Portland Timbers community initiative goes global with soccer field in Rwanda

PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) - The Portland Timbers are helping to build a soccer field in Rwanda.

The club is working with African Road, a Portland nonprofit organization, to build its first soccer field outside of Oregon in Munini, Rwanda at the Togetherness Soccer Center.

African Road is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2020, while the Timbers are celebrating their 10th years in Major League Soccer.

“We are honored to partner with African Road for this project to commemorate our 10-year anniversaries,” said Mike Golub, Timbers president of business. “This project highlights the unifying power of soccer to help heal, support, and provide long-term financial opportunities for the community, and as a result of African Road’s strong partnership and their long-term relationship with the Togetherness Cooperative we were able to celebrate our historic milestones on a global scale.”

In 2011, African Road purchased a plot of land for 80 orphans in Rwanda who then hand dug a soccer pitch, which took three months of digging to prepare their dirt field.

Overall, the Timbers have contributed to 16 soccer fields and futsal courts since 2011, providing the greater Portland area with organized outlets for playing soccer as part of Fields For All, with Stand Together and Operation Pitch Invasion partnering on the developments.

The development of the new facility is supported by donations from Timbers’ community sponsors, including Adidas, KeyBank, Providence Health & Services and Squires Electric.

For more, go to Timbers.com.