The significance of this summer's FIFA Women's World Cup goes far beyond Team Canada getting a chance to improve on its Olympic bronze medal on home soil.

The tournament could also serve as a major turning point when it comes to the success of high-level women's soccer in this country.

The surprise third-place finish at the 2012 London Olympics gave the popularity of the women's game a definite boost. But that interest still hasn't translated into opportunities for top female soccer players to develop in their own country. The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), where the bulk of the non-college Canadian team members play, only has American teams. The main summer option for the best Canadian NCAA players to come home, the W-League, lost four of its six Canadian clubs this off-season.

If Canada can go on a long run in this summer's World Cup -- held in six in cities across the country, including Ottawa, starting June 6 -- it could be enough to start seeing more investment in the sport in Canada. Or at least ramp up the conversation.

That's not lost on players like goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc, a national team veteran with 110 appearances to go along with her Olympic medal. At 34, she's been at it long enough to have played for the various professional leagues that have come through the United States, as well as the defunct Montreal Xtreme in the W-League.

"It's an ongoing battle, it's an ongoing struggle but at the end of the day that's what we hope the World Cup will change, we hope that people will come out and see the beauty of the game and they'll want to support it," LeBlanc said Wednesday following an appearance at Fisher Park Public School. "For us right now, our focus has to be on the World Cup and the things that can happen because of that."

LeBlanc, who grew up in British Columbia, currently plays for the NWSL's Chicago Red Stars and says she'd love to see the pro league expand north.

"That would be a dream, I'm from this country," she said. "The hope is that this World Cup opens up opportunities not just for ourselves but for future generations in the sport."

Former Canadian Women's National Team head coach Sylvie Beliveau said she was concerned when she heard about the shrinking W-League but remains optimistic that the void will be filled at some point.

"When I saw (the W-League departures) my first reaction was, and would be like anyone, what is going on?" Beliveau said Wednesday. "We've got to do something for our game beyond our women's national team."

And that's the key.

It's easy to get people excited about cheering for Canadian teams in most sports, especially when a tournament as big as the World Cup is in their backyard. But those same players all play elsewhere when they're not representing the maple leaf and it would be great to be able to see them play regularly for Canadians, Beliveau says.

"If you want to be an international player nowadays you almost have to go outside of the country; someone from France wouldn't say that," she said.

"Even on the U.S. side, having enough fans to watch the games is (a challenge). The big question is are people willing to go watch women's sports on a regular basis?"

While the World Cup may not settle that question for good, Beliveau, who has been at every Women's World Cup since the first in 1991, says it's an opportunity that shouldn't be missed.

"I'm so pleased this is coming to Canada," she said. "Television does not bring out what the game provides live."

LeBlanc, meanwhile, says her team's goals go beyond bringing home the hardware.

"Our greatest inspiration is to make Canada proud," she said. "We're going after something that's far greater than just winning, we want to inspire this nation."

SOCCER IN SCHOOLS

Students at an Ottawa school were in some esteemed soccer company Wednesday as they were given a pat on their back for their participation in a new physical education initiative.

Canadian Women's National Team goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc" spoke and played soccer with students at Fisher Park Public School at an announcement on the success of the Move Think Learn -- Soccer in Focus program.

More than 864,000 student in grades 4-9 participated in the program, which was introduced into phys-ed curriculums across Canada to celebrate the upcoming 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.

The program provides kids with soccer instruction that highlights "unique aspects" of the upcoming tournament with the goal of getting students "engaged, moving and learning the skills needed to participate in soccer."

LeBlanc shared her own story of navigating the soccer landscape on her way to becoming an Olympic bronze-medalist, which including being cut from the British Columbia provincial team as a 15-year-old.

"The kids are the reason why we do this, we want to inspire them to make them believe that anything's possible," she said. "It's incredible every time a kid sees that medal, it's almost like there's hope.-

Twitter: @chrishofley