Lion Links: 1/14/16

Happy #ThirstyThursday everyone! Today is SuperDraft day, so I’m gonna go with a Ten 10 Red Ale (draught, of course) and a buffalo chicken sandwich that the brewery makes on site. Sit back and relax, The Mane Land has your complete Orlando City draft coverage. To tide you over till the draft starts, you can find our mock draft here. Make sure to stay around here for updates as the draft unfolds, but for now let’s dive into the links!

Orlando City Soccer Club to Play Entire 2016 Season in Citrus Bowl

Hope you like turf! Due to construction delays, the decision has been made for the Lions to play their 2016 campaign in the Citrus Bowl. The original plan was for Orlando City and the Pride to play in the Citrus Bowl to begin and move midway through the season into the yet-to-be-named stadium. The decision goes beyond Orlando's two professional teams, as the NCAA is expected to change Orlando as host of the 2016 Women's Soccer tournament to the following year in 2017. You can still catch a live feed of construction over here.

JetBlue Named as Official Domestic Airline Partner for Orlando City

Starting with the home opener and running through the entire 2016 season, fans who attend Orlando City home games will be eligible for JetBlue's "Upgrade of the Game." Winners will receive two vouchers for round-trip travel to and from any JetBlue destination. JetBlue has a strong footprint in the Orlando area with its bilingual call center and maintenance hangar. The move by the club is one of many that it has taken to create ties with Central Florida businesses to cement its place in the community. Orlando City recently named Coca-Cola as the club's beverage and bottled water partner. Other sponsors include Walt Disney World, Publix Supermarket, Sherwin-Williams Company, and shirt sponsor Orlando Health.

Orlando City B Signs Seven New Players

Yesterday, the club announced the addition of new players for the USL side. Players added to the club include Pierre da Silva, Dembakwi Yomba, Michael Cox, William Eyang, Orlando City OG Jonathan Mendoza, Marius Obekop and Craig Nitti. Boxi Yomba and Pierre Da Silva are two players that should make things very exciting and if all goes well, should fulfill Phil Rawlins’ dream of seeing players get promoted up from the development side up to the first team.

Turns out, Boxi maybe, sorta spoiled the announcement.

USWNT Releases list of Allocated Players for 2016 NWSL Season

Orlando Pride teammates Alex Morgan and Ashlyn Harris are on the U.S. Soccer Federation’s Allocated players list. New players on the list include Lindsey Horan, Jaelene Hinkle, and Samantha Mewis. A total of 24 players will be participating in the 2016 season. Canada and Mexico have yet to release their allocation lists and aren’t expected to until after the upcoming draft. The NWSL draft will be taking place tomorrow, Jan. 15 at 10 am.

Free Kicks

Today’s bithdays include “Baby, you’ve got a stew going” Carl Weathers (68); HOOOOO! Hacksaw Jim Duggan (62); Zakk Wylde (48); and Victor Valdés (34). USWNT Forward Sydney Leroux is headed to FC Kansas City. Her husband, former Orlando City member Dom Dwyer plays for Sporting Kansas City … Mario Balotelli is certainly dedicated to pranking his teammates… And finally, Jason Kreis, former NYCFC Manager, is joining Jurgen Klinsmann’s staff at the USMNT Camp … That’s it for today, play us out, Messi