NEW HAVEN, Ind. – Fort Wayne FC held a roundtable discussion this month with
representatives of local soccer programs. As Fort Wayne FC enters its fifth season of play, with
construction of a state-of-the-art stadium soon to begin, the purpose of the event was to discuss
the club’s core values, foster a greater level of camaraderie and lay out a vision for the future.
“We want to progress to where our success stories are not just about how cool our stadium is or
what our attendance figures for the season are,” Scott Sproat, Fort Wayne FC’s Chief Operations
Officer, told the crowd at 469 Sports & Spirits. “It’s when that first player makes it to a higher
professional league, after coming through our system, that’s part of what we’re trying to do here.
It’s about development of the entire Fort Wayne area soccer community through our club.”
Fort Wayne FC was also represented at the event by DaMarcus Beasley, Director of Football
Operations, and several members of the team’s newly restructured front-office staff. Beasley, a
former U.S. National Team star who hails from Fort Wayne, spoke at length of the desire to work
with soccer programs throughout northeast Indiana to promote growth of the sport.
“This is what I wanted to do when I retired,” he said. “This is a dream situation to be able to help
build something like this in my hometown.”

Fort Wayne FC encouraged suggestions from attendees on the best ways to structure an academy
system so that players can develop their soccer skills and forge a path to play at elite levels.
“We want to represent Fort Wayne,” Beasley said. “We want to have local players in our club,
and we can’t do that without you. There’s no way we can do that without you, simple as that. We
want to find a way to work together in that aspect, building players, building people if they want
to become professional players in their hometown. We want to work with all of you; we don’t
want to have a situation where it’s our way or the highway.”
Club owner Mark Music, Sproat and Beasley are passionate about Fort Wayne FC’s longtime
core values – community, perseverance, respect and growth – but seek alignment with coaches,
parents, administrators and soccer players from northeast Indiana.
Fort Wayne FC, which opens its USL League Two season in May, plans to hold future
roundtable discussions to further collaboration with the soccer community.
“We want to be involved in the game throughout our community of soccer here in northeast
Indiana,” Sproat said. “The ultimate vision is that kids 3 or 4 years old, boy or girl, start kicking
the soccer ball around and they become a part of a true community that serves them through all
stages of their development … beginner to elite level youth player to professional. We all have a
rare opportunity to work together to reshape what that looks like for generations to come”.
Fort Wayne FC will announce its 2025 schedule in the weeks to come.
About Fort Wayne FC
Fort Wayne FC, founded in 2019, is a soccer team in Fort Wayne, Indiana, that currently plays
in the United Soccer League Two (USL2) with home matches at Bishop D’Arcy Stadium. Fort
Wayne FC is invested in its community and strives to make a positive impact through the game of
soccer. Visit www.fortwaynefc.com to learn more.