Central Valley Fuego Football Club has left the third-tier USL 1 league and, as if relegated into a lesser league as the result of its second consecutive season at the bottom of the standings, has morphed into an amateur Under 23 team for the 2025 season, called Fuego U23.
The team will play in the League of Clubs, which it helped organize.
CV Fuego had problems holding onto their place at the Fresno State Soccer Field. Fresno State doesn’t want them back, and they could not even fill that small location.
Another difficulty they faced was that their coach, former player Jermaine Jones, was investigated last year by the League for harassing players, including some who were intending to organize a players’ union. He was suspended. Had he continued to coach this year, he would have been on probation such that any misstep would have caused the team to have to find a replacement.
The team posted a laudatory goodbye to Jones on their social media, striking a bit of an odd note. It read, in part: “Jermaine committed his entire being to elevating our club—on and off the field. During his tenure, Jermaine…fostered a culture of family and unity, emphasizing not just winning but personal accountability, respect and support for teammates.” That is, unless you got on his bad side.
In mid-February, Fuego U23 announced a new head coach, Santiago Aguilera, and a new director of fútbol operations, Mario Vargas. The two have both made their careers in soccer, and both have Fresno experience.
Aguilera, according to Fuego U23’s website, was an assistant coach at Fresno City College. As a player, in 1997 he was a college all-American. He played in the original Fresno Fuego in 2007 and 2010. He has numerous coaching credentials.
Vargas, a Chilean, worked previously for Fresno State women’s soccer and has had experience working for CV Fuego FC.
It is clear Fresno by now has a tradition of professional soccer, and it could come to life again. The high point so far was its incarnation as Fresno FC, known as the Foxes, who played for two seasons in the second-tier USL Championship league. The team played at Chukchansi Park and performed quite well in its second and final season.
The then-owner of the Foxes, Ray Beshoff, now owns Monterey Bay FC, which is still playing in the USL Championship. USL Championship and USL 1 are still going strong, and the USL just announced it will field teams in 2027 for a new first-tier league, at the level of Major League Soccer.
Adam Smith, who was sporting director at CV Fuego FC and head coach previously of the Foxes, spoke up for the owners of CV Fuego, the Mexican American Ruela family.
“Whatever anyone’s opinion about what’s happened and how it got to this point, the Ruela family were prepared to put their money into something, and they tried to make it work. It’s not a cheap investment running a professional soccer club. So, I do feel just as bad for them as for anything else, that it hasn’t worked out, because it’s cost them a lot of money, I’m sure, over the last few years.”
Perhaps the Ruelas are not done with Fresno professional soccer. The one thing that Fresno’s faithful know for sure is that there is a fan base out there.
Fuego U23 will play at the Fuego practice field near Olive and Minnewawa avenues. The first home game is March 30, against Albion SC. For more information, check the Fuego U23 website, fuegofc.com.
