[PORTLAND TIMBERS] The Portland Timbers have formed an alliance with three prominent Oregon clubs — Eastside Timbers (formerly Eastside United FC), VancouverUnited Timbers (formerly Columbia Timbers) and Westside Timbers (formerly Westside Metros) — dubbed the “adidas Timbers Alliance.” The Timbers Academy will commence this fall, with teamscompeting in the U-16 and U-18 age brackets of the Development Academy.
The goal is to help channel the top youth players towards the Timbers’ development programs and the TimbersAcademy.
“Each of these clubs shares a passion and a vision for developing youth players and providing elite opportunities for youth,” said Timbers Academy Director
My congrats to the Timbers for taking this step….I have been a strong advocate of ALL MLS teams be required to have a residential developement academy in order to have an MLS team in the league. This would be the answer to the USA having players at the highest level of skil , regardless of what area of the country they were from. Today, in some areas, soccer does not even have a program for players, sad to say. I am sure Corp. sponsors along with the teams could support such a program. I know this happens in other countries of the world.