Fort Wayne FC is readying for its International Friendly, 7 p.m. Saturday at Bishop D’Arcy Stadium, against Atlas Fútbol Club’s Sub-23 team.
It will be one of the must-see matches of the season before Fort Wayne FC moves to the professional ranks of USL League One in 2026, when it will open a new state-of-the-art, soccer-specific stadium at Bass Road and I-69.
Atlas FC is a professional club based in Guadalajara, Mexico, that plays in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football.
Nicknamed “Los Rojinegros,” or “The Red and Blacks,” and also called “Los Zorros,” or “The Foxes,” Atlas FC was founded in 1916 and has won three league titles and four domestic cups.
The Atlas FC academy system is renowned for developing talented players for the National Team such as Rafael Márquez, Jared Borgetti, Daniel Osorno, José de Jesús Corona, Pável Pardo, Juan Carlos Medina, Jorge Hernández, Mario Méndez, Édgar Pacheco and Jeremy Márquez.
Atlas FC’s fans are known as “La Fiel,” or “The Faithful,” while the supporters group called “La Barra 51” is a reference to Atlas’ first championship in the Primera División de México, which took place in 1951.
The Sub-23 team has been on a tour of matches against USL League Two teams. While Atlas Fútbol Club’s Sub-23 team lost 6-1 to Peoria City and 4-1 to Northern Indiana FC, it is coming off a 1-0 victory Wednesday over Flint City.
On the same night, Fort Wayne FC lost 2-1 on the road to Kings Hammer FC Columbus, despite getting a penalty-kick goal from Caio Oliveira, who has been on a tear in his first season with Fort Wayne FC.
Oliveira now has six goals, which ties him for third in club history for all-time goals with Riley Lynch, who played in 2022. The club-record of eight goals belongs to Gjis Hovius (2023 and 2024) and Maxwell Amoako (2021 and 2022).
Despite the blow of dropping back-to-back USL League Two matches, including last Saturday’s 2-0 loss to West Virginia United, Fort Wayne FC (7-2-1 in league play) remains in control of its own fate when it comes to clinching a playoff berth for a third straight year.
Its magic number for clinching the Valley Division title is four points; any combination of four points gained by the club, or failed to gain by second-place Lexington SC, will give Fort Wayne FC a third consecutive division title. Lexington SC, which also has two league matches remaining, is two points back of Fort Wayne FC, and Fort Wayne FC holds the tiebreaker.
Fort Wayne FC has back-to-back friendlies – after Atlas Fútbol Club’s Sub-23, Fort Wayne FC hosts Lansing City Football at 6 p.m. July 5 – and it gives FWFC time to rest some players, give others deserved playing time, and prepare for the final two USL League Two matches (at the Dayton Dutch Lions on July 9 and vs. Kings Hammer FC Cincinnati on July 12). The friendly against Lansing City Football will be Military Appreciation Night; all active duty military and veterans get in free with proper identification or validation of service.
About Fort Wayne FC
Fort Wayne FC, founded in 2019, is currently a pre-professional club in USL League Two’s Valley Division in the Central Conference. The club won Valley Division championships in 2023 and 2024. Fort Wayne FC is moving to the professional ranks of USL League One in 2026 at a new state-of-the-art stadium. www.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.
