BREAKING: Valour FC Suspends Operations

It’s official: the Canadian Premier League has confirmed that Valour FC is suspending operations.

Club owners Winnipeg Football Club informed the league of their intention to suspend operations following the conclusion of the 2025 season. With the league unable to find a viable solution – and have gone down this road with FC Edmonton before – the decision was made to suspend operations and shutter the side.

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“Valour FC extends its deepest gratitude to its fans, especially its loyal season ticket members, corporate partners, and the Red River Rising supporters’ group, whose passion, commitment, and matchday energy have defined the Club since day one,” reads the a farewell statement from the side.

The outbound CPL club will fulfill its contractual obligations to players and staff through to the end of the calendar year, after which point all players currently contracted to Valour FC will become free agents.

The club will be refunding fans with ticket credits will receive full refunds.

A full statement from the Canadian Premier League reads as follow:

Valour FC’s ownership informed the Canadian Premier League of its intention to suspend operations following the 2025 season. The League has explored multiple avenues to maintain the club’s viability, engaging in discussions with potential investors and evaluating all feasible operational models. This included a thorough assessment of continuing the financial backing the League has provided to the club over the past two years.

Investing wisely means focusing resources where they create the greatest long-term impact for the League and the game. After review, it became clear that there is no sustainable path forward for Valour FC at this time.

This was not an easy decision, and we don’t take the impact on players, staff or fans lightly. We are focused on continuing to play our role in the progress of Canadian soccer, ensuring the game and our League can keep moving forward across the country for generations to come.

According to reports from the Winnipeg Free Press, the league has been covering the club’s operating losses for the owners since 2024. The club has failed to produce a profit in any of its years of operation, with rumours ramping up about the club folding this week ahead of today’s official confirmation.

Valour FC becomes the second Canadian Premier League side to cease operations, with FC Edmonton having done so following the 2022 CPL season. Similarly, the league was stepping in to help bear costs for ownership there in what was deemed an unsustainable environment.

See Also: Rob Gale – Valour Became ‘Inconvenience’ To Owners

With the arrival of FC Supra having been fast-tracked for 2026, the league will remain at eight teams heading into the next season. It will have gained three clubs in that time, but has lost two – leaving it a far cry from the 14-16 clubs the league once hoped to have when the 2026 FIFA World Cup came to town.

The Winnipeg-based side was actually middle of the league in terms of attendance this year, boasting an average of 3,213 – that’s a slight bump upwards of its 2024 numbers, but still nowhere close to the club’s 5,335 from its inaugural season. Wade Miller himself said years ago that the club needed to get attendance back over an average of 5,000 fans per game, a task more difficult by the club’s lackluster performances on the pitch and the general consensus that a lot more community investment ought to have been put forth by the side.

In the build-up to today’s announcement, it should be noted that local major news outlets did not pick up on the story of Valour’s impending troubles – a symptom of a club that ultimately failed to pick up widespread local interest.

See Also: Players, Staff React To Club Folding

The club finished sixth out of eight teams in its final season. Despite landing twelve points outside of playoffs, it was the side’s best finish since it cracked fifth place in 2021, more recently falling dead last in 2023 and 2024. It is the only league-founding club that has never tasted playoff action, with head coaches Rob Gale and Phillip Dos Santos never breaking that proverbial duck.

The Canadian Premier League launched with seven teams in 2019, and will march into season eight next year with eight clubs at the helm.

Valour departs without having made a playoff appearance, in similar fashion to the defunct FC Edmonton. Elsewhere, founding CPL side Pacific FC is currently looking for new owners, while York United will be facing its second rebrand in seven years later on this month.

Header Image Photo Credit: Canadian Premier League