Fort Wayne FC Enters Golden Era With New Crest for Move Up to USL League One

With their move up to USL League One in 2026, Fort Wayne Football Club is entering a golden era, and now they have the right crest for it.

The club — which debuted in USL League Two in 2021 and won three straight Valley division championships from 2023 to 2025 — is making the move to the next level of the American soccer pyramid as an expansion franchise next season. And to mark the occasion, they introduced an entirely new visual brand, including a new crest and colour palette, during an event on Thursday, October 23.

The new crest features an “FW” monogram on a shield and a colour scheme of black and autumn gold. The colours of the shield and monogram can flip depending on the background. The club is shield using the shield with the monogram on its own or with “FORT WAYNE FOOTBALL CLUB” spelled out underneath, depending on the application.

Courtesy Fort Wayne Football Club

“It’s an important juncture for Fort Wayne Football Club as we move to USL League One and into our new stadium, Fort Wayne FC Park, and it felt like the perfect time to update and modernize our identity and pay homage to our great city. We are, and will remain, passionate about our history – including the colors and logos we’ve worn – but our new, sleeker identity more accurately represent the city in which we play and will help pave the path to our exciting future in professional soccer.”
— Mark Music, majority owner, Fort Wayne FC

According to the club, the crest — which was designed by New York-based artist Christopher Payne, who also designed the badge for fellow USL1 side Lexington SC — signifies “strength and tradition.” It “nods to Fort Wayne’s three rivers – the St. Mary’s, St. Joseph and Maumee – and the city’s ties to nature and recreation with more than 80 parks and more than 150 miles of trails.”

The autumn gold colour stand for “new beginnings, prosperity, success, and nature” while black symbolizes “strength, resilience, and control.”

While jerseys weren’t unveiled as part of Thursday’s announcement, the club is selling merchandise with the shield, the wordmark and the monogram through its online shop.

Courtesy Fort Wayne Football Club

Fort Wayne FC will be one of 21 teams in USL League One for the 2026 season. They’ll play at the new Fort Wayne FC Park, a 9,000-seat soccer-specific stadium under construction at Bass Road and I-69. It will be the second-largest outdoor venue in Northeast Indiana and have the state’s second-largest scoreboard.