Winnipeg’s 1st professional women’s soccer team to be named Ember FC

Manitoba’s first professional women’s soccer team is getting a name that will light up the field.

Winnipeg Ember FC will debut in the 2027 Northern Super League season.

The first expansion team in Canada’s top women’s soccer league was announced Tuesday during an event at historic The Forks in Winnipeg.

Club President Dayna Spearing said it was inspired by the glow of the Prairie sky as the sun begins to rise in the morning or sets in the evening.

“We wanted a name that could only come from here. Something uniquely Manitoban. So we looked up,” he said.

“If you’ve ever gone home on a January afternoon and watched the whole sky turn pink and purple … you already know where this story begins.”

The football club’s name and crest are inspired by the sky outside. (Mike Arsenault/CBC)

The club’s purple, pink and gold color scheme stems from this atmospheric theme.

In the center of the newly opened hill is a sun dog – a phenomenon in which bright spots appear near the sun in winter.

WATCH | Ember FC joins the Winnipeg sports scene:

Winnipeg has named its new women’s professional soccer team Ember FC

The Northern Super League’s first expansion team unveiled its new name and look on Wednesday ahead of the 2027 season. Dayna Spiring and Club President and Vice President Desiree Scott discussed the Manitoba themes that went into the design and what this team means to women in sports.

Desiree Scott, co-founder of the club and Olympic gold medalist in soccer, said the sun dogs are like guardians of the light as the sun rises and sets during the coldest months.

“We want to tie everything together, the Prairie sky, the sun dog of our cold winters — because we have to be resilient, we have to be strong, we have to be resilient — and then the beautiful sunsets that really bring us together,” she said.

“The warmth of the people is what makes Winnipeg … and ‘Ember’ is that light and never-give-up attitude.”

There is also a star on the hill representing the “morning star”. It is most often used as a reference for the planet Venus, which appears in the east before sunrise.

Explanation of Ember FC’s crest and colors in the news release announcing the team’s name. (Winnipeg Ember FC)

The design also features a “W” in reference to the club’s home in Winnipeg.

The club said the slogan “let them cry” was taken from a quote by suffragist Nellie McClung, who led the movement to get women the right to vote in Manitoba. The full quote attributed to him was “Never back down, never explain, never apologize; do the job and don’t let them cry.”

Scott said he hopes Ember FC helps girls see themselves as professional athletes, potentially creating a local career for the next generation of Manitoba soccer stars.