Club History
EMFC was formed in 2006 under the guidance of a number of committed parents and coaches to improve the environment for competitive players in Eugene and Springfield. The mission statement of Eugene Metro FC was to “encourage and motivate special needs, recreational, and competitive soccer players in our community to advance their individual and team skills by providing quality training, committed teams, and skilled coaching. Eugene Metro FC’s programs are designed to serve the diverse cultures and income levels of the community.”
From 2006 to 2013 the club has grown from a modest three teams to one of the most recognized clubs outside of the Portland Metro area boosting over 25 teams in all age and gender groups with a very competitive U10 academy program. The club also has a growing Little Timbers program with over 150 soccer player age 4-10. In 2013, the club changed its name to Eugene Timbers Futbol Club and joined the Timbers Alliance. The Timbers Alliance is a network of strategic partnerships between the Portland Timbers and elite youth clubs in Oregon. Through the Alliance, Eugene Timbers FC has access to share resources with other club and the Portland Timbers to aid in player development.
Mac Wilson was the club’s first Director of Coaching and he established a rigorous curriculum, recruited coaches, formed teams and put the club on Oregon’s competitive club map. Jurgen Ruckaberle, a staff coach from the beginning took over the club’s leadership in 2008. Jurgen and the ETFC coaching staff have established one of the most successful clubs in Oregon. Players compete in statewide leagues, in regional leagues and tournaments, and represent our club well in national Showcase tournaments. Our players participate in the Olympic Development Program and many of our players have graduated from the club to play college soccer. Under Jurgen’s leadership the club has established a successful entry program for young soccer players – Little Timbers PGM and a very competitive U10 academy program. The club runs a 3v3 Challenge Cup tournament and the ETFC adidas Premier Cup, one of the largest tournaments in the region.
The ETFC board of directors also grew from the original 6 members with Evon Smith at the helm to a much bigger board representing a much larger constituency in our community. Steve Cooney replaced Evon Smith as president in 2008. Jason Giles was president from July 2009 – July 2012. Derek Johnson replaced Jason Giles in 2012 and remained president until July 2016. The ETFC board was then led by Shawn Brandt as President until 2018. Toni Cleland replaced Shawn in 2018. In 2019 Patrick Waters took over the helm and has now been replaced by Scott Lacey in the summer of 2022.
In 2022, after being part of the Timbers Alliance for 8 years, the club returned to its original name Eugene Metro FC. We are proud to serve our member families as a community oriented youth soccer club.
Development of our Identity
When the original board members and some coaches discussed the formation of a new club in the fall of 2005, several strong ideas became the founding roots of the new club. We wanted to be a local club rooted in our community that provides a home for all soccer players regardless of background. The club was built in the spring of 2006 on a mission that
“The Eugene Metro Fútbol Club encourages and motivates special needs, recreational, and competitive soccer players in our community to advance their individual and team skills by providing quality training, committed teams, and skilled coaching.
Eugene Metro FC’s programs are designed to serve the diverse cultures and income levels of the community”
The name Eugene Metro FC reflected that we were formed with very strong roots in Eugene. Moreover, the founders of the club wanted to integrate all other parts of Lane county into the name and utilized the word “Metro“. We also used “Fútbol Club” to reach out to the Spanish speaking population in our area.
When we first improved the logo in 2012, we added very important local markers to our identity. We used the two rivers, McKenzie and Willamette, flowing through Eugene and Springfield and both Skinner and Spencer Butte to further strengthen the local connection of the club. Those natural landmarks were integrated with two diamonds and two river lines.
We also integrated those strong local markers in our Eugene Timbers FC logo to not forget our local identity.
In our 2022 new version, we went back to the original name to ensure we stay true to our mission based on a strong local soccer community. We are proud of the last 16 years of continuing to develop and strengthen the mission created in 2006. We made sure that the formation of the club is anchored in the new logo.
The local markers, two rivers and two buttes, are now very central to our logo. We train and play in Eugene and Springfield and players from the larger Metro area are calling Eugene Metro FC their home. We use a fond that is reminiscent of our last two logos and our colors are represented in the new identity as well.
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