Lion Links: 10/29/16

It’s the first post-season Saturday but we’re still here with the same quality content. The first round of the playoffs is in the books and Seattle’s late surge continues. The Lions may be out but I’ll give them credit for derailing Philadelphia and D.C. United, who were both handily defeated in the opening round.

But we’ve still got your regular dose of Orlando City content and the top stories from the American soccer world, so on to the links.

Tour City’s New Stadium

WESH 2’s Amanda Crawford was able to tour the ever-developing stadium recently and she provides a video tour for the fans, chronicling the development inside the stadium and speaking to some local business owners and their opinions on how the stadium will impact Parramore.

Lions up for Yearly Awards

Several of Orlando City’s players are still in the running for MLS Goal of the Year and Joe Bendik has a whopping four saves up for Save of the Year. Unfortunately, the bracket is set up so he is up against himself and only the best of his saves will make it past the first two rounds. That’s not the case for Cyle Larin, Kaká, and Brek Shea, who are the City players who are eligible for Goal of the Year. Voting for this round of both competitions ends on Sunday.

Orlando City Foundation Year in Review

One of the best parts of Orlando City’s impact off the pitch has been through the Orlando City Foundation, the club’s philanthropic extension that does a lot of good in the community. It’s an impressive list of what they’ve accomplished this year, including a huge donation to the One Orlando Fund, several mini pitches and soccer programs in urban areas, and even a couple community gardens. The club’s continued excellence toward the city of Orlando is just another reason to support the team.

Three Subs for USL in 2017?

One of the biggest quirks of the USL as a league has been its five substitutions per match rule. It has been in place since the schedules were so jam-packed that teams had two matches in a weekend and needed the extra rotation, but now with added teams and less travel, there’s less need for it. Cincy Soccer Talk is claiming that the league will move to the FIFA standard three substitutions next season. This is supposedly coming straight from USL President Jake Edwards on Cincy Soccer Talk’s podcast dropping later today. It would be a step forward for the league from a legitimization standpoint, but it means less reps for development sides like OCB.

Mexico to Bid for 2026 World Cup with or without U.S.

There’s been swirling speculation of a combined CONCACAF bid for the 2026 World Cup but the Mexican federation has stated that they will move forward with or without cooperation from the U.S. FIFA is in favor of a joint bid but the United States is still waiting on set rules for the 2026 cup before committing to a bid.

Those are all the links we have for you today. Be sure to keep up with our ongoing season review series for each player as we break down their best match from this year, an overall statistical breakdown, and their future outlook with the club.