Episode 117: LDG Interviews AFC Toronto and Canadian Defender Kaela Hansen!

In this episode, LDG Interviews Kaela Hansen! Kaela is a defender for AFC Toronto, one of the six clubs in the inaugural season of the Northern Super League, Canada’s first-ever women’s professional soccer league. A young player from Burnaby, British Columbia, Kaela played with the Canadian youth national teams at the U-17 and U-20 levels, including at the 2016 U-17 Women’s World Cup in Cameroon. After her time with the Kansas Jayhawks, where she played the most minutes and games in program history while studying Sports Management with a minor in business, Kaela pursued a professional soccer career with stints in Serbia and Finland. She joined the Toronto side as one of their first players signed in December of 2024 and is now a key part of the current league leaders' backline.

We chatted about her time with AFC Toronto so far, the importance of having a domestic professional women's soccer league in your country, her time playing on the Canadian youth national teams with players who are now senior team regulars, and much more!

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