Canada’s NSL debuts its celebration to honor winningest team and fans

The GIST: The Northern Super League (NSL) ended its inaugural season yesterday with a Fan Appreciation Match for its popular club, AFC Toronto, which finished with the most regular-season points. Because of that, the NSL used the appreciation night to also award the Supporters’ Shield, a trophy that rewards the winningest team while also acknowledging the value of its fans.

• While theme nights appreciating fans are a classic play from sports franchises, cementing that appreciation with a trophy and ceremony is a clever way for a new women’s sports team to cultivate goodwill with fans. Creating their own goals.

The event: The shield was presented at yesterday’s match, which was sponsored by Canadian credit union Desjardins Group. Before and after the trophy ceremony, fans were treated to limited-edition merch as well as beanie and poster giveaways. The festivities also included partner activations with Dove and Sidelaunch Brewing Co. — the team’s official beer sponsor.

The growth: In June (one month into its inaugural season), AFC Toronto shared early engagement numbers showcasing an engaged and rapidly growing fandom. At that time, the team had earned nearly $250K in merch sales and saw a 51% boost in followers to reach over 21.1K total, which allowed the team to earn more than 6M content views through the NSL’s first month.

• AFC Toronto estimated the club has an editorial reach of 7.32B and an advertising value equivalent of $69.3M, which bodes well for its growth. A fan appreciation night is a smart way to accelerate this: Per Morning Consult, theme nights account for 15%-20% of total group sales for some franchises, making these activations and giveaways a serious draw.

The landscape: Fan appreciation nights have a long and successful history in men’s sports leagues like the NBA, MLB, NHL, and MLS, and a newer and more limited history in the WNBA and NWSL. These nights are typically held on the final home game of the regular season and include giveaways, entertainment, and activations.

• WNBA teams like the Las Vegas Aces and Connecticut Sun are embracing this, with Aces partners Ally and Playa Society outfitting fans with free rally towels. The Sun actually celebrated fans over two games in 2024, and new NWSL club Bay FC recently hosted its own appreciation night with PNC Bank as a presenting partner.

Zooming out: These events have worked well in women’s sports, but haven’t necessarily become a staple across leagues. By tying it to the Supporters’ Shield, the NSL will have this celebration baked into each season. As a growing women’s sports league, enticing fans to see games IRL is vital to the long-term success of the NSL.

• And partners are already jumping in — this is a great way for brands to break through the noise and reach engaged, receptive people. Women’s soccer fans already show unparalleled love to brands supporting their faves, and everyone loves free stuff. It’s a win-win.