Winnipeg on the list for potential WFA expansion

The world’s largest women’s tackle football league is eyeing an expansion into Canada, and Winnipeg is at the top of its list of target destinations.

The Women’s Football Alliance is already made up of 52 U.S.-based teams across three divisions, yet commissioner Lisa King is intrigued by the potential that lies north of the border.

The expansion search is spearheaded by Cosmos Sports and Entertainment, a sports marketing agency based out of Ontario, which approached the league about looking north earlier this year.

President Cary Kaplan said Winnipeg tops a list of 12-15 cities that he believes could support a franchise. Others include Regina, Edmonton, Calgary, Hamilton, Quebec City and Halifax, along with smaller markets such as Brandon, Saskatoon and Moncton.

“Really, it’s finding the right owners. There’s a number of markets that could have WFA teams. The step now for us is, who are the champions going to be, and where are they based? It’s finding the right people in viable markets,” Kaplan told the Free Press Monday.

The team would join the WFA’s top Pro division, which currently consists of 12 squads. Many franchises are in big markets such as Los Angeles, New York, Houston and Dallas, but there are also clubs in St. Louis, Mo., Reno, Nev., and St. Paul, Minn.

The size of the market is not a concern, according to Kaplan, but he’s not shy about which cities are on his wish list.

“As much as I say to you, ‘There’s 15 cities,’ I think Winnipeg would be as high (up on the list) as any place in the country,” he said. “Winnipeg and Regina, if I had to pick any markets that would be optimal, I can’t think of any better spots in Canada than those markets.”

Winnipeg is believed to be an ideal fit because of the thirst for football that exists in the city.

Kaplan noted the Blue Bombers’ track record for attendance, which has been among the best in the Canadian Football League in recent years, and the club’s effort to grow the female game, launching the Girls High School Flag Football League last year.

Winnipeg is also already home to the Manitoba Fearless, a tackle football team that plays in the Western Women’s Canadian Football League.

Founded in 2009, the WFA is the longest-standing full-contact league in the U.S. The league plays by gridiron football rules, which include the traditional field size of 100 yards long (plus 10-yard end zones) and 53.5 yards wide.

The campaign is short — each team plays six regular-season contests before playoffs — but culminates with a championship that is played in Canton, Ohio, the home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Games are also broadcast on ESPN.

“There’s 1.3 million viewers on ESPN in the WFA. Women’s soccer, hockey and basketball have taken off exponentially, and we want serious owners,” said Kaplan.

“Women’s tackle football, it’s obvious to me, it’s had a very quiet presence in Canada. There are leagues that, to their credit, have done a really good job in supporting it, but there’s no reason that women’s tackle football isn’t in Canadian universities. There’s no reason that it doesn’t have a place alongside women’s hockey and soccer.”

Kaplan said the goal is to have a Canadian team ready to play when the next season starts in the spring of 2026.

While there is optimism that owners in one or two cities will step up before summer’s end, he expressed hope for a six-team all-Canadian division one day.

“It’ll be a gradual build. The league isn’t what the (Professional Women’s Hockey League) or the (National Women’s Soccer League) is today, so there’s going to be a gradual buildup. I think the step now is to find the right owners that get them into the league, build up some franchises and then grow from there,” Kaplan said.

“We’re not going to wait for six ownership groups and assess amongst them. In other words, the first good groups that come forward in any market — if we had a great group that came forward in Winnipeg today, and they can go through the due diligence, it’s their team. It’s high priority for us to get it done.”

Interested owners are encouraged to email wfa@cosmossports.com for more information.

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca