Over Two Decades of Excellence

Our Story

Founded in 2002 as Fresno Fuego, what we know today as Central Valley Fuego FC has always been the same club: a Premier Development League (PDL) side spun off from the San Luis Obispo Roadrunners. The heart and backbone of that founding were Jaime Marquez Sr. and Jaime Ariel Marquez Jr. of Marquez Brothers International, the family behind the beloved El Mexicano brand. Their generosity, vision, and love for the Central Valley made Fuego possible. They funded the club to honor Ana Delia Marquez (maiden name Casas), Jaime's wife and Jaime Jr.'s mother, who passed away on December 12, 2002 at age 42. Ana and Jaime had moved to Fresno in 1985 and built Marquez Brothers International together. That is why the original crest carries the initials A.M. The Alvarez brothers, Tony and Francisco (Cisco), helped introduce the opportunity and secure that investment.

While the Marquez Family provided the capital and moral purpose that gave Fuego life, Tony and Cisco Alvarez handled day-to-day operations in the club's early years. After beginning at Fresno Pacific University, that period included a coaching change with head coach Jaime Ramirez, the loss of access to Fresno Pacific's field, and a move to temporary venues such as Pillabos Park and area high-school fields. By 2006 the club was without a permanent home. That November, majority control was sold to Chris Cummings and the Fresno Baseball Club, owners of the Fresno Grizzlies, who brought additional resources and organizational support to day-to-day operations. The Marquez Family stayed true to Fuego, continuing substantial support through El Mexicano. Jaime Marquez Jr. later said the family sold majority shares because the Grizzlies ownership could better handle day-to-day operations and take the organization to a higher level.

Under Cummings Family stewardship from 2007 onward, with the Marquez Family remaining as valued partners and continuing champions of the club through El Mexicano, Fuego partnered with the Grizzlies, moved into downtown Chukchansi Park, and became a fixture of summer soccer in the PDL: developing players, building rivalries, and drawing crowds that helped establish Fresno as one of the most passionate lower-division soccer markets in the country through 2017. Chris Cummings later recalled that his ownership group took over the Fuego in 2006 and relocated the brand downtown to Grizzlies Stadium.

In 2017 Fresno Fuego was sold to Fresno FC, owned by Ray Beshoff, a successful British car salesman who owned the local Mercedes-Benz dealership. Fresno FC used the Fuego brand as its development team for the USSF Division II club from 2017 through 2019, and Beshoff also held the Fuego name rights. During that era the Ruelas Family, prominent real estate developers with deep roots in the Central Valley, crossed paths with Beshoff while looking at land. For a brief moment the two sides explored working together to bring a professional soccer stadium to Fresno, including conversations around sites such as Selland Arena and other Valley parcels. When Fresno FC folded and moved its territory rights to Monterey Bay to become Monterey Bay FC, Fresno was left without a high-level team. The Ruelas Family was then offered the opportunity to purchase the Fuego intellectual property, which it did after a lengthy negotiation, and set out to restore the club for the community.

The Ruelas Family now continue the Fuego legacy by paying it forward, building real pathways so that those with dreams have the chance to achieve them through youth soccer, women's programs, beach soccer, professional opportunity, and community initiatives. In December 2020 the club was announced as a pro soccer expansion side, returned to USSF Division III professional soccer, and after three professional seasons entered a new chapter in 2024 focused on those pathways across the Valley. Fresno Fuego and Central Valley Fuego FC remain interchangeable names for the same organization. The flame lit in 2002 burns brighter than ever, carried forward in honor of the lasting legacy of the Marquez and Cummings Families, who remain valued members of our community.