Capital Fútbol Club’s (CFC) sprawling east-Salem complex hosts some of the best youth talent in the Willamette Valley. Until earlier this month, it also housed Salem’s only semi-pro soccer teams, CFC Atlético and Atlética.
On Jan. 15, the club announced via Instagram that in 2025 they will be withdrawing their membership from both the United Soccer League 2 (USL2) and the USL women’s (USLW) leagues. The club will continue to offer opportunities for kids to play competitive soccer from ages three and up alongside their existing recreational teams and programs for adult players.
CFC was founded in 1993 under the name Salem United Soccer Club. In 2004 they merged with the Cascade Surge, Salem’s then semi-pro team, which played all of its games at Willamette’s McCulloch stadium. Cascade Football Club was Salem’s soccer hub until 2013, when they became an alliance partner club for the Portland Timbers, acquiring the rights for the Timbers’ U23 USL2 team in 2017. The Cascade Timbers were born, and in that same year, they founded the women's Atlética program.
In 2022, CFC severed ties with the Timbers. In an old press release, Colin Box, the executive director of the club wrote, “The Timbers organization has shifted their focus and does not share some of the same values we have for the youth game that we originally had synergy around.”
The club then re-established themselves as Capital Fútbol Club, changing the name of the men's team from Timbers U23 to CFC Atlético, partly in an effort to distance themselves from any association with Portland and to distinctly emphasize their belonging to Salem.
During the 2022 transition, both teams were competitive and saw success. In 2021 and 2022 the men’s team won the division title in back-to-back seasons. In 2023 they placed 2nd in the northwest.
Yet back in 2022, Box had mentioned that “being a [Timbers] Alliance member meant that we [CFC] had a seat at the table when the state was Portland-centered and we [had previously been] left out of many conversations that affected our members. We received brand recognition, as well as several unique opportunities for our players that included time at Providence Park, a couple showcase events, and coach education opportunities.” After severing ties with the Timbers, the club lost those opportunities.
CFC, which has yet to respond for comment at the time of publishing, stated in a recent press release that financial and resource burden has spelled the end of the Atlético and Atlética squads. However, they haven’t closed the door on future reformation, classifying the cancellation of the 2025 season as “a break.”
This change seemingly comes at a disadvantage to the Willamette soccer programs, as many Bearcats over the years have spent time playing for the club in the summers as a way to stay competitive during the off-season. The end of the USL programs will mean less opportunity for Willamette athletes to be involved with competitive play. On the other hand, the Portland Pickles baseball franchise announced a USL2 expansion via Instagram on Jan. 21.
Oddly, the change also comes at a time in which soccer is growing in popularity nationally. According to the For Soccer 2024 census, “Roughly a third of people told us they’ve been fans for more than 15 years, while a third have been fans for five or fewer years. The latter group, which we’ve dubbed New Arrival fans, has grown by 57% year-over-year and those who became fans in the past year is up 400%.”
As for Salem, one Instagram commenter on the CFC USL closure announcement expressed, “Gonna cherish the happy memories I had watching soccer in the summertime the last few years!”
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