Elevate her pitch

The GIST: Canadian Tire (CTC) is leveraging its unparalleled brand power to become a changemaker in Canadian women’s sports sponsorship. CTC’s AVP of Community Impact & Sport Partnerships Ashley Curran recently spoke with The GIST about the company’s efforts to transform the women’s sports landscape in Canada through its Women’s Sport Initiative. Investing in the right companies.

The company: CTC is one of Canada’s largest retailers, and its namesake automotive and sporting goods store, Canadian Tire, is "where most Canadians buy their first bike or pair of skates,” Curran explained, adding that this was almost certainly the case for Canadian PWHL players.

The initiative: The Women’s Sport Initiative will channel at least 50% of CTC’s sponsorship dollars toward pro women’s sports by 2026. Inspired by Ally, CTC became the first Canadian company to make such a commitment when it announced the initiative last March.

The partnerships: The sports retailer was primed for a PWHL partnership — after past ties with the PWHPA and PHF, Curran said CTC wanted to be “one of the first phone calls” if the leagues merged. When they did, the company became the first sponsor and a founding partner of the PWHL, which led to brand affinity that’s “through the roof” among fans, according to Curran.

• CTC is also a founding partner of Project 8, the Canadian pro women’s soccer league set to kick off in 2025. It helps to be an early adopter of new leagues for a multitude of reasons, from encouraging other sponsors to sign on to banking brand loyalty with fans.

• The company would also likely jump at the chance to sponsor a Canadian WNBA team and is already supporting the second W preseason game in Canada. Curran said soccer and basketball are big categories for CTC’s business: Participation growth is high, and it lets them diversify their sponsorship portfolio. Ball so hard.

The GIST: The Women’s Super League (WSL) is enjoying a 43% attendance boost YoY, with Arsenal leading the way in proving that the league deserves a bigger stage. While popularity and crowd sizes do vary among clubs, the overall numbers show upward trends across the board. Time for an elevated pitch.

7.5K: The average WSL crowd size this season, a major jump from last season’s average of 5.2K. Rising attendance was spurred by a move to play more games in English Premier League venues and increased general interest in UK women’s soccer since the Lionesses’ 2022 Euros win.

280K: The number of tickets Arsenal has sold for its home matches this season, up 63% from last year. Average ticket sales per game are up from 15.6K to 35K, which jumps to 54K when factoring in only Emirates Stadium games — despite obvious demand, Arsenal’s home pitch Meadow Park still holds only 4.5K. Stars need space.

7.7K: The average crowd size at Bristol City, one of only two WSL teams who share a stadium full-time with its men’s affiliate. When big-name challengers roll into town, that number goes way up: The women’s side has broken its attendance record at Ashton Gate twice this season, most recently hosting 14K for a Man U matchup.

3.3K: Manchester City’s average crowd, an outlier considering it currently sits second place in the WSL. Its main stadium has a capacity of just 7K, but an upcoming game against Man U in Etihad Stadium should bump City’s crowd numbers — a match between these two sides last year set a club attendance record of 44.3K.

7: The number of WSL clubs (out of 12) who have brought in at least one five-figure home crowd this season. Aside from Arsenal, Manchester United welcomed 43.6K to Old Trafford, Liverpool hosted 23K fans vs. Everton, and Chelsea saw 20.4K vs. Man U. And as mentioned above, clubs like Man City have yet to play a match in the larger men’s stadiums. Let the games begin.

If you love The GIST’s newsletters, you’re going to love our twice-weekly podcast, The GIST of It. Hosted by besties Ellen Hyslop and Stephanie Rotz, it’s the women-produced and -hosted sports pod you’ve been waiting for. Talk about a golazo.

El and Steph dive into current sports topics and how they intersect with society and pop culture. They cover everything from season previews to calling out the sexist BS that’s rampant across the industry.

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