How does becoming a Timbers Army FC team benefit me?
Financial Burden
If you are a manager, we take the financial burden off of you and pay the registration fees for your league instead of you. This means you don’t have to personally float the funds for registration and worry about delinquent payments and collecting from your team months before the season. You players pay us directly and let you concentrate on roster management, recruitment and playing games. The goal is to put the fun back in the game for you.
Equipment
Not only do you have access to discounts at partner soccer stores and distributors through the 107ist network, we can also leverage your team’s fees to defray the cost of new corner flags, nets, and balls needed to compete. We will also provide your team with Timbers Army branded pennies for practice, scrimmages and games.
Exposure
Your team will be regularly featured on the Timbers Army website with a page dedicated to your teams current progress and documented history. The ability to track stats, document match reports, receive payment and coordinate your practice and game schedules all exist on the website. The presence your team can have is as open ended and fun as you want to make it. We also offer your own email address attached to the website that you can use as a contact point for your current team, possible new players, sponsors and fans. We will occasionally post about your team on various social media such as the site blog, facebook, and twitter.
Professional Look
We leverage our existing connections with jersey manufacturers and distributors as well as our buying power with vendors to get your team looking professional and together. The seasons of unmatched white shirts with tape for numbers are over. The goal is to have a new kit for each team at least once per calendar year. We can also leverage our large pool of design volunteers to create or update a crest for your team.
Recruiting
We offer access to over 2,000 members that are interested in the sport and many who can serve as new recruits for new or existing teams as well as subs for existing teams. The 107ist and Timbers Army offers one of the best recruiting grounds for quality players as well as lasting friendships with likeminded people.
Sponsorship
Many of our existing partners are looking to deepen their ties with 107ist and the Timbers Army and we can leverage our existing relationships with our partners to link you with an appropriate jersey sponsor who can help you defray the majority or the entirety of the cost for new uniforms. This helps your team look professional while providing a relationship with a local business who has a stake in your success and achievement.
Support
A General Manager will be your point of contact who helps facilitate your registration, assistance and compliance with required team and manager duties. The GM works with the necessary 107ist personnel, volunteers, board members, and committee members to leverage our resources to fit your needs.
What does becoming a Timbers Army FC team commit our team to?
Documentation
We ask that your team provide updates throughout the season on your results and progress. This person isn’t required to be the manager but is someone who is interested in documenting your teams games and having some fun at their team mates expense. This can range from a regular blog to merely reporting your final score, goal scorers and other statistics.
Membership
Going forward registration for your players will be accessible in the member’s only portion of the website. This requires that they are active 107ist members at the time of registration. This might seem like an unnecessary cost, but we feel that the benefits for your team, Timbers Army game day experience, and community at large greatly outweigh the annual membership cost. Not to mention the discounts and benefits that can be accessed by being a member often pay for the membership many times over.
Recognition
Your jerseys are required to have both the Timbers Army crest and Portland city flag on the sleeves of your uniform. These are applied via heat press and are provided free of cost to your team. We also encourage www.timbersarmy.org to be included on your jersey if possible.
Roster Size
While we pay for the initial registration and collect the money directly from your team, we ask that the manager commits to a roster size each season, which dictates how much each player will pay to play for that season. Once this roster size is decided upon the manager is on the hook to cover any remaining cost if less than the agreed roster size pays. Conversely if more than the original roster size pay, we can hold that money in trust for the team and put that towards future league fees, team costs or equipment.
Service
For every $200 worth of registration dues your league costs your team is expected to contribute 10 hours of community service to OPI, AC Portland or 107ist related causes. These types of events can vary from working at the Oregon Food Bank, fixing up and maintaining community soccer fields, or helping out on the next best tifo display planned for the North End. We take care of the tracking at those events and match them with your roster.
What types of teams are eligible to play in the Timbers Army FC set up?
The first four teams play in the Men’s Open Divisions found in the Greater Portland Soccer District. However we are interested in adding and creating teams that will compete in the various indoor, coed, women’s Over-30, Over-40, Over-50 and futsal leagues around the metro area. If you are unsure if your team fits in to this, just ask, as we can consider each request on a case by case basis.
Who do I contact to ask about joining or forming a new team in Timbers Army FC?
Please contact us directly at TAFC@107ist.org for more information. We would be happy to work with you and answer all of your questions related to this initiative. We realize each team is different and want to do our best to incorporate each team in the best way possible.
