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21 November 2025
After two years of paying the bills, Canadian Premier League pulls the plug on Valour
After two years of financing Valour FC, the Canadian Premier League has called time on the Winnipeg-based team. The league announced Friday that Valour, one of its original franchises, is closing shop. "I think it's a case of a step back to take a leap forward," said James Johnson, Group CEO of Canadian Soccer Business which shares ownership with the CPL. "A difficult day today for the CPL and of course, in particular, Winnipeg. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW "Having said that though, it's not indicative of the rest of the league and the rest of the business. It's a tough call. Its one when we're sitting down and planning out what we want 2026 to look like, we've got to make decisions around where we invest. And we couldn't justify effectively running the club for a third year because we need to invest in other areas." Valour -- owned by the Winnipeg Football Club, the non-profit, community-owned organization that runs the CFL's Blue Bombers -- has been on shaky ground for some time. In April 2024, the Bombers reported that Valour had lost $1.25 million the previous year, noting the club's finances continued to be uncertain. In 2022, the Bombers reported a $950,000 loss from operating the soccer team. Valour, which finished sixth in the eight-team league last season at 7-16-5, was not on the WFC's books this year. The Canadian Premier League covered the club's operating costs in 2024, with a similar agreement in place this season. The CPL noted that it will remain an eight-team league in 2026 with the addition of expansion FC Supra du Québec. 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. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 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. 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. Johnson believes soccer will return to Winnipeg, if certain conditions are met. "It's a market that we believe in. But it's also a market that needs a different solution on the ground there. It's a market that we can think can do a lot better that what we've seen in the past few years." A soccer-specific stadium is needed. Valour has been playing at the 32,340-capacity Princess Auto Stadium that is home to the Bombers. 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. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW After visiting Winnipeg, Johnson believes the Manitoba capital can sustain a soccer team in the right conditions. "There's 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 ... I think that Winnipeg is a good market. "It's just not there at the moment. It's going to take some time to get a stadium in place and to also get a new ownership group." 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. In March 2023, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) ruled in favour of OneSoccer, saying that Rogers, by refusing to carry OneSoccer, "has given an undue preference to itself and to other services comparable to OneSoccer, and has subjected OneSoccer to a disadvantage." But that ruling has yet to bear fruit. "There are no updates," Johnson said of the long-running dispute. "What I could say is that had there been an update, we wouldn't be making this (Valour) announcement today." ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Rogers has argued that there are "valid commercial reasons" for refusing to distribute OneSoccer, saying the channel has "limited appeal to Canadian consumers." OneSoccer's parent company Timeless Inc., is owned by Scott Mitchell, chairman of both the CPL and Canadian Soccer Business -- - This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2025. Read more on the Canadian Premier League at thestar.com Sports Headlines Follow every exhilarating win and heartbreaking loss with our Sports Headlines newsletter Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. Please enter a valid email address. Sign Up This newsletter is only available for subscribers. If you are already a subscriber, please login now. If you want to become subscriber, please click here Yes, I'd also like to receive customized content suggestions and promotional messages from the Star. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Sports Headlines You're signed up! You'll start getting Sports Headlines in your inbox soon. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page.
21 November 2025
Guardiola backs healthy Man City to compete for all 4 trophies
Pep Guardiola has backed Manchester City to challenge in all four competitions this season if his squad can avoid injuries. City have fixtures in the Premier League, Champions League and EFL Cup before Christmas. They will enter the FA Cup in the third round in January. - Pep Guardiola sends bullish title warning to Arsenal, Liverpool - Reranked: Who is the MVP for each of the top Premier League clubs? - Former Man City midfielder Fernandinho retires Guardiola's side struggled to cope when the squad was decimated by injury last season. But he believes the depth he now has available should mean he can field strong teams in every competition. "If we continue with the squad fit, we will compete in every single game and every single competition," Guardiola told a news conference on Friday. "I don't have any doubts about that. Last season we were not able to compete in even one competition. "Of course, during the process there are injuries. We know that. But we feel we can compete in every competition, be solid, or try. At least try, that's for sure." Guardiola is set to be without both Rodri and Mateo Kovacic for the trip to Newcastle on Saturday. Kovacic missed the Club World Cup in the summer after undergoing surgery on an Achilles injury and Guardiola has confirmed the 31-year-old will be sidelined for a further spell after having another operation on an ankle problem. "He made an incredible effort and he played with pain before the surgery but he could not continue," said the City boss. "Always you have niggles and have pain, that's normal. But not the limitations before he had the surgery and hopefully he can recover well."
21 November 2025
Son meets Messi in season-opening MLS showdown
Son Heung-min of Los Angeles FC is set to face Lionel Messi of Inter Miami, widely regarded as one of football's greatest players. According to the 2026 Major League Soccer schedule released Nov. 21, Los Angeles FC will open the season against Inter Miami at 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 22 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles. Son and Messi are the marquee stars of Major League Soccer. Messi, who joined Inter Miami in 2023, scored 20 goals and had 16 assists in the 2024 regular season and won the 2025 scoring title with 29 goals. Son, who left Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premier League after 10 seasons and joined Major League Soccer in August, quickly established himself as a leading player in the Western Conference, scoring nine goals and providing three assists in 10 regular-season matches. MLS listed the season opener between LAFC and Inter Miami as one of the top 10 must-see games of the 2026 season. Reflecting the magnitude of the matchup, the game will be held at the LA Memorial Coliseum instead of LAFC's usual home, BMO Stadium. The Coliseum, with a seating capacity of 77,500, is a multipurpose venue that hosts American football and track and field events. It also is slated to host the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The stadium is more than three times larger than BMO Stadium, which seats 22,000. The upcoming matchup between Son and Messi will be their first official meeting in seven years. Their last encounter came during the 2018-19 UEFA Champions League group stage, when Messi's FC Barcelona earned one win and one draw against Son's Tottenham Hotspur. Inter Miami and LAFC both reached the Eastern and Western Conference semifinals of the 2025 MLS Cup playoffs. If both teams advance through their conference finals to the championship match, Son and Messi could face each other again sooner on the field. Before facing Messi, Son must first get past Bayern Munich legend Thomas Müller, now with Vancouver. LAFC will play a single-elimination match against Vancouver on Nov. 23 for a spot in the conference final. Müller, a longtime Munich icon, appeared in 756 matches and scored 250 goals. Since joining Vancouver in August, he has scored seven goals in seven regular-season matches. This is not the first meeting between Son and Müller. The two faced each other in the 2024 Coupang Play Series held in South Korea last August, when Bayern Munich defeated Tottenham 2-1. In the third match of the group stage at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, which South Korea won 2-0, Son scored a stoppage-time goal that eliminated Germany and ended Müller's tournament run. In a recent interview with British outlet TalkSport, Müller said, "When Son was playing for Hamburg or Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, we at Munich always dominated by scores like 8-2 or 9-1." 한종호기자 hjh@donga.com
21 November 2025
'Fine the singers, too': Guardiola's joking dig at Manchester City penalties for late restarts
Pep Guardiola has lamented the Premier League's strict rules that have led to Manchester City being fined more than £3m for 30 late second-half restarts in the past three seasons, jokingly bemoaning that Burna Boy did not suffer a similar fate after delaying the kick-off in the 2023 Champions League final. City play at Newcastle on Saturday evening, beginning a hectic schedule in which they will play twice a week until mid-January. They travelled to the north-east on Friday afternoon, leading to a change in routine at the Etihad Campus and an early pre-match press conference in order to comply with Premier League rules and avoid another punitive fee. Asked how many fines he has previously received, Guardiola said: "A lot. Sometimes I arrive one minute later but the rules are the rules. We are training later and if we train at 12 until 1.30, I cannot be here [at the press conference] in time. The Premier League don't allow me at 2pm. The club said if I don't start by 2pm they will fine me or fine the club. "We paid a lot of money as I'm late at half-time, but when we played in the Champions League final they had a show before the game and they are always late. They have to fine the singers! That is why I decided 9am and the journalists have had their breakfast and will need to take a coffee." City brushed aside champions Liverpool in their last Premier League game before the international break. It was an indication that they are ready to challenge for the title after a disappointing campaign last season and are boosted by having only the midfielders Rodri and Mateo Kovacic missing for the trip to St James' Park. "If we continue the squad fit, we'll compete every single game and every single competition, I don't have any doubts about that," Guardiola said. Erling Haaland, who helped Norway secure their first World Cup qualification in 28 years this week, is leading City's pursuit of a seventh title in nine seasons and his next goal will be his 100th in the Premier League. "He's incredible this season, he's breaking all the records, personal and individual records, Premier League records, for Norway," Guardiola said. "Happy for him, his national team, many of the squad for Norway weren't even born the last time Norway were in the World Cup. "For the country it's incredible, an incredible qualification scoring a lot of goals. As a football player, world-class player, he deserves to play a World Cup and live the experience. I'm so happy for him."