Minnesota Aurora FC have been plenty successful, both on and off the field, in their short history. Unfortunately, when it comes to making a step up from the “pre-professional” USL W League to the country’s top women’s professional league, the NWSL, that success takes a back seat to what really makes the soccer world go round: money.
Thursday, the club sent a letter to its community owners, acknowledging that Aurora are dropping out of the bid process for the NWSL’s 16th franchise. Whoever that team is, debuting alongside Boston in 2026, it won’t be the Aurora.
“The process is extremely complex, and while we had a strong investment group, circumstances out of our control kept us from pursuing the bid at this time,” the team’s statement said. “There remains strong interest by investors to support Minnesota Aurora going pro.”
It’s a setback for women’s soccer in Minnesota, a movement that seemed destined to end with an NWSL franchise on the field in the Twin Cities. The Aurora have drawn widespread attention beyond anyone’s expectations, regularly filling the bleachers at TCO Stadium in Eagan for a non-professional soccer team. And at least in the regular season, the team has rewarded those fans; after three years, the Aurora still haven’t lost a regular-season match, though they haven’t made progress in the national playoffs.
“We’re coming at this from such a different angle,” said Andrea Yoch, the Aurora’s co-founder. “The fact that the NWSL has been very open to us and our community ownership model is really saying something about what we’ve built. We want everybody to really be proud that you know, three years in, we were being seriously considered to go pro, and the economics just didn’t work.”
The next step for Aurora is somewhat unclear; for the moment, the club is regrouping and assessing its options. The USL is launching a women’s professional league of its own this fall, which could potentially give Minnesota another option for the future – but not for right now.
Given the fast growth and exploding franchise values in the NWSL, it seems unlikely that the league will stop at just 16 teams. Minnesota could have a future in the big leagues – just not in 2026.
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Publish date : 2024-08-15 09:00:00
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