The Portland Timbers open the 2025 MLS season on Sunday, Feb. 23 against Cascadia Cup rival Vancouver Whitecaps. Sunday also marks the 50th season for the Timbers, a club that’s engrained in the fabric of Soccer City, USA.

MLS opened its 30th season with 15 games on Saturday and Sunday, welcoming a new club, San Diego FC, and its other 29 teams back into action. While a 13-game slate opened up the season on Saturday night,

MLS underway as they host the Vancouver Whitecaps on Sunday.The fixture will be the first match in this season's Cascadia Cup, which is contested by the Timbers, Whitecaps and the Seattle Sounders. The Timbers won the title last season on goal difference.

Other new players for 2025 include Colombian defender Jimer Fory, Venezuelan forward Kevin Kelsy, Costa Rican winger Ariel Lassiter, Ecuadoran midfielder Joao Ortiz and defender Ian Smith, a 2025 SuperDraft pick. The Timbers this week also signed defender Zac McGraw to a contract extension through 2026, with a team option for 2027.

When the Portland Timbers open their 50th season, one of the club’s most impactful players will celebrate his own milestone.

MLS 2025 kicks off with a game that's worth more than three points. Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps face off at Providence Park, opening the first chapter in this year's Cascadia Cup. The rivalry between the two has spanned decades, and all signs point to this encounter being a combustible affair, both on and off the field.

Club HistoryThis current iteration of the Portland Timbers entered the MLS in 2011, but existed as an USL franchise from 2001 through 2010. After two uneventful seasons, the Timbers exploded behind

Evander, Luciano Acosta and David da Costa are joining new MLS sides less than two weeks ahead of the 2025 season.

MLS action returned for the first-ever edition of 'Sunday Night Soccer' after a brilliant start to the new 2025 season across all the fun yesterday, including Lionel Messi hitting the ground running for Inter Miami.