This week, we look at news from Mexico with a review of the 2021-22 Liga MX FemenilClausura (Closing) Championship season. We have other news including another Liga MX Femenil player moving to Spain on loan as well as a world class Spanish international moving to the league from Barcelona, the women's national team for Mexico being included in the Mexican Federation's marketing agreement for the U.S. and Angel City FC partnering with Tigres of Monterrey at the club level. We also look at ESPN's annual global list of top 21 players who are 21 years of age or under, focusing on one American playing in Mexico, one Mexican national teamer playing in the U.S. and a few other interesting international players. We also discuss former Canadian international Carmelina Moscato being named as head coach and technical director of Tigres. We close with USL W League news with a team entering the league in 2023 from Oakland, California and discuss the Minnesota Aurora—which has seen phenomenal success at the gate and in raising funds in the W League this season—and their possible plans to move up to the professional ranks.
2021 Liga MX Femenil Clausura (Closing) season review
Chivas of Guadalajara, an iconic club in Mexico on the men's side for their long-time policy of using only Mexican-born players in a league that has long been a well-paying destination for players from throughout the Americas, won the 2021-22 Liga MX Femenil Clausura (Closing) title over Pachuca (4-3 on aggregate) in the Finals, their second title in league history. Ironically, their first title win in the 2017-18 Apertura (Opening Championship) was also over the Pachuca Gophers, 3-2 on aggregate that time, in the first season of the league.
For the playoffs, there was a lot of consistency between the teams from the Apertura and Clausura in 2021-22. The only sides that did not qualify for both campaigns' playoffs by missing out on the Clausura playoffs included Santos Laguna, which was 13th in the Clausura after finishing tied for sixth in the Apertura and Cruz Azul of Mexico City, who made the top 8 in the Apertura by finishing eighth but lost out on goal difference (-5 and -8) to Tijuana Xolos for the final spot in the Clausura. Two teams made the Clausura after missing out on an Apertura spot including 2021-22 Clausura finalists Pachuca, who missed the playoffs in the Apertura by one point but made it into the Clausura postseason by finishing fifth. UNAM Pumas of Mexico City finished tenth in the opening league but made the Clausura playoffs by finishing seventh.
Clausura Playoff Results
Quarterfinals
Note: Seeds are based on the regular season final table. In case of an aggregate tie in the playoffs, in lieu of penalties the higher seed wins the series.
#2 Guadalajara squeaked past #7 UNAM 5-4 on aggregate.
#3 UANL Tigres blasted #6 Atlas 9-1 on aggregate, winning 7-0 in first leg.
#1 Monterrey (2021-22 Apertura Champions) defeated #8 Tijuana 3-1 on aggregate.
#5 Pachuca defeated #4 Club America 4-2 on aggregate.
Semifinals
#2 Guadalajara tied #3 UANL (2021-22 Opening Championship playoff finalists) 2-2 on aggregate, as Guadalajara Chivas advanced due to their higher seeding in the regular season title.
#5 Pachuca edged #1 Monterrey 3-2 on aggregate.
Final
#2 Guadalajara defeated #5 Pachuca 4-3 on aggregate, with 40,462 attending the second leg in Guadalajara, after 19,348 attended the first leg in historic Estadio Hidalgo in Pachuca.
In the first leg in Pachuca on May 20, Mexican international Monica Ocampo scored once for both sides and Mexican international Alicia Cervantes (28)—who joined Guadalajara from Monterrey ahead of the 2020-21 season—scored in the last ten minutes of regulation time and then deep into injury time to give Guadalajara a 4-2 first leg win. Three days later, Lizbeth Angeles (31)—who has been with the Gophers since the first year of the league in 2017-18—scored on the hour mark but the 1-0 win left Pachuca as runner-up with a combined 4-3 aggregate loss.
Pachuca has won only one women's title before, for a domestic cup held in May 2017 before the launch of the league later in the year. The Copa MX Femenil only had 12 of the original 16 teams participating and Pachuca won with a 9-1 win over Club Tijuana in the final.
Chivas' semifinal victory over Tigres (who have won four titles and appeared in seven finals in total since the league started for the 2017-18 season) was crucial to their title. Tigres took a 2-0 series lead in the first leg in Monterrey in front of 11,106 at their El Volcán stadium. American youth international Mia Fishel headed the ball off of the post in the 62nd minute and into the goal. Nigerian international Uchenna Kanu doubled the lead in the 77th on a header from Belen Cruz's cross. Cruz (23) has been with the club since the league's start in 2017 and has over 125 appearances with Chivas; she also has a few caps with the Mexican women's national team since 2021.
Chivas Guadalajara took the second semifinal match in front of 8,338 with Fishel having to leave the match for Tigres in the 38th minute. Six minutes later Karol Bernal was unmarked on a free kick and headed the ball in the 86th minute. Caro Jaramillo (a Mexican international who joined Chivas for the 2020-21 season from Tigres) sent a cross into the box that Kimberly Guzmán knocked past long-time Mexican national team goalkeeper Cecilia Santiago, who has played professionally in the U.S., Cyprus, Iceland and the Netherlands and joined Tigres this season from PSV Eindhoven, where she only played five matches in two seasons. The 2-0 win deadlocked the tie and their second place Clausura table placement (by four points) over third place Tigres sent Chivas into the Final.
Pachuca also had an exciting semifinal series to defeat Clausura regular season table toppers Monterrey. Pachuca took a 2-0 lead in the first leg at home with two goals by Charlyn Corral in the first half, who has over 50 caps for the national side and played in the U.S., Finland and Spain. Rayados tied the aggregate score 2-2 in the second leg with second half goals by Yamille Franco and a penalty kick from Rebecca Bernal (both full internationals). If the game had remained tied for the remaining 33 minutes and injury time, Monterrey would have advanced for their higher seeding, but Viridiana Salazar scored in the 59th minute—two minutes after Bernal—and the Gophers held on to their 3-2 aggregate win. Salazar has played over 125 matches for Pachuca since their first season in the women's league. Goalkeeper Esthefanny Barreras of Pachuca was born in Phoenix, went to the Phoenix Community College and the University of West Florida and has one cap from Mexico's women's national team in 2016 .
2021-2022 Liga MX FemenilClausura Leading Scorers :
Alicia Cervantes, Guadalajara 14
Charlyn Corral, Pachuca 13
Scarlett Camberos (U.S.), Club America 11
Stephany Mayor, UANL 11
Uchenna Kanu (Nigeria), UANL 10
Daniela Calderon, Leon 9
Destinney Duron (U.S.) Toluca 9
Adriana Iturbide, Atlas 9
Katty Martinez, America 9
Desiree Monsivais, Monterrey 9
Scarlotte Camberos was a revelation during the Clausura, as the American tied for third in the Golden Boot race after signing for Club America in late December 2021, after she finished her collegiate career at the University of California-Irvine. Camberos in 2021 had 13 goals, seven assists, three game-winners, and 33 points which included a pair of hat tricks at UCI. Camberos said, "I'm super excited to start this new journey as a professional soccer player! I couldn't have asked for a better opportunity than starting my professional career off at Club América, one of the biggest teams on the continent." Camberos joined fellow UCI Anteater alums Janelly Farías and Kiana Palacios at CA. Farías has been in the Mexican League since 2019 and joined up with Club América in 2021. Palacios joined Farías and América shortly after in 2021 as well.
Club America signed another Los Angeles area player in former California State University-Northridge Destinney Duron back in 2020 but she has since blossomed for Toluca Las Diablas, who she joined later in the season. At Cal State-Northridge, she played in 57 games and had 11 career points, with 9 assists for the Matadors, utilizing a long throw-in for dangerous chances on goal. She also won a 2016 UWS national championship with Santa Clarita Blue Heat in 2016. Duran went through tryouts with the team before being offered a professional contract by CA. Duran talked about the differences she has found in the game in Mexico while with the club, "The game is different, faster and more physical. One of the biggest dilemmas is the altitude here. In Mexico City, the altitude is over 7,000 feet so that's been a big obstacle to get my body prepared to play." She explained that she has had to fight back from multiple injuries to make it to the pros, "After going through two ACL injuries and to be able to play professionally is a big accomplishment for me and it really hits home….I couldn't play at the highest level at times but I've been able to overcome that and continue to play."
Destinney Duron signed professional forms with Club America for the 2021-22 Liga MX FemenilClausura Season. Photo courtesy California State University-Northridge
Duron, who has done so well for Toluca—interestingly the city is even higher than Mexico City and the men's national team used to hold international matches there for years as a key advantage over low-lying CONCACAF sides—is even on the preliminary 60-person squad for the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship Finals this month in Monterrey. Seventy-five percent (45) of the players are with clubs in Mexico while 10 are Stateside (5 in the NWSL and 5 in college) with 2 in Spain and 1 each in France, the Netherlands and Portugal). Duron is probably a long-shot to make the national team this year, but her considerable progress in Mexico in a few years after an injury-filled career at a minor university (football-wise) should be encouraging to other players who are considering going abroad, particularly who can play for multiple national teams.
Destinney Duran (#24 in red) attempts a shot on goal for Toluca in LigaMX Femenil action. Photo courtesy Toluca FC.
Other news
San Luis' Stefi Jimenez goes to Atletico Madrid in Spain during the offseason
Goalkeeper Stefi Jiménez has left Atletico San Luis (who missed playoffs in both halves of the 2021-22 campaign) to join Atlético Madrid for a training stint during the offseason.
Jimenez partially tore her ACL during the season, but didn't need the several months of rehabilitation. Stefi Jimenez is also one of the most popular Mexican players on social media, with just over 850,000 followers on Instagram, over 660,000 more than followers of the Liga MX Femenil women's club site.
Spanish international Jennifer Hermoso (32), who was selected for Spain's Women's EURO side this summer but was forced to miss the tournament through an knee injury, has signed with Puebla of Mexico's Liga MX Femenil. This is a huge credibility boost for the Mexican League, entering its sixth season. After allowing two internationals per team for the first-time last season, the quota was expanded to four for the 2022-23 season and Hermoso's signing will certainly draw the interest and consideration of other world class players in the league. Her contract is reportedly for one year and will make Hermoso the best-paid player in Liga MX Femenil, at an estimated $125,000 a year plus potential sponsorship revenue. Currently, the top earner in the league is Club America's striker Katty Martínez with a salary around $90,000 per year.
Hermoso is the all-time leading scorer with Barcelona (70 goals) and for Spain (45 goals). Besides Spain, she has played in Sweden with Tyreso, in France with Paris St. Germain and now in Mexico. She has won seven Primera División championships in Spain, a UEFA Women's Champions League title with Barcelona in 2020-21, and appearances in two Women's World Cups with Spain. She scored 16 goals last season in 23 matches for Barca to finish in a tie for fifth in the league among the top scorers.
Former Canadian international Carmelina Moscato takes over the Tigres Femenil Coaching Job
Carmelina Moscata, who played over 90 matches as a defender for Canada, and played for teams at home, in Italy, Sweden, Australia and the NWSL after playing collegiately at Penn State, has been named the new coach for Tigres of Liga MX Femenil. After coaching Canadian national youth teams, she coached a season at Nordsjaelland's women's side in Denmark, finishing sixth in the regular season with a 4-4-6 record for 16 points, but improving to fourth in the Championship round with a 3-4-3 record for 13 points—29 overall). She will also be the technical director at Tigres women and is the first woman and non-Mexico to hold the position. On the administrative side, she worked with the Illawarra Stingrays of the NPLW in Sydney and was a commissioner of League1 Ontario Women's Division (the senior amateur league in the province) and was Director of women's football for the Bahamas Football Association for a short time in 2021.
Angel City partners with Tigres Femenil for first NWSL partnership with Liga MX Femenil
In late May, Angel City FC—the NWSL expansion franchise in Los Angeles that has been such a marketing force ahead of their first season—announced a two-year partnership with Tigres Femenil of Mexico's Liga MX Femenil, the first cross-border relationship of its kind between clubs in North America's two biggest women's soccer leagues. The partnership will include two friendlies, the first at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles on August 10 and the second in Monterrey, Mexico, next season. The organizations also will cooperate in other endeavors, engaging ideas on best practices in sport and on issues of business and social responsibility. A major focus of the partnership, Angel City said, is community-impact events featuring fans, civic organizations and soccer clubs in the two cities
The Houston Dash played exhibitions with Tigres in 2019 and 2021 and UNAM Pumas in Mexico City recently during the 2022 preseason.
Tigres, in its sixth season, is already iconic at home, having won four league championships while finishing atop the regular-season standings four times. In 2018, it played before a record crowd of 51,211 in Monterrey in the second leg of the Clausura playoff final.
Tigres president Mauricio Culebro said in a statement, "It is an honor to make this alliance with Angel City, a young franchise with a huge push. We have found similar objectives in the search to continue promoting women's football. We want to turn Tigres Femenil into one of the most renowned teams at an international level, and this type of alliance allows us to get closer to that goal."
A Liga MX Femenil player with Tigres—American Mia Fishel of Tigres at number 19—made ESPN's annual top 21 best women players 21 years of age or under, while an NWSL-based Mexican international—Diana Ordonez of the North Carolina Courage at number 16—also made the list (see below). In her first year as a professional, Fishel (ex-UCLA) has been a revelation, with eight goals in 14 regular-season appearances. In a subsequent Liga MX Femenil playoff run that recently ended in the semifinals, the 21-year-old had four goals in four Liguilla matches. Ordonez (ex-University of Virginia) has played internationally at the youth level for the U.S. and at the full level for Mexico; she has two goals in six regular season matches as of June 18 with the Courage in the 2022 regular season.
Mexico's Women's National Team is included in the Mexican Federation's U.S. marketing contract
Mexico's national soccer federation (FMF) has signed a record six-year contract with New York-based Soccer United Marketing [a subsidiary of the U.S.'s Major League Soccer] to promote its national teams in the U.S. The deal takes effect in January and will, for the first time, include Mexico's women's national teams as well as the men's side.
Yon de Luisa, Mexican Football Federation President said, "Having this opportunity to extend the contract, knowing that this money will come to the Mexican Federation in the following years, lets us plan and program many projects on the sports side, both men and women, and on the youth part throughout the entire country. It's really important to play in the U.S. against great opponents, to be in contact with our fan base in the U.S., but also to have that income."
De Luisa declined to discuss financial aspects of the agreement but said money generated by U.S. sponsors and through SUM-sponsored tours of the U.S. accounts for more than a third of the federation's annual budget. As a non-profit, the federation is required by law to invest every dollar it makes in its programs. The federation claims 60 million national team fans in the U.S., and its annual tours, which began in 2003, have drawn 4.4 million fans to 98 matches, making the Mexican national team the biggest soccer draw in the U.S. Annually, throughout the U.S. but particularly in border states and in the Southeast, the Mexican national team typically sells out their friendlies and draws two to four times (at least in some cases) what the Americans would draw for a home friendly The length of the deal will allow Mexico to plan through the 2026 World Cup, which it will host jointly with the U.S. and Canada, and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
The inclusion of the women's squad under the SUM umbrella is new and underscores the interest by the federation in the team. De Luisa said a visit by the women's team to the U.S. will be announced shortly. In addition, Monterrey, Mexico, will be the site of July's CONCACAF W Championship, an eight-team tournament that will determine the region's qualifiers for the 2023 Women's World Cup. De Luisa said, "This is part of the women's expansion program where we want to go further from our border. That's why we have been planning with SUM. The following years will be really important for our women's national team in terms of matches and great matches in the U.S. No doubt this is something that will grow in the future."
Univision networks will carry the new W Championship and CONCACAF Men's U-20 Championship this summer in Spanish (CBS Sports holds the English-language rights to the 2022 W Championship). The previous 10-year deal expires at the end of 2022. TelevisaUnivision is the new parent company that owns Univision and its other networks (UniMas, Galavision, TUDN and steaming service ViX).
ESPN's annual top 21 best women players 21 years of age or under
The Full ESPN List of the top 21 global players who are 21 years of age or under, as of May 2022, is presented below. Note: Players included must be age 21 or under on June 1. Positions are: GK (goalkeeper), DEF (defender), MID (midfielder), FW (forward), ST (striker)
21. Vicki Becho, FW, Club: Lyon (FRA) (on loan at Stade de Reims, FRA), Country: France Age: 18
20. Paulina Gramaglia, FW, Club: UAI Urquiza (ARG—on loan at Houston Dash—USA), Country: Argentina Age: 20
19. Mia Fishel, FW, Club: Tigres (Mexico), Country: United States Age: 21
18. Maya Le Tissier, DEF, Club: Brighton & Hove Albion (ENG), Country: England Age: 20
17. Jordyn Huitema, FW, Club: Paris Saint-Germain (FRA), Country: Canada Age: 21
16. Diana Ordonez, FW, Club: North Carolina Courage (USA), Country: Mexico Age: 20
15. Haley Bugeja, FW, Club: US Sassuolo (ITA), Country: Malta Age: 18
14. Julie Blakstad, MID, Club: Manchester City (ENG), Country: Norway Age: 20
13. Ebony Salmon, FW, Club: Racing Louisville (USA), Country: England Age: 21
12. Melvine Malard, FW, Club: Lyon (FRA), Country: France Age: 21
11. Naomi Girma, DEF, Club: San Diego Wave (USA), Country: United States Age: 21
10. Mary Fowler, FW, Club: Montpellier (FRA), Country: Australia Age: 19
9. Melchie Dumornay, MID, Club: Stade de Reims (FRA), Country: Haiti Age: 18
8. Claudia Pina, FW, Club: Barcelona (SPA), Country: Spain Age: 20
7. Jule Brand, FW, Club: Hoffenheim (GER), Country: Germany Age: 19
6. Giovana Queiroz, ST, Club: Barcelona (SPA—loan to Levante—SPA), Country: Brazil Age: 18
5. Sydney Lohmann, MID, Club: Bayern Munich (GER), Country: Germany Age: 21
4. Sophia Smith, FW, Club: Portland Thorns (USA), FC Country: United States Age: 21
3. Lena Oberdorf, MID, Club: Wolfsburg (GER), Country: Germany Age: 20
2. Lauren Hemp, FW, Club: Manchester City (ENG), Country: England Age: 21
1. Trinity Rodman, FW, Club: Washington Spirit (USA), Country: United States Age: 20
Six of the players on the Top 21 list play in the U.S.—three are Americans as well as Ordonez from Mexico, Ebony Salmon from England and Paulina Gramaglia of Argentina. Five are with clubs in France, three play with clubs in England and Germany, two are in Spain, with one each in Italy and Mexico.
Focusing on a few of the lesser-known players on the list, Malta's forward Haley Bugeja signed for Sassuolo in Italy at the age of 16, and scored a brace on her Serie A debut against Napoli and finished with 12 goals in her first season in 2020-21, as her club finished third on a 16-2-4 record for 50 points, one point behind second place Milan (but 16 points behind champions Juventus (with the top two qualifying for the UEFA WCL). In 2021-22, she had 3 goals in 12 games as Sassuolo missed out on a Champions League berth with a 13-4-5 (W-D-L) record for 43 points, three points adrift of AC Milan in third and 11 points behind second place Roma—who move on to the Champions League next season along with reigning champions Juventus, who had 59 points. She was first capped at the full level by Malta as a 14-year-old. She transferred to Sassuolo from local Maltese side Mġarr United after winning the 2019 Malta Football Association women's player of the year award.
It has been a difficult year on many levels for Brazil's Giovana Queiroz, who was loaned from Barca to Levante within Spain and later alleged she had been the subject of "abusive behavior" while at the Catalan club, who have denied her claims. Despite all that, she has still managed to score seven goals for a Levante side that ended the season sixth in the Primera Division. Already a full international with Brazil at the age of 18, a bigger club may now take a chance on Queiroz as she continues to show why Barca acquired her from Madrid CFF two years ago (in 2020).
Giovana Queiroz of Brazil wrote an open letter alleging that she had suffered abusive behavior at the hands of a Barcelona director. Photo by Steve Christo - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Giovana Queiroz published an open letter to club president Joan Laporta claiming abuse from, "the hands of a club director during her time at the club." Giovana (18) added that this individual, "wanted to destroy my reputation, undermine my self-esteem, and degrade my working conditions." She felt that the problems started after she accepted a call-up to play for the Brazilian national team for a tour in the U.S., explaining in her letter, "I received indications that playing for Brazil would not be good for my future with the club. They were cornering me in an abusive way so that I did not play for the national team." She said that she had to quarantine [for COVID] before flying to the U.S. to join Brazil's national team camp last February, labelling her experience as being "illegally confined by the club." FIFA finally approved her to leave. When she returned to Barca, she faced further intimidation, "When I returned to the club, a meeting was held with a club director in which I was unfairly accused of breaching protocol and travelling without club authorisation. From that moment on my life changed forever. I was exposed to humiliating situations for months within the club. It was clear that he wanted to destroy my reputation, undermine my self-esteem, and degrade my working conditions." She added: "The memories, the trauma and the after-effects are likely to last for years. My personal and professional life was deeply affected."
Barcelona were forced to deny the allegations of harassment within their women's team ahead of their Women's Champions League game against Real Madrid at Camp Nou this season. A Barca spokesman told ESPN: "The allegations of moral abuse, workplace harassment and psychological violence are not true. Giovana was a close contact of a positive COVID case and the club told her she couldn't travel to Orlando in the United States with the Brazilian national team due to Spanish government regulations. She complained to the club's compliance department and to FIFA. Barcelona's compliance department and FIFA found that they had both acted properly. The case was closed."
Melchie Dumornay, rated number 9 on the ESPN Top 21 list of players who are 21 or under, has been well known from CONCACAF tournaments from her early teens, from playing a key role in Haiti's Under-20 World Cup in France in 2018 when she was just 14, to the 14 goals she scored during the U-20 CONCACAF Championships in 2020. She played at home with AS Tigresses in the Haitian women's football championship and impressed over several trials with Lyon, but her age kept her from signing a pro deal. She is a crucial element this summer for Haiti at the CONCACAF W Championship in Monterrey, Mexico, which doubles as the region's Women's World Cup Qualifiers, with her country having a viable chance to make their WWC debut next year, either directly from CONCACAF through a top four finish or via two places in the Intercontinental Playoffs. Interestingly, on Haiti's preliminary 46 player roster for the CONCACAF Finals, 16 play in France including Dumornay, while 17 play in Haiti, 10 are in the States (primarily at university), 2 are from Canada and 1 is playing in Russia. I would expect that a good half of the final squad of 23 players would be French-based, with a few from Haiti and a few other diaspora brought in. We will cover this tournament in detail in the coming weeks
Oakland Soul Joins USL W-League for next season
Lindsay Barenz, President of the Oakland Roots (USL Championship or Division II men's team) and Oakland Soul (USL W League) said about the Soul's plans to add a women's team for 2023 in the W League, "We're thrilled to be taking the next steps in realizing our vision for soccer in Oakland, a sport that should be open and accessible to everyone. A women's team in Oakland has been part of our purpose since day one. As part of the USL W League family, we want Oakland Soul to raise the bar for pre-professional development and continue harnessing the magic of Oakland and the power of sport as a force for social good." Founded in 2018, Oakland Roots Sports Club, which competes in the USL Championship and Project 51O in the USL League 2 (men's summer amateur league), is a purpose-driven sports organization that consistently participates in their community through numerous activations with the club's six Purpose partners—Soccer Without Borders, Chapter 510, My Yute Soccer, Street Soccer USA, Oakland Genesis, and America Scores Bay Area—through donations, equipment and strategic support.
Minnesota Aurora FC draws 5,219 for their W-League opener
We first discussed the new Minnesota Aurora FC W League franchise last December (see: The Week in Women's Football: New USL franchises & Canada's professional quest - Tribal Football). The club's first W League game drew 5,219 fans, which was a sellout at TCO Stadium in the Twin Cities suburb of Eagan on May 26, the first game of a team in a summer amateur league that typically runs 2-3 months and where teams can attract anywhere from a few dozen to a few hundred fans, up to a little over 1,000 for a few clubs. The Minnesota goal was scored in the 53rd minute by second half substitute Shelby Hopeau, a high school senior from Honolulu who will be attending Metro State University in Denver, Colorado this fall. The game ended in a 1-1 tie when Green Bay Glory equalized in the 89th minute on a goal by midfielder Laura Linares (who is a native of Spain and who played two seasons at Iowa Western Community College and then two years at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas).
The community-owned Aurora received national attention when more than 3,080 people gave $100 each through a crowdfunding site and thus own a stake in the team. The club owners then generated $650,000 in combined revenue from tickets, merchandise, and sponsorship for a total of $1 million raised for the club's launch. They sold out their allotment of 3,000 season tickets at TCO Stadium. This is just fairyland dreams sort of stuff for a new team in a summer amateur league where teams typically spend under $100,000 for a season—with some teams doing it for under $40,000 for a season. Utilizing college and even high school players means that there are no salaries for these players—just expenses. Wes Burdine, one of the club's nine founders said, "We're in uncharted territory. No one has ever tried to do what we're doing in the women's game." Amen to that and it will be fascinating to see how they build on their phenomenal success so far.
Jeff Kassouf, the founder of the excellent U.S.-based website for women's soccer Equalizer Soccer, wrote that, "Many other teams in the league and its counterparts, UWS and the WPSL, view the women's senior team as an extension of a youth club's academy. Marketing is limited and branding can be stale. Minnesota Aurora's leaders called bluff on that concept, instead betting on the idea that a local community (and, evidently, the online community) wanted cool, serious soccer to support. They doubled down on that by allowing those community members to have financial stakes in the team."
Burdine explained that with their multiple investors, "That helps us create a long-term vision of a club that doesn't require a billionaire losing millions of dollars a year." Burdine says the team sold 1,300 shirts in the first week that the club crest was unveiled. Then came the unveiling of custom kits from Hummel, each of which brought a unique blend of local connection and stellar design. They team even designed logos and branding concepts for not only the Aurora but also the two other finalist names: "Foxfire" and "Arctic MN."
Minnesota Aurora fans at the team's kit launch at the Mall of America (Photo Courtesy Minnesota Aurora/Equalizer Soccer)
On the men's side, minor league clubs Chattanooga FC (NISA) and Detroit City FC (Ex-NISA and now USL Championship) have built solid community-owned teams with $100 the level of entry, which has brought strong support at games.
Head Coach Nicole Lukic, who played at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and coached at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, said about the atmosphere after the first match, "It was incredible. During warmups, you could just slowly kind of see everybody start trickling in. It was just becoming more and more packed, and then to hear the supporters' groups and the chants and the drums, it was such a professional atmosphere, and I know our players just absolutely loved it." The supporters' section — which calls itself the Revontulet, the Finnish word for Aurora [the Twin Cities in Minnesota were settled by settlers from Scandinavia and still has a number of ties to Sweden, Norway and Finland, and their NFL team has been named the Minnesota Vikings since their founding in 1960]—waved custom flags and banged a small drum through the full 90 minutes. Lukic added, "We certainly created a ton of opportunities. We just have to learn to put those away and make that extra effort and put out body on the line to finish those."
Jeff Kassouf adds, "Minnesota Aurora's initial capital raise and budget greatly exceeds that of any other women's amateur team. It also sits well below the level of investment needed (among other requirements) to be a professional team [NWSL]. Aurora, then, is alone in a space of its own making, with visions of becoming more one day." Burdine added, "We definitely have ambitions to make this a professional team. We look at NWSL and think, there's no reason we can't build a club up to be like that."
Kassouf is definitely correct in that the Aurora are breaking new ground which should help elevate summer amateur leagues, where budgets have typically been done on a day-to-day basis for planning, operations and funding in the WPSL, and to a lesser extent in the UWS and W League [which revived this season but for two decades was the best run summer amateur league but still with budgets typically under $100,000 until it went defunct after the 2015 season]. Burdine concluded by saying, "I see this as this chance to support this hypothesis that people are desperate for cool women's soccer. I think we've blown it out of the water."
If their opening game supports continues, the Aurora they could move up to the Division II professional USL Super League, due to start next season with up to 12 teams. The question is, will the Aurora move up to Division II or will they aspire to join the NWSL in the future, with a relatively new MLS stadium in the city for the Minnesota United FC Loons? The city has already been mentioned in speculation about possible expansion locations for the NWSL (See: The Week in Women's Football: NWSL Review Part 1; Thoughts on future expansion; Berman responds - Tribal Football). Regardless, they have been a revelation on and off the field. As of June 25, they are undefeated after eight matches, with seven wins and 22 points to lead the Heartland Division, five points ahead of second place Green Bay Glory and look to be playoff bound in their first season.
Tim Grainey is a contributor to Tribal Football. His latest book Beyond Bend it Like Beckham on the global game of women's football. Get yours copy today.
Follow Tim on Twitter: @TimGrainey
