The Canadian Women's Hockey League will discontinue operations effective May 1, 2019, due to financial concerns, the league announced Sunday.

"Unfortunately the business model that has been the foundation of the League is not sustainable financially," the release states.

The CWHL is comprised of six teams, with four based in Canada (Toronto, Markham, Montreal, and Calgary), one in the United States (Worcester), and one in China (Shenzhen).

It was founded in 2007 by players and members of the community.

The National Women's Hockey League, which contains five teams - all in the United States - is now the lone professional women's hockey league in North America.

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