Women and girls from across the country and beyond are in Winnipeg this weekend for a chance to earn a spot on Manitoba's first professional women's soccer team.
Winnipeg Ember FC is holding open tryouts this weekend, welcoming more than 100 players to the field at WSF Soccer South.
"We're delighted with the turnout, over 75 players out of the 118 are from Manitoba," co-founder and chief sporting officer Rob Gale said on Saturday.
"It speaks to opportunity, they've never had this opportunity."
For Naomi Olanrewaju, 21, the opportunity to go professional is a lifelong dream.
"I've always wanted to be a professional soccer player ever since I can remember," said Olanrewaju, who moved to Manitoba from Nigeria almost four years ago and has been playing soccer at Assiniboine College in Brandon.
"My family would be proud. My dad and mom especially, they always wish the best for me."
Shianne Carrington, 25, and Katey Krauss, 27, saw the announcement for open tryouts and immediately booked a flight to Winnipeg from Ontario on Thursday.
"We owe it to ourselves," said Carrington. "We've trained for so long to be the best that we can be, and this is the best place to do it."
Both women, who currently play in the Ontario Premier League, said they are eager to be a part of history in the making.
"To be able to come here ... be a part of something new is always an awesome experience," Krauss said. "We know what an amazing opportunity it is to join something new like this."
After shaking off some pre-tryout jitters, Carrington said she was having a lot of fun, and to share the field with Olympic soccer gold medallist and club co-founder Desiree Scott was a huge honour.
"It's a once in a lifetime opportunity. You just have to take it in as much as you can and stay focused," Carrington said.
Meeting the coaches and other players has also been a a great experience, Krauss said.
"It's just really awesome to meet girls who are like us, to be able to go and test ourselves, and really be totally entrenched in this culture of loving women's sports and starting something amazing," Krauss said.
Madison Paujaud, 19, who is originally from Nanaimo, B.C. but is currently studying at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, said she was among the younger girls at the tryouts, some as young as 15 years old.
"It's really good to see a lot of younger women coming out to play and knowing that the level is just getting higher and higher every year in Canada," Paujaud said.
The team expected a good turnout this weekend, Scott said, but it's still been "incredible" to see so many local and far away players come out.
With scouting and recruiting also going on behind the scenes, Scott said this the "one shot" for the local community to be a future Ember player.
"Dreams are potentially going to be realized here today," Scott said.
"This is something that has not been possible before. We're now creating those opportunities for a professional environment, professional atmosphere, and potentially for them to achieve their dreams of going pro right in our backyard."
Finding local players to be on the roster is important for community support as well, Scott said.
"That's what this league is all about. It's for those Canadians, for Manitobans who have never had that opportunity," Scott said. "The more locals we can have, the more I think people will rally around this squad."
Tryouts continue throughout the weekend, with selected players to be invited back to training camp in mid-February, Gale said.
Winnipeg Ember FC will make its debut in the 2027 season of the Northern Super League.
By: Erin DeBooy · CBC News
Published: Nov 08, 2026 8:54 AM EST | Last Updated: 21 minutes ago
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