Toronto awarded WNBA expansion team for 2026 season

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The WNBA will expand internationally for the first time after selecting Toronto to be the home of its next team, Sportsnet can confirm.

CBC’s Shireen Ahmed was the first to report the agreement. An official announcement is expected later this month, according to Ahmed.

The Toronto WNBA team will be owned by Kilmer Sports Inc., which is led by MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum. The team is expected to enter the league in two years, in May of 2026, according to Ahmed.

Toronto will be the 14th franchise in the WNBA. The 13th team, based in San Francisco, will enter the league next season.

Toronto hosted a WNBA pre-season game in front of a sold-out crowd of 19,923 at Scotiabank Arena last May. Last week, the WNBA returned to Canada for a pre-season game in Edmonton with more than 16,000 tickets sold.

Interest in the WNBA is growing at an accelerated rate and will further be boosted by an infusion of rookie star power this season, headlined by Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark and Chicago Sky star Angel Reese. Last week, the WNBA announced it would be providing full-time charter flights to all its teams for the first time, a sign that the business of women’s basketball has never been stronger.