A crowd of 3,755 was at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium for the inaugural John Bellio Tribute Night to Fight Cancer, and the team unveiled a plaque that will be a permanent fixture at the stadium. Bellio’s wife, Terri, along with other family and friends were on the field for the reveal of the plaque.
For every ticket sold, Fort Wayne FC is donating $1 to Cancer Services of Northeast Indiana, in addition to money raised through this link. Also, Ruoff Mortgage is donating $5,000 for every goal scored – and those goals came from Ryan Becher, Lilian Ricol (in highlight-reel fashion) and Kabiru Gafar.
“I’m glad we were able to score some goals and raise some money tonight,” Fort Wayne FC coach Mike Avery said. “It was a good performance from the guys.”
About Fort Wayne Football Club
Fort Wayne Football Club, founded in 2019, is a professional soccer club playing its first season in USL League One in 2026. The club plays home matches at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium, which opened May 2, 2026, and is a soccer-specific venue. In pre-professional USL League Two, Fort Wayne Football Club won division titles in 2023, 2024 and 2025. For more information, visit FortWayneFC.com.
About United Soccer League
Founded in 1986, the United Soccer League (USL) is the largest and fastest-growing soccer organization in the United States, impacting more than 200 communities nationwide. The USL is the first and only organization to offer a comprehensive youth-to-professional pathway for both men and women under one ecosystem. This structure includes four men’s leagues: the newly announced, top-tier professional Division I league, the USL Championship (Division II), USL League One (Division III), and USL League Two (pre-professional). The women’s pathway includes the top-tier USL Super League (Division I), which debuted in 2024, and USL W League, the country’s leading pre-professional women’s league. The USL also oversees USL Academy, a progressive talent development platform, and USL Youth, a premier national youth platform.