Duluth Football Club

What Duluth Football Club does

Duluth Football Club (Duluth FC), founded in 2015, is a private, for-profit, semi-professional men's soccer club headquartered in Duluth, Minnesota. The club competes in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) North Conference, a level-4 league in the USASA system, and plays its home matches at Public Schools Stadium (also referenced as Walt Hunting Stadium / Marv Heikkinen Field), which has approximately 4,000 spectator capacity. Duluth FC is recognized by its blue-and-green colors and the "Bluegreens" nickname, with a club identity explicitly "guided by decency" and a player roster drawn from 10+ countries. The club fields a men's semi-professional team as its core product, complemented by a tiered set of community-facing products: season and single-game ticketing sold via TicketLeap and Square, online and at-stadium merchandise (SquadLocker, dspondemand), free live streaming of every home game on the club's YouTube channel, a Host Family Program coordinated by Sara Shuster, a National Anthem Singers community program, a recruitment/tryout pipeline, a game-day food-truck program, and a multi-tiered sponsorship program (Premier, Supporting, Superior, and Friends of Duluth FC) comprising 30+ local and regional businesses. The technical stack is conventional SaaS (TicketLeap, Square, SquadLocker, dspondemand, YouTube, Google Forms) with no proprietary platform. In February 2026, the club entered a strategic management agreement with Northland Sports Management for outsourced sponsorship, marketing, media, partnerships, and game-day operations, while retaining independent identity, governance, and NPSL competition status. The club was founded by Tim Sas (a Romanian-American Orthodox Christian priest) and is now co-owned by Alex Giuliani and John Shuster.

Name

Duluth Football Club

Legal name

Duluth Football Club

Website

https://duluthfc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Duluth Football Club is a private, semi-professional men's soccer club founded in 2015 in Duluth, Minnesota, competing in the NPSL North Conference. It serves local fans, regional sponsors, and amateur players via ticketing, merchandise, sponsorships, live streaming, and a community Host Family Program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Semi-professional men's soccer club (NPSL)

NAICS

Sports Teams and Clubs (711211), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (71131)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Association Football (Soccer) Leagues (MPAKAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Team Sports Matches (Club & National) (MPAGAMAB)

Keywords

• Semi-professional soccer
• Men's soccer club
• NPSL soccer
• Matchday tickets
• Sports sponsorship programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Duluth

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Sponsorship revenue: Multi-tiered sponsorship program with Premier Sponsors (e.g., St. Luke's Aspirus, Clyde Ironworks, VW of Duluth, Capelli Sport), Supporting Sponsors, Superior-tier local sponsors, and 'Friends of Duluth FC.' Northland Sports Management handles sponsorship development per the strategic management agreement.
2. Matchday ticket sales: Online ticket sales (via TicketLeap/Square) and at-the-gate ticket sales, plus season ticket memberships offering savings over single-game purchases.
3. Merchandise sales: Online fan gear shop (dspondemand.com, Squad Locker) and at-stadium merchandise sales of jerseys, scarves, hats, and blue-green branded apparel.
4. Matchday concessions / food truck partnerships: Food truck and concession partners at home games (Juniors Backyard Grill, Taste of Chicago, Mystery Mobile, North Shore Sugar) provide incremental game-day revenue and fan amenities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Duluth FC operates a semi-professional men's soccer franchise competing in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) North Conference, playing home matches at Public Schools Stadium / Walt Hunting Stadium in Duluth, Minnesota. The club sells matchday and season tickets, branded fan merchandise, sponsorship packages to local businesses, and produces live-streamed home game broadcasts on its YouTube channel. It is sustained by a tiered local sponsorship program (Premier, Supporting, Superior, Friends-of) and a community Host Family Program that houses out-of-town and international players during the May–July season.

Product overview

Duluth Football Club is a single unified sports club offering — not a multi-product software platform. Its core product is the Duluth FC semi-professional men's soccer team (NPSL North Conference, founded 2015), which serves as the central brand. Surrounding that core team product are complementary offerings: ticket products (Season Tickets & Game Tickets), Merchandise & Fan Gear, the Duluth FC Live Stream (home game broadcasts on website and YouTube), a Host Family Program for player lodging, a National Anthem Singers community program, Recruitment & Scouting, Tryouts, a Volunteer Program, a game-day Food Truck Program, and a tiered Sponsorship & Partner Program (Premier / Supporting / Superior / Friends). Following a February 2026 strategic management agreement, Northland Sports Management now layers professional management services (sponsorship development, marketing, media, partnerships, game-day operations) on top of the club's existing products while the team itself retains independent identity and NPSL competition status.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Duluth FC Semi-Professional Men's Soccer Club The core offering: a semi-professional men's soccer club based in Duluth, Minnesota, competing in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) North Conference, playing home matches at Public Schools Stadium / Walt Hunting Stadium (capacity ~4,000). Recognized by its blue-and-green colors and 'Bluegreens' nickname.
• Duluth FC Season Tickets and Game Tickets
• Duluth FC Merchandise and Fan Gear Shop
• Duluth FC Live Stream
• Duluth FC Host Family Program
• Duluth FC Sponsorship and Partner Program
• Duluth FC Tryouts
• Duluth FC Recruitment and Scouting

Quantifiable outcome

• Won 2024 NPSL North Conference and Midwest Region titles (first-ever NPSL double by any club)
• +3 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration11 records

Partnerships

29 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Northland Sports ManagementflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026Announced in February 2026 as a strategic management agreement covering Duluth FC and Superior City FC. Northland Sports Management handles sponsorship development, marketing, media, partnerships, and game-day operations, allowing both clubs to focus on player performance. This is explicitly not a merger — clubs retain distinct identities, governance, and competitive pathways.
• Capelli SportflagshipOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerPremier Sponsor and apparel/kit partner for Duluth FC. Featured prominently on the website header and partner page as the team's official apparel supplier.
• St. Luke's (Aspirus) / St. Luke's Lake View Hospital DuluthflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPremier-tier healthcare partner. Logo displayed on the website header and dedicated sponsor page.
• Clyde IronworksflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPremier Sponsor with logo in the website header and featured prominently on the Proud Partners page.
• VW of Duluth (Volkswagen of Duluth)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPremier Sponsor of Duluth FC; automobile dealer partner listed on the home page and sponsor page.
• Cirrus AircraftcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting-tier sponsor of Duluth FC, featured on the Proud Partners page.
• Cenovus EnergycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting-tier energy-sector sponsor of Duluth FC.
• LCS Coaches (Travel Partner)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTravel partner sponsor (lcscoaches.com / lcscoaches.com). Provides travel services to the team as a Supporting-tier partner.
• Finden MarketingcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSupporting-tier marketing partner (findenmarketing.com); Duluth-based marketing agency sponsoring the club.
• Duluth SignminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting-tier sponsor (duluthsign.com); signage/sponsor partner.
• Young and Associates (younginsure.com)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting-tier insurance partner sponsor of Duluth FC.
• Super One FoodsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting-tier grocery partner sponsor; Super One Foods Duluth Miller Hill location referenced.
• Play It Again Sports (Duluth, MN)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting-tier retail/sports equipment sponsor.
• Knutson Custom ConstructionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting-tier construction-sector sponsor.
• The Title TeamminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting-tier real estate title services sponsor.
• Arrowhead Youth Soccer AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSuperior-tier sponsor and youth-soccer partner (arrowheadsoccer.com).
• Dubh Linn PubminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSuperior-tier sponsor and local pub partner (dubhlinnpub.com).
• Gitchi Gummi Soccer ClubminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSuperior-tier sponsor and local soccer club partner (gitchigummisoccer.com).
• Kwik TripminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSuperior-tier convenience store chain sponsor (kwiktrip.com).
• Lake Superior CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSuperior-tier higher-education partner (Lake Superior College logo).
• St. Scholastica (College of St. Scholastica)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSuperior-tier higher-education partner (css.edu).
• Lake Superior Real Estate Team (Remax Results)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSuperior-tier real estate partner sponsor (remax.com / Lake Superior Real Estate Team).
• Subway (Duluth, London Rd)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSuperior-tier restaurant chain sponsor (restaurants.subway.com).
• Harrison Law DesignminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFriend-tier partner sponsor (harrisonlawdesign.com).
• Flom DesignsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFriend-tier partner sponsor (flomdesigns.com).
• Glossa (Global)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFriend-tier partner sponsor (glossaglobal.com).
• Law AerialminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFriend-tier partner sponsor (lawaerial.com).
• Host Families (Duluth community program)coreOthersFormal Host Family Program providing housing and 'home away from home' experience for out-of-town and international players during the May–July season. Benefits include season tickets, reserved parking, exclusive events, scarf, merchandise discounts, friends-and-family night, and youth-pupil practice sessions. Coordinated by Sara Shuster ([email protected]).
• Food truck vendors (Juniors Backyard Grill, Taste of Chicago, Mystery Mobile, North Shore Sugar)minorOthersMatchday food and concession partners rotating at home games. Listed on the club's food trucks page with date-by-date assignments.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Siouxland United FC: NPSL North Conference opponent (Sioux City, IA) that played Duluth FC in the 2026 season opener; defending Midwest North Conference Tournament champions in a directly comparable semi-pro setting.
• Des Moines Menace: Iowa-based semi-professional soccer club that played Duluth FC in the 2024 Midwest Regional Semifinal; competes in a parallel semi-pro structure with similar community-and-sponsorship-driven economics.
• Minnesota TwinStars: NPSL North Conference direct competitor that Duluth FC faced in the 2024 conference semifinal; operates as a Minnesota-based semi-professional club with similar community-driven model.
• Joy AC: NPSL opponent that Duluth FC defeated 5-0 in its 2026 home opener; community-owned semi-pro club in a comparable structural and competitive position within the NPSL.
• Minneapolis City SC: Minnesota-based semi-professional soccer club competing in the upper Midwest amateur/semi-pro ecosystem; schedules Duluth FC in friendlies and overlapping leagues, with comparable community-led model and sponsorship tiers.
• El Farolito SC: NPSL national-level competitor (San Francisco) that eliminated Duluth FC in the 2024 National Semifinals; comparable semi-professional scale with deeper national-tournament pedigree.
• Dakota Fusion FC: NPSL North Conference rival that faced Duluth FC in the 2024 North Conference Championship final; similarly sized community-owned semi-professional club in the upper Midwest.
• Sioux Falls Thunder FC: NPSL North Conference competitor scheduled by Duluth FC in the 2026 season; operates as a similarly structured community-based semi-professional soccer club in the upper Midwest.
• Steel City FC: NPSL Midwest Region opponent that faced Duluth FC in the 2024 Midwest Regional Championship final; similarly structured community-based semi-professional club competing for the same regional trophy.

Broad incumbents

• Forward Madison FC: Wisconsin-based professional soccer club (USL League One) that eliminated Duluth FC in the 2024 US Open Cup; represents the tier above NPSL in the U.S. soccer pyramid and illustrates the next-step competitive benchmark for ambitious NPSL clubs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/duluthfc
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@duluthfc
• Facebookfacebook.com/DuluthFC
• Instagraminstagram.com/duluthfc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/duluthfc

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Duluth Football Club