They say that where there’s smoke there is fire, and there has been a lot of smoke with Winnipeg’s Valour FC.
The Canadian Premier League side has been embattled by rumours that the club will cease operations ahead of the 2026 CPL season. Stoking the flame of worry is the fact that season tickets for next season remain unavailable, with some players saying they’re also left watching the rumours like the rest of the masses.
The Canadian Premier League did not respond to our request for comment on Valour continuing operations into the 2026 CPL season by press time. A trusted source, however, indicated their belief that the rumours of significant trouble for the club appear to be genuine.
As per 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 this past week seeing plenty of speculation ramp up about the club potentially folding.
Photo Credit: Canadian Premier League
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.
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The club finished sixth out of eight teams this year. 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.
Wade Miller had pleaded for patience from fans a couple of years ago, though it remains to be seen if he himself has run out. 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.
Photo Credit: John Jacques
The league’s only Manitoban club wouldn’t be the first Canadian Premier League club to shutter its doors: FC Edmonton suspended operations three seasons ago, and like the current Valour situation, the Eddies had been receiving a financial lifeline from the league in what was deemed an unsustainable fashion.
The league fast-tracked the arrival of Quebecois side FC Supra this season, so in a worst-case scenario the league will remain at eight teams – just as it did when Edmonton folded at the same time Vancouver FC came in. The CPL had originally aimed to have fourteen to sixteen clubs by the time the World Cup rolled around in 2026, but presently just keeping things at an even eight teams has proven to be an uphill battle. In the seven seasons since launch, they’ve added three teams but will have lost two if Valour FC does wind up folding.
With the 2026 CPL-U SPORTS Draft set to take place next Friday, fans will see a confirmation of club health one way or the other: if the club is there, next year will appear to be on for them. If they aren’t at the draft because there is no 2026 for them, an announcement beforehand about why not surely have to come beforehand. Simply put, it would not make sense to draft players if you won’t be there for the season you’re drafting for.
The fact that Valour potentially folding is feasible at face value says plenty on its own – in a healthy club, it wouldn’t be a consideration. Whatever happens, the fact that fans and press alike are driven to legitimately wonder if the club will be left standing next year amidst radio silence from the league is not a good indicator of health.
More information to come as the situation progresses.
Header Image Photo Credit: Canadian Premier League
