DoorDash Canada announced its new partnership with the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), becoming the official on-demand delivery platform for the league. This comes as the latest sign of Canadian companies investing millions of dollars in women’s sports across the country.
DoorDash, a food delivery service, is a long-time partner with the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and have hosted projects in Canada to promote the visibility of the sport, as well as establishing themselves as founding partners of the Northern Super League (NSL), Canada’s first professional women’s soccer league. Exact dollar amounts were not available for publication.
The triple league partnership is part of the campaign, ‘BRING IT IN’.
“Sports sponsorships have historically been fragmented: pitting team against team, league against league. We’re rewriting that playbook,” said Heather Cameron, Head of Brand and Creative at DoorDash Canada.
Professional women’s sports in Canada are funded by the government and the private sector through sponsorships. Historically, teams have struggled to receive the funding they need, or deserve, says Dr. Ann Pegararo, Lang Chair in Sport Management & professor at the University of Guelph.
The lack of funding has forced teams like the women’s national rugby team to launch a fundraiser to cover the fees of participating in the Women’s Rugby World Cup this year. 95 per cent of the one million dollar goal was achieved in five months through private donations and the Canadian team would go on to make the finals and place second after a narrow defeat to England.
“Canadians got behind their team, as they usually do,” said Shireen Ahmed of the funding, CBC Sports senior contributor.
Similarly, the Canadian Women’s Soccer National team threatened to strike and not participate in a set of friendly games after the federation announced cuts to the program in 2023 ahead of their World Cup. GE Appliances Canada came in with a $100,000 donation in support.
“Our national teams are successful on budgets that are mere fractions of the teams they are competing against at World Cups and Olympic Games,” said Pegararo. “There are good places for individuals to invest as owners and for businesses to invest as partners with these leagues and teams.”
On the flip side, the national men’s team operates on much larger and more secure budgets. Canada Soccer, for instance, spent roughly $19.5 million on its men’s national team in 2022, compared to about $14 million for the women’s program.
Canadian Tire announced a multi-million-dollar investment in 2023, earmarking a minimum 50 per cent of its sponsorship dollars towards women’s professional sport by 2026. That included a dedicated media fund to increase the visibility of women’s sport across top broadcast, digital and social platforms, according to a company press release.
“It’s not only viable, it’s lucrative,” said Ahmed of the investments. “We know the product is excellent based on viewership, merchandise sales and sold-out tickets. There is profit to be made.”
Such a trend is primarily due to the rising value of the sport, said Pegararo. “The market is proven, there is growth and Return on Investment, and there are consumers. So I think the rewards are there for companies that truly understand how underserved the women’s sport fan has been.”
Like in any type of business, there are risks, says Ahmed. However, those perceived risks arise out of the lack of respect for the labour of the female athletes and the sports, she highlights.
“Women’s professional sport in Canada is growing because of partners that believe in its collective ability to unite everyone and commit to building with us,” said Diana Matheson, Founder and Chief Growth Officer at Northern Super League.
Though launching in a similar time frame, the NSL and PWHL follow different methods for the partnerships they work with, markets they operate in and investors they attract. The success of both leagues showcases the possibilities for growth, says Ahmed. And Canadian investments have been a big part of it.
“If they can continue to capitalize on the wave of investment in women’s sport, this should set the league up for continued success.”
No AI tools were used in the production of this piece.
