FC League1 BC women’s team. She signed with the team in July 2024, and made 10 appearances for the club, starting in 9 of those games.

McAslan is a player with a bright future ahead with the Rise, it will be exciting to watch her grow with this team.

A Key Player Signing

A key signing for the Rise took place on January 16, 2025, when they signed Canadian midfielder Quinn. The club they played for before the Rise was the Seattle Reign FC, a part of the NWSL, which they played for for six seasons.

Quinn is an Olympic medalist with Canada, having helped them win gold in Tokyo in 2020, and bronze in Rio in 2016.

Quinn has made 106 appearances for CANWNT, starting in 68 of them. They have six goals and four assists in those games. They most recently represented Canada in a pair of international friendlies against Argentina, with both matches taking place in BC. Before kick off of the first game, Quinn was celebrated for making 100 international appearances.

Adding a player like Quinn to the Rise roster, brings a leader and inspiration who knows how to break new ground, something the Vancouver Rise are currently doing in the NSL inaugural season.

A Team Coming Together

Exactly one week before Quinn was signed, the Rise signed midfielder Nikki Stanton, a great friend and former Seattle Reign teammate of Quinn’s.

When asked about being reunited with Stanton, with a smile, Quinn said, “It’s really nice having her. While we're moving to a new city, it’s nice to have a familiar face and I think we just get on so well in the midfield so it’ll be really exciting for us, y’know to connect in the midfield and hopefully show the crowd that it’s a really fun midfield that I think we’re gonna put out with the Vancouver Rise and it’ll be something to look forward too.”

With veteran players, upcoming players, and reuniting teammates, the Rise have built a solid team heading into the season. Players are excited to put in the work and play for the club, and fans are excited to watch.

Where to Watch

The Vancouver Rise will play their home games at Swangard Stadium located in Burnaby, British Columbia, except for their season opener which will be played at BC Place.

Fans can watch the Rise at home across TSN, CBC, CBC Gem, and NSL.ca. When they play the Montreal Roses, the game will be broadcasted on one of these platforms and in French on RDS. Broadcasting channels will change each game, so not every game will be on TSN or CBC.

Looking Ahead

The Vancouver Rise will kick off their NSL season on April 16, 2025 at BC Place. They will play the Calgary Wild FC, starting what is set to be an intense western rivalry between the two clubs.

They then move over to Swangard Stadium where they will play two more home games before hitting the road for the team's first road trip.