Fred Matthes

General Manager

Matthes was part of Major League Soccer in D.C. United's front office from the league's outset in 1995 where he led their ticketing and service departments that were named in several seasons as winners of MLS Ticketing Awards, and have continually been regarded as one of the elite organizations in Major League Soccer. His entire tenure with the Club lasted for 17 seasons until 2012. Along the way, Fred worked closely with the entire Washington, DC Soccer community including the Northern Virginia and Maryland suburbs, and worked with Corporate accounts and all other season ticket holders to build up the overall fanbase as one of MLS’s largest in the early years. He also helped to develop the presence at RFK Stadium for the Club’s original Supporters Clubs, La Barra Brava & The Screaming Eagles and several future supporters clubs, thereafter. He regularly interacted with the team side and assisted players and staffing in all needs as assigned under President and US Soccer Hall of Famer, Kevin Payne for his full tenure with the Club, as well as regularly working with all other teams and the league offices of Major League Soccer as the league grew and developed over his time.

Matthes also helped in the outset of Women’s Professional Soccer while assisting the Washington Freedom of the WUSA as they played their early years at RFK Stadium, and later in Germantown, MD as part of the WPS. He also volunteered as the new Washington Spirit began play in the current NWSL for a season.

Matthes has been directly involved with the ticketing sales & operations of almost every other major soccer event staged in the Washington, D.C. area as well over the past 28 years including:

  • FIFA 1994 USA World Cup – Washington, DC

  • 1996 Atlanta Olympics – Qualifying round at RFK Stadium, Washington, DC

  • USA FIFA World Cup Qualifiers for France '98, Korea-Japan '02, and Germany '06

  • CONCACAF Champions Cup Finals in '97 and '98

  • CONCACAF Champions league matches in ’05, ’06, ’07 & ‘08

  • The Inter-America Cup Final in '98

  • The US Open Cup Final in '96, ‘08

  • MLS Playoffs – D.C. United - 10 out of 17 years; ’96 to ‘12

  • MLS Cups '97, '00, and ‘07

  • MLS All Star Game '02 and '04

  • FIFA Women's World Cup ’99 & '03.

  • Women’s Washington Freedom matches in WUSA & WPS leagues

  • International Champions Cup matches – ‘13

  • All US Men’s & Women’s National Team, Gold Cup and other International friendlies at RFK Stadium & FedExField in those years.

Matthes’ most recent venture in the sport of Soccer saw him start his own professional soccer consulting firm, FM Professional Soccer Consulting, where he has assisted several new and established teams and organizations in achieving success in their business operations in the areas of Ticket Sales & Service, Fan Engagement, Venue Consulting and Grass Roots promotions …

Among his clients were: New Mexico United & Fresno FC (USL), San Francisco City FC, Virginia Beach FC & Northern Virginia United (NPSL); Cal United Strikers FC, Stumptown AC & NISA Nation (NISA) along with North Carolina FC (USL) & NC

Courage (NWSL) , where he worked in the 2018 & 2019 seasons in Cary, NC including hosting the 2019 Women’s International Champions Cup and NWSL Championship matches.

A California native growing up in Cupertino, CA, Matthes graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1983 with a Bachelor's degree in Communications where he was also a goalkeeper with UCLA Mens Soccer team for three seasons playing under head coaches, Steve Gay and the late Sigi Schmid. He still supports both UCLA Men’s & Women’s Soccer via the Wooden Fund as a member of the UCLA Soccer Alumni Group.

Fred returned to California for a brief time from 2013-2016 to work in International Soccer with the International Champions Cup (ICC) in San Francisco, and then as a Vice President with Sacramento Republic FC as they became an elite member of the United Soccer League in their first few years winning the 2014 USL Championship and setting overall attendance and season ticket sales records in the USL at the time. The Club also began plans to enter Major League Soccer in 2022 until delayed later in 2021.

In his early career, Matthes spent seven seasons with the Washington Bullets (now Wizards) of the National Basketball Association in ticket sales management and also previously worked in the athletic footwear industry representing brands Converse and AVIA on the West and East Coasts.

Matthes and his wife Stella live in Northern Virgnia and have been married for 37 years. They are parents of two daughters;

His daughter Marijke, worked in Customer Service for D.C. United for 6 years after graduating in Sports Administration from Radford University; She currently works in Marketing for the Virginia Spine Institute. She and her husband Claudio Hart are parents of Stella and Fred’s three grandchildren.

His younger daughter, Brieneke , received an MBA from the University of Mary Washington and played on their Women’s Varsity Basketball & Rugby teams. She currently work with T.A.P.S organization supporting Military Surviving Family members and has also lived in Leicester, England where she worked in Sponsorship & Marketing for the Leicester Tigers Premiership Rugby team. She recently became married to Jordan Connell in March of 2022 in England.