Canadian Soccer Media & Entertainment (CSME), the commercial arm of Canada's soccer governing body, has acquired rights to the UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL) club competition. This move is part of a broader strategy to increase visibility for national team players domestically.
Under the new agreement, CSME will license these rights to streaming platform OneSoccer. The platform will provide coverage of the UWCL in Canada for the remainder of the 2025-26 season. OneSoccer was initially established as a joint venture between CSME and Mediapro agency but is now solely operated by CSME after Mediapro's departure in 2024.
Guy-Laurent, co-managing director of UC3, said:
“With Canadian players featuring prominently across many of Europe’s leading clubs, this agreement is an important step in bringing the UWCL closer to Canadian fans, broadening the competition’s international reach, and inspiring even more people to follow and engage with the women’s game.”
The coverage begins with quarterfinals featuring Germany’s Wolfsburg against France’s OL Lyonnes and England rivals Arsenal vs Chelsea.
Boosting visibility for National team players
This agreement comes as part of an initiative by CSME to boost visibility for its national team players ahead of their participation in FIFA 2027 Women’s World Cup. Canadian players have featured across many top clubs this season, including Olivia Smith (Arsenal), Vanessa Gilles (Bayern München), Kadeisha Buchanan (Chelsea), Jayde Riviere and Simi Awujo (Manchester United), Ashley Lawrence (OL Lyonnes), and Évelyne Viens (AS Roma).
Following this deal, CSME secured non-exclusive rights to North America’s top-tier National Women’s Soccer League for One Soccer. This allows showcasing over 20 Canadian players such as Kailen Sheridan, Janine Sonis, Jessie Fleming, Julia Grosso, Jordyn Huitema, Adriana Leon, Nichelle Prince, and Gabrielle Carle.
In addition to UWCL matches and National Women's Soccer League games; Onesoccer also holds rights to Germany’s top-tier Bundesliga, the Concacaf Champions Cup international club competition, the Canadian Premier League top-flight, and the Canadian Championship annual tournament. The platform also showcases games from both Canada’s men’s and women’s national teams.
CSME's new commercial partnership with Canada Soccer
CSME is working on resetting its relationship within Canadian soccer. It recently agreed on a new long-term commercial partnership with Canada Soccer running through 2037. This agreement introduces a new revenue-sharing model.
This deal comes after years of pressure regarding the opaque nature of their former agreement which led to lawsuits against board members and CSME leaders being questioned by the Canadian government's Heritage Committee.
The previous 10-year deal between Canada Soccer and then-named CBS covered commercial assets for national teams through 2028. CBS used most of these funds to support the growing top-tier Canadian Premier League (CPL). Following this scrutiny, CBS expressed its willingness to amend its deal with Canada Soccer. James Johnson replaced Mark Noonan as group chief executive in May 2025.
