The Northern Super League checked off another major milestone this week, holding their NSL Final Media Day ahead of Saturday’s championship match at BMO Field between AFC Toronto and the Vancouver Rise.

Here’s everything that happened at Thursday’s event in Toronto:

A fireside chat with Marko Milanovic and Anja Heiner-Møller

Those were the vibes, at least, as both head coaches sat down together on-stage for a joint press conference ahead of this weekend’s Final.

Despite it being clear over the course of the press conference that both Milanovic and Heiner-Møller had an intense desire to lift the Diana B. Matheson Cup come full-time on Saturday, both were friendly as they fielded questions side-by-side.

“It’s huge,” Heiner-Møller said of the occasion to moderator and NSL on TSN host Kate McKenna. “I think we all have been looking for this league to start up since the beginning, since [Matheson and company] began planning this. We started the league with the first game at BC Place, so we know [the Final] is a historical event and we’re just really proud to be here.”

“What more to say? We’re making history here, history of women’s soccer, women’s sports in Canada. We’re so excited to be in the Final — it’s in our city and we would’ve hoped the game was today, but we have to wait two more days,” Milanovic quipped when the attention turned over to him.

When asked about the match itself, Milanovic and Heiner-Møller equally zeroed in on the other’s attacking strength — one that will certainly test both defensive corps after a series of injuries towards the end of the season.

“[Vancouver] have so many attacking threats; I think that’s probably the best part of their team. When you look at the front four (Pechersky, Ward, Abdu and De Filippo), those four can create problems for anyone in the league. They certainly have against us,” Milanovic said.

Heiner-Møller answered back, saying that she was “very impressed” with Toronto forward Kaylee Hunter. “Seeing a forward having that mindset of doing and timing the blind side runs, I think that’s something that you work on for usually a long time with players to get that instinct.”

At one point, when asked whether he remembers Hunter is still just 17, Milanovic joked “When she tells me she has to go finish her homework, it reminds me.”

Their jovial tones also showed that despite the intensity and the motivation to win, the match being a Final wasn’t going to be overwhelming either manager; perhaps, for both teams, what has gotten them to this stage is enough to carry them to the finish line.

““I think we’re lucky,” Heiner-Møller said about her team. “They enjoy these games, when it’s snowing outside, cold and January, maybe it’s harder to get them up there, but right now, it’s just ‘lean back and enjoy the ride’.”

Milanovic took a similar path, adding that “[AFC Toronto tries] to have the same approach for all of our games, that hopefully allows the players to be at a similar level when it comes to nerves. That’s the goal, obviously, this Final will have a different kind of emotion for them because it’s a Final but we try to make it as consistent as possible throughout the year.”

Getting down to business

The two gaffers were not the only ones to address the media assembled at the Canadian Broadcasting Centre on Thursday. Both NSL President Christina Litz and Founder and Chief Growth Officer Diana Matheson were also on hand to provide a ‘leadership address’ on the growth and future of the league.

In addition to re-affirming their intentions to “add one team for 2027,” Matheson also stated a broader target of “12 teams for this league over ten years was a good size.”

“The priority for the next market is to get another team in western to central Canada, because we want to make sure these player pathways and opportunities are coast-to-coast.” While a market won’t be named for a while, Desiree Scott’s hometown of Winnipeg remains a common suggestion, after the Destroyer officially announced her retirement at the end of the season.

Matheson also touched on the NSL’s work to increase Canada’s representation on the continent, through getting a team into the 2026-27 Concacaf W Champions Cup and expanding the number of berths allocated to the nation — currently, Canada has just one entrant in the group stage after the competition shrunk from 11 to 10 teams for this year’s edition.

In the boardroom, the league has also continued to make progress, according to Litz.

Headlining the presentation, the league revealed some new numbers regarding salaries, highlighting the average player salary for the season was approximately CAD $75,000. That puts the league above many of its comparables, including the NWSL, Serie A Femmenile, Liga F, WE League and A-League, based on the NSL’s internal figures.

While they remained mum on numbers on team-by-team and player-by-player bases, Litz also stated “with the salary came first-class benefits, important to women’s sports, including ones bargained for in other leagues,” such as “progressive maternity leave policies, and benefits for fertility treatments.”

The NSL as a whole, based on the league’s numbers, sat in the top-5 for women’s leagues globally in attendance, with over 275,000 fans at matches this season, on top of reaching over three million Canadians on linear and streaming across CBC/CBC Gem, TSN/TSN+, RDS and YouTube.

On top of a $30 million league-wide revenue number — though Litz and Matheson quantified that in terms of the league being a ‘start-up in the investment phase’ —- the league seems to be, by their own accounts, in a good place as they head into the final match of 2025 and the first matches of 2026.

Player quotes ahead of the Final

"We're really excited [for the Final]. This is what we've prepared for all year, so I think this means everything for us. Every team, this is exactly what they wanted, all season, so I think playoffs is a bit of a different story. Every team is a different team in playoffs, and I think we're the one that's ready to face whoever. Toronto's an amazing team, but we're ready and we're excited."

- Vancouver Rise forward Holly Ward on playing in the Final

"We obviously played [AFC Toronto] five times in the league; definitely there are some key matchups. They're a great team all over the field. They have some really good individual talent and so do we, so it'll be a really good game regardless. It's just about stepping up on the day and winning your individual battles."

- Vancouver Rise midfielder Samantha Chang on matching up against AFC Toronto

"I think we just have built a good relationship. We have lots of fun together, and I think that raelly shows int he way we play together. She's also a very experienced player and I'm a young player, so I learn a lot from her. We just kind of feed off each other's energy."

- AFC Toronto forward Kaylee Hunter on her relationship with Esther Okoronkwo

"I think it's just special, we're making history regardless, but being here [at BMO Field], being here with our fans who have supported us all throughout the season, it's going to be special."

- AFC Toronto midfielder Nikayla Small on a "home" Final

Photos and reactions

The 2025 @VancouverRiseFC, featuring the shiniest ⚽ ever created pic.twitter.com/LgXwv9IGLD

— Benedict Rhodes (@BTFR17) November 13, 2025

It's @AFC_Toronto's turn for a squad photo with the shiny ball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/ug95vhUos9

— Benedict Rhodes (@BTFR17) November 13, 2025