USL Announcement - a Letter from the Director

1.15.2025

“It is with mixed emotions that I announce to you all that our club has decided to withdraw from participating in the USL2 and USLW seasons for Atletico and Atletica in 2025. 

This has been an incredibly tough decision. Our mission as an organization is to serve youth soccer players, and although this team is an extension of that and contributes towards our vision and values, the investment of time, effort, and financial resources has not been sustainable in recent years.

The best parts about having this team in Salem have always been our relationship with the fans and how great an impact the players can have on our kids to inspire and promote the beautiful game. As I have written you before, having a team like the Cascade Surge was formative in my development as a soccer player growing up in Salem. These will be greatly missed, and I hope we will see these teams again take the field in some form in the future.

I want to say my sincere thanks to all of you for joining us along the ride - whether it’s been for just a game or you’ve been a loyal supporter since we took over the Timbers U23 and founded Atletica in 2017. I’m so grateful for each and every one of you, and we look forward to seeing you on the pitch again soon.”

- Collin Box, Executive Director