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![\"Valour](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/8c9ba2f1b8fb8f7e309f4b0c78f707beecf2e6967018364aba04ce1b2e371c63.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tValour FC goalkeeper Eleias Himaras lies on the field after the Vancouver Whitecaps defeated Valour FC during a Canadian Championship quarterfinal soccer match, in Vancouver, B.C., Wednesday, July 9, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Darryl Dyck<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving said that though, it\u2019s not indicative of the rest of the league and the rest of the business. It\u2019s a tough call. Its one when we\u2019re sitting down and planning out what we want 2026 to look like, we\u2019ve got to make decisions around where we invest. And we couldn\u2019t justify effectively running the club for a third year because we need to invest in other areas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Valour \u2014 owned by the Winnipeg Football Club, the non-profit, community-owned organization that runs the CFL\u2019s Blue Bombers \u2014 has been on shaky ground for some time.<\/p>\n
In April 2024, the Bombers reported that Valour had lost $1.25 million the previous year, noting the club\u2019s finances continued to be uncertain. In 2022, the Bombers reported a $950,000 loss from operating the soccer team.<\/p>\n
Valour, which finished sixth in the eight-team league last season at 7-16-5, was not on the WFC\u2019s books this year. The Canadian Premier League covered the club\u2019s operating costs in 2024, with a similar agreement in place this season.<\/p>\n
The CPL noted that it will remain an eight-team league in 2026 with the addition of expansion FC Supra du Qu\u00e9bec.<\/p>\n
Johnson did not have an update on Pacific FC, which is up for sale. SixFive Sports & Entertainment, the current ownership group, also runs Vancouver FC.<\/p>\n
In a release, Valour thanked its fans, players and staff and said it would fulfil any contractual obligations for players and staff to the end of the year. Players under contract after the 2025 season will become free agents or return to their parent club. Ticket-holders will receive refunds.<\/p>\n
Valour is the second CPL team to pull the plug. FC Edmonton folded after the 2022 season, one year after the league took over the franchise.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Johnson believes soccer will return to Winnipeg, if certain conditions are met.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a market that we believe in. But it\u2019s also a market that needs a different solution on the ground there. It\u2019s a market that we can think can do a lot better that what we\u2019ve seen in the past few years.\u201d<\/p>\n
A soccer-specific stadium is needed. Valour has been playing at the 32,340-capacity Princess Auto Stadium that is home to the Bombers.<\/p>\n
With the Northern Super League looking to expand to Central and Western Canada, a Winnipeg venue conducive to soccer would be welcome on two fronts.<\/p>\n
After visiting Winnipeg, Johnson believes the Manitoba capital can sustain a soccer team in the right conditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of soccer-hungry people in the community that want to get behind a team that they believe in. So with the right ownership group in the future and with a stadium solution \u2026 I think that Winnipeg is a good market.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just not there at the moment. It\u2019s going to take some time to get a stadium in place and to also get a new ownership group.\u201d<\/p>\n
Having said that, Johnson believes the team would still be in Winnipeg if the ongoing battle with Rogers and the CRTC over OneSoccer, the subscription streaming service that carries CPL and Canada games as well as the Telus Canadian Championship, had been resolved.<\/p>\n
In March 2023, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) ruled in favour of OneSoccer, saying that Rogers, by refusing to carry OneSoccer, \u201chas given an undue preference to itself and to other services comparable to OneSoccer, and has subjected OneSoccer to a disadvantage.\u201d<\/p>\n
But that ruling has yet to bear fruit.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n
On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n