Ontario Expanding Opportunities for Girls in Sport
- May 5
- 4 min read
Province’s $480,000 investment in Canadian Women & Sport will help more girls stay active and healthy
News Release | May 5th, 2026
ETOBICOKE — The Ontario government is investing $480,000 in Canadian Women & Sport’s The Next Play Program to expand affordable and inclusive sport and recreation opportunities for nearly 3,500 girls across the province. This made-for-Ontario initiative will provide community sport organizations with the resources needed to support the next generation of female athletes to train and grow their skills.
“Our government is proud to partner with organizations like Canadian Women & Sport that are breaking down barriers and getting more girls and young women involved in sport and recreation,” said Neil Lumsden, Minister of Sport. “With professional women’s leagues like the PWHL, the Northern Super League and the WNBA now calling Ontario home, there are more pathways than ever before for young women to pursue a career in high-performance sports.”
Supported by the Ontario government, Canadian Women & Sport works with sport leaders, organizations and communities to encourage more girls and young women to participate in sport and physical activity. Since 2022, The Next Play has partnered with 270 organizations to support nearly 10,000 girls in sports across Ontario, helping ensure female athletes of all backgrounds can participate, build skills and reach their full potential.
“Sport plays a critical role in shaping confidence, connection and wellbeing for young people,” said Allison Sandmeyer‑Graves, CEO of Canadian Women & Sport. “Our research shows that when girls have positive sport and recreation experiences, they are more likely to build confidence, develop leadership skills and stay physically active throughout their lives. We’re grateful for the partnership and support of our long-standing funding partner Government of Ontario, which allows The Next Play to turn that evidence into action by helping community organizations create environments where girls feel they belong and are supported to stay engaged.”
The announcement comes as Toronto prepares to welcome its new WNBA team, the Toronto Tempo, for its inaugural season beginning May 8, 2026, a milestone that highlights the growing opportunities for women and girls in professional sport and reinforces the importance of strong grassroots pathways.
Quick Facts
The Next Play provides Ontario organizations with girl‑centred training, program design support and grants to attract and retain girls in sport.
This year’s cohort of 65 organizations spans 39 municipalities across the Greater Toronto Area, Central, Eastern and Northern Ontario, and will support approximately 3,500 children and youth.
Since its inception in 2021-22, the Inclusive Grassroots Recreation (IGR) program has provided more than 100,000 children and youth across Ontario with opportunities to participate in sport and recreation programming in their communities.
The Ontario government invests over $23 million annually to support local, inclusive physical activity programming, including: Ontario’s After School Program, the Inclusive Grassroots Recreation (IGR) program, the Community Aboriginal Recreation Activator Program (CARA), the Sport Pathway for Ontario Native Wellness and Variety Village.
Ontario is investing $500 million through the Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund to help revitalize existing local sport and recreation facilities and build new spaces so more people can participate and stay active.
Quotes
"Our government is ensuring that young women and girls across Ontario have greater access to the life-changing benefits of sport. We are breaking down barriers, expanding opportunities, and building on the legacy of strong women role models in Ontario. Through targeted investments in programs like The Next Play and partnerships with Canadian Women & Sport, we are creating a real pathway to success so that every girl has the chance to compete, lead, and thrive." - Charmaine Williams Associate Minister of Women’s Social & Economic Opportunity
"Investments like The Next Play matter because they ensure that professional opportunities don’t exist in isolation — they’re connected to strong, inclusive grassroots systems where girls first discover what’s possible. As Ontario prepares to welcome the Tempo this week as Canada’s first WNBA team and the first outside the US, it’s programs like this that make moments like ours meaningful. When girls can see role models at the highest level and feel supported in their own communities, sport becomes a place where they belong, grow, and lead." - Teresa Resch President, Toronto Tempo
"Lay-Up is grateful to be a recipient of The Next Play funding which supports our mission to equip women and girls with the skills, confidence, and relationships they need to navigate real-world challenges. Through sport for development, we’re not only helping participants grow athletically, but preparing them for employment, wellbeing, and meaningful contribution in their communities." - Micaëlla Riché Executive Director of Lay-Up
"We have participated in The Next Play for the last couple of years and the benefits have been twofold: for me as a newcomer to Canada, the community of practice sessions have been absolutely invaluable — connecting and brainstorming with other sport leaders facing similar challenges and working to make the world better, and also, the financial support has allowed us to elevate our programming for women across our spectrum of programs, especially our scholarships allowing women of colour and newcomers to achieve their dreams in sport." - Mahdi Ghararizadeh Mahani Coach, 6Tigers Academy Inc.
"Participating in The Next Play will help us strengthen our ability to deliver truly inclusive, girl-centred programming. While we have strong participation, we see an opportunity to deepen our approach to gender inclusion across our policies, coach training, and program delivery. The training and Community of Practice will support our leaders in building confidence and practical strategies to better engage and support diverse participants. We are particularly interested in enhancing our program design and coach training to ensure all participants feel safe, respected, and able to fully participate." - Carol Edelkoort Executive Director, Fit Active Beautiful Foundation
"The Next Play will strengthen our ability to design and deliver high-quality, gender-inclusive programming for girls in our community. It will help us improve our coaching practices, increase retention of girls in sport, and build stronger leadership capacity within our organization. The training and funding will allow us to expand culturally safe, girls-only programming and remove barriers such as access, confidence, and representation." - Shukri Abdulwahed Administrative & Case Management Worker, Somali Community in Hamilton
