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Shelina Zadorsky is coming home.
The 33-year old central defender, who had been playing with West Ham of the Women’s Super League in the U.K., has signed with AFC Toronto in the Northern Super League, the team announced on Wednesday.
Zadorsky says she felt an alignment with the club and saw the potential to “create really, really meaningful relationships” while using her experience as a leader in that environment.
The native of London, Ont., has spent her entire career (and half her life) outside of Canada. Her first appearance with the senior women’s national team came in 2013 after being part of the program’s youth ranks.
“I felt that pull,” Zadorsky said. “Seeing Project Eight into the Northern Super League, and being really inspired by creating football culture and growing football in Canada, and it just felt like the right time to help grow that, and a really good opportunity to work and live in Toronto again.”
She spent her college days playing at the University of Michigan and then played with the USL W-League before moving to Australia’s A-League Women (formerly known, also, as the W-League).
Zadorsky moved to the top division in Sweden and then to the U.S. with the NWSL. She was on loan to the Tottenham Hotspur in England’s Women’s Super League in 2020 and then to West Ham United F.C.
Canadian women’s national team star Shelina Zadorsky has come home to play for AFC Toronto in the Northern Super league.
After battling serious health issues in 2022, she was named to the 2023 Women’s World Cup squad and the 2024 Paris Olympic team. She suffered an ankle injury in December 2025 but has made a full recovery.
Despite an offer to extend her contract with West Ham, she chose to come home to play professionally in the NSL.
“I’ve loved [being able to play overseas], and I wouldn’t change that, but now seeing the full journey and that full kind of circle,” she said.
“I think home is always in you, and it’s always about the people, and you create homes all over the world. But ultimately, like those close ties kind of pull you back, home is really calling you back. I am glad I’ve been able to listen to that and follow that.”
An Olympic gold medallist, Zadorsky was following the growth of the NSL and after conversations with her agent, along with AFC Toronto sporting director Billy Wilson and head coach Marko Milanović, she felt it was the right fit.
“They speak highly of what they’re creating, as any club wants to do,” she said. “I want to be the best I can be, but I also pride myself on helping the cohesion, helping push players … I want to win, and I want to compete for trophies, and compete to be the best in the league. I think this team has the potential for that.”
Wilson says that it’s not only her technical skills but her knowledge and experience that adds depth to an already solid backline.
Composure, experience, decision-making
“Shelina has consistently demonstrated at the highest level that she can take care of the ball, break lines with her passing, and progress play with composure,” Wilson said “She will give us a different dimension when building from the back while bringing the experience and decision-making that comes from competing at the highest levels of the game.”
Zadorsky also finds special meaning in being able to share this next chapter with friend and senior teammate, Sabrina D’Angelo, who just announced her own AFC Toronto signing in June in a CBC Sports exclusive. Zadorsky and D’Angelo will both be eligible to play in July.
Zadorsky said that along with close friends and family, D’Angelo is one of the people she told about her decision.
“It’s that stability and comfort and excitement to share new memories together, knowing someone deeply,” Zadorsky explained. “But then it’s also the football side of it, knowing how each other operate, how we work, how we communicate to each other, when we need to push each other, just having that comfort right off the bat is incredible.”
In addition to winning the league and a championship, Zadorsky’s goals with the senior team are to remain healthy, ready and, “be the best for the team, in whatever role that is” when she is called upon.
It is a World Cup qualifying year and Zadorsky believes in being centred and realistic.
“I don’t set a timeline or anything like that, of you know, when is the next chapter or whatnot, in terms of the national team. I just want to be at my best, be available, help the team in any way I can, in any role … and really push the team forward,” she said.
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