The history of the Portland Timbers dates back to the club’s entrance into the original North American Soccer League (NASL) in 1975. A through-line of Portland’s extensive and unique soccer history is a rivalry with clubs in Seattle and Vancouver across multiple professional leagues.

The Timbers entered Major League Soccer as an expansion club in 2011 and secured their first playoff berth in 2013, advancing to their first Western Conference Championship after a first-place finish in the conference during the regular season. The Timbers hoisted their first MLS Cup in 2015 to culminate an unforgettable playoff run that season. Portland defeated Sporting Kansas City on penalties in the knockout round before defeating Vancouver Whitecaps FC and FC Dallas to reach MLS Cup. The Timbers scored the fastest goal in MLS Cup history to that point when Diego Valeri scored 27 seconds after kickoff against Columbus Crew SC. Portland defeated Columbus 2-1 with Valeri earning MLS Cup MVP honors.

Just three years later, the Timbers again earned the right to contest for the league title under first-year head coach Giovanni Savarese, making their second appearance in MLS Cup in 2018. Bolstered by an impressive 15-game unbeaten streak that spanned more than four months during the regular season and an impressive playoff run that saw the club advance past FC Dallas, Seattle Sounders FC and Sporting Kansas City to win the team’s second Western Conference title, the Timbers fell just short of their second championship in four seasons when they were defeated by Atlanta United FC at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Dec. 8, 2018.

In just eight MLS seasons, the Timbers have won two Western Conference Championships and played in two MLS Cups, made two appearances in Concacaf Champions League and twice secured the Western Conference’s top seed in the playoffs by finishing with the best regular-season record in the conference.

The Timbers play their home matches at Providence Park, a downtown stadium first built in 1926 and relaunched in 2019 following an $85 million transformation.