Signs continue to indicate that the Portland Timbers and the USL PRO’s newly created Sacramento Republic FC will form a partnership for the 2014 season.
The latest indication comes in the form of a report on Soccerly.com that says the agreement for Sacramento to become an affiliate of the Timbers is a “100-percent done deal,” citing an anonymous source close to SRFC.
A Portland Timbers spokesperson declined to comment on the report when contacted by MLSsoccer.com on Wednesday. A report in the website ProstAmerika.com on Nov. 13 first linked the two clubs.
Sacramento Republic FC certainly have MLS aspirations. Club president Warren Smith told The SacramentoBee newspaper in a Nov. 28 story that he hopes the team will make the jump to MLS in 2016, despite the fact that they have yet to play a minute in USL PRO.
MLS entered into an agreement with the third-tier league this year, allowing clubs to integrate their reserve teams into the USL PRO schedule or form alliances that would allow for better player development through loans.
Sacramento already have a Timbers connection through their first-ever player signing Tuesday, when they added midfielder Rodrigo López. The 26-year-old was with the Timbers for their inaugural MLS season in 2011 but never played with the first team.
