Is Aurora FC the antidote to football's problematic upper class?

The Minnesota community-owned club is expanding its ownership to continue its growth as a trailblazer in the world of football.

Is Aurora FC the antidote to football's problematic upper class?
The 2024 Minnesota Aurora FC squad huddle up at the end of the season | Courtesy of MN Aurora FC

For some people (myself included), it's hard to remember what you are without the team you support. Your very fibre gets entangled. Your identity is intertwined.

So, when the team you support, or more often than not its all-powerful ownership group, does something that is at odds with your ethics, what do you do?

Well, the trailblazing community-owned club Minnesota Aurora FC may well be providing the antidote to the multi-millionaire and billionaire class that often lets down the supporters of the football clubs they own.

"We stand up for what we believe in," Andrea Yoch, board member and chair for Aurora, told Squad Depth over the phone this week.

"I am proud to be Minnesotan. I am proud to be a part of a state where people are protected and safe, and Aurora is just a place for everybody to gather and celebrate and have a mental break and cheer, you know, together. And that, I think that's becoming more and more important...We created a safe space for people who want to enjoy sports."

Founded in 2021, when 3,080 community owners generated $1m, Aurora is the largest independent community-owned women's soccer club in the United States.

Three years later, the club is on its second grassroots fundraising drive, with another $770,00 generated and the ownership group swelling to over 5,000.

What makes Aurora unique is it will not bend away from its beliefs. The community remains number one. Always. And the collective ethics of the club's ownership group will continue to be heard.

"One of the things that I tell people all the time is like, if you're not happy with us, the chances are you're going to run into one of us. I run into community owners at Target," Yoch said.

"If you want to have words with us, come have words with us, right? And so we can't hide at all, and we don't want to hide. I think it makes people feel like the team is theirs. You never run into the really rich owners anywhere, even if they're going to games. They are coming in some separate entrance and they're on a private jet."

At a time with nazi salutes, anti-trans legislation, and racism rife, this feels more important than ever.

Prioritizing inclusivity and progressive ideals has gone hand in hand with success on the pitch. Playing in the pre-professional USL-W league, Aurora is yet to lose a regular season match in its three seasons of play.

Meanwhile, 15 players have graduated to professional soccer clubs across the world and its former head coach Nicole Lukic was head-hunted to be head of talent identification at U.S. soccer.

Yoch says that beyond winning a first-ever USL-W Championship in 2025, the ambitious future of Aurora FC will be evolving into being a professional club.

After two unsuccessful bids to join the NWSL, the club is interested in exploring other potential professional leagues in addition to reexamining the NWSL.

In order to evolve the club will likely need an angel investor to put in even more money, potentially somewhere in the tens of millions. However, if a standalone owner comes in the community will not be left behind.

"We have been very clear with every person that we've talked to that's interested in becoming our lead investor. We all come together. You get the whole 5,000. Smart investors understand that, we are a package deal. So, everybody getting in now gets to go on this journey with us.," said Yoch.

In the next few years, should Aurora acquire even more investment, the Minnesota club will be poised to offer an entirely unique ownership model in the world of professional women's sport.

An ownership that can give us hope, and is driven by fans' voices heard. A boardroom with vigour and integrity. A football club that truly puts community interests at the heart of its decision making.

We'll be watching closely to see if Aurora can continue to help remedy some of football's ills.


You can purchase a community-ownership share in Aurora here.
You can learn more about their ownership model here.
NOTE: The window to buy a share in Aurora will close on Friday, January 31st.