TORONTO — Jade Kovacevic, a veteran forward who has scored goals at home and abroad, is the first player signing revealed by the new Northern Super League.
The 30-year-old from Acton, Ont., has joined AFC Toronto, one of six teams scheduled to kick off the fledgling women's pro soccer league in April.
"I'm so excited. It's a dream come true for me," Kovacevic said.
Kovacevic, who spent a year playing collegiate soccer at LSU and had overseas stints in Hungary and Italy, has been waiting a long time to play professionally at home. While she bided her time, the former Canadian youth international set scoring records in League1 Ontario and has given back to the sport by coaching youth.
She has also come back from a ruptured Achilles suffered in a game in May 2023.
"We're thrilled to have Jade as our first signing," AFC Toronto coach Marko Milanovic said in a statement. "She’s always trained like a professional, even without a domestic league to play in, and it’s that commitment, her goal-scoring ability and leadership that will help us establish our presence in the league."
Kovacevic holds the all-time scoring record in League1 Ontario with more than 170 goals, earning five Golden Boot awards and four MVP crowns. Her League1 Ontario resume includes stints with FC London (twice), Vaughan Azzurri and most recently the North Toronto Nitros, where she doubled as coach of the club's League1 reserves and League 2 program.
Bu she put coaching aside in March to focus on playing, with an eye to the new league coming on board.
"I don't want to regret not doing something when I can't do it any more," Kovacevic said. "And I know I don't have maybe as many years left in me as I wish I did and I want to take advantage of this opportunity. … I focused on my playing career, took this season as seriously as I could coming off of an Achilles rupture.
"And the stars aligned and the hard work paid off. I'm very very grateful to be sitting in this set."
A cerebral forward, Kovacevic likes to operate on the shoulder of defenders, looking to make runs and anticipate passes.
"I like to think that one of my strong suits is being able to see things before they happen," she said.
Born in Hamilton, Kovacevic spent 10 years in Flamboro before moving to Acton. She also played youth soccer in Georgetown and Oakville before joining the Toronto Lady Lynx.
"Jade’s leadership and her connection to the community will be an asset to AFC Toronto,” said NSL co-founder Diana Matheson.
Kovacevic spent one season at LSU where she was named to the 2012 SEC (Southern Conference) All-Freshman Team and made Second-Team All-SEC. But she did not find the school a good fit and felt her football wasn't progressing.
Plus she found she wanted to be closer to home. "Turns out I'm a big family girl," she said.
Kovacevic found a home at Fanshawe College in London, Ont., loving both the school's business program and football team.
"You were treated like a D1 athlete at Fanshawe and they put a lot of emphasis on making sure it felt like a professional environment," she said.
Coming to classes of 15 to 20 students was also welcome after classes of 400 to 500 south of the border.
She had two stints on the Falcons soccer team, returning to do an advanced diploma after studying business marketing. In-between, in 2019, she spent half a season playing for Roma in the Italian second division.
"The time of my life," she said with gusto. "I lived in the suburbs of Rome, about a 20-minute subway ride from Vatican City. It was just fantastic, I was there for six or seven months, helped the team grow a little bit, learned a little bit of Italian, fell in love with the lifestyle and the culture."
But financially, it was not enough to support her. She had run into the same problem in an earlier three-month stint in Hungary in 2017 with Gyori ETO, located about an hour outside Budapest.
Back home in Ontario, she settled in London where she began her own private coaching company during the pandemic. She also coached FC London's youth sides while playing for the club.
"London has been incredible to me," she said. "The fans there, the supporters of the game, FC London, they really helped feed the passion that I have for the game."
Kovacevic represented Canada at the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in 2010 in Trinidad and Tobago and the U-20 World Cup in 2012.
At one point she roomed with Canadian striker Adriana Leon. Kovacevic also grew up playing with and against current Canadian stars Kadeisha Buchanan and Ashley Lawrence.
And she would love to renew such acquaintances.
"I would love a shot at the (Canadian) senior level," Kovacevic said.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
