For the first time between the United States or Canada a women's edition of an "Open Cup" tournament is set to launch. Canada Soccer announced this week the start of the W Canadian Championship, with matches beginning this August.
"We are proud to launch the inaugural W Canadian Championship, a significant milestone in the continued growth of women’s professional soccer in Canada," said Mathieu Chamberland, the Chief of Soccer Operations and Associate General Secretary for Canada Soccer. "This new competition strengthens the domestic pathway for clubs and players, providing the opportunity to compete for a national title and qualify for the Concacaf W Champions Cup and, ultimately, the FIFA Women’s Club World Cup."
All six clubs from the professional Northern Super League will take part in the 2026-27 edition of the tournament. Alongside those six clubs the top two clubs from the 2025 Inter-Provincial Championship, the Simcoe County Rovers (Ontario Premier League) and CS Mont-Royal Outremont (Ligue 1 Québec Féminin) have qualified for the tournament. No clubs representing the Alberta Premier League, BC Premier League, or the newly launched Prairies Premier League will be in the tournament.
The opening round of the tournament is set for three dates in August and one in October, partially due to the fact that existing NSL fixtures are doubling as tournament matches for 2026-27. Calgary Wild will host CS Mont-Royal Outremont and Montréal Roses host Simcoe County Rovers in newly announced fixtures on 5 August and 12 August respectively.
“The W Canadian Championship gives our clubs and players the opportunity to compete on a national stage while showcasing the quality and ambition that exists throughout Premier Soccer Leagues Canada," said Dino Rossi the Vice President of Premier Soccer Leagues Canada.
Following completion of the Quarter-Finals the clubs will have quite a bit of time to wait until the following rounds. With the Semi-Finals and Final set to take place in the "first half of 2026" per Canada Soccer. This is in part due to the restructuring of the Concacaf W Champions Cup.
Starting for the revamped W Champions Cup format in 2027 there are now 11 clubs qualifying for the tournament. Canada retains one spot in the newly revamped competition, which will be awarded to the winner of the W Canadian Championship. Winner of the Concacaf W Champions Cup, which will wrap up in the fall of 2027, will qualify directly to the 2028 FIFA Women's Club World Cup.
