Lion Links
Lion Links: 6/11/20
Good morning, Mane Landers. I hope you’re all doing well! Let’s go ahead and jump into the links.
MLS is Back Tournament
Major League Soccer officially announced the MLS is Back Tournament, which kicks off July 8 and runs through Aug. 11. Fans won’t be permitted to attend, but here are the other important details:
*All 26 MLS clubs participating; all matches in Orlando
*Group stage followed by knockout rounds
*Group stage counts toward regular season
*Winner earns 2021 Concacaf Champions League spot
*Pre-tournament draw to assign groups
*Regular season continues after tournament
All 54 matches played during the tournament will be televised on MLS partner networks.
Alex Leitão’s Hand in MLS Coming to Orlando
Orlando City’s CEO Alex Leitão said that he and the Lions have been brainstorming ways to get soccer back safely since the shutdown and are excited to be the host city for the tournament.
When MLS was discussing playing in regional hubs to limit travel, Leitão thought, “Maybe we didn’t need hubs. We have a place that can accommodate all teams. … We have hotels that could host all the teams and a facility like ESPN Wide World of Sports with the fields to not only accommodate the games, but … give opportunities to the teams to train.”
He said the first calls in making this happen went to club partners Disney and Orlando Health. League officials confirmed that Leitão played an instrumental role, suggesting Wide World of Sports as a venue to resume play.
In an interview with Fox 35’s Adam Shadoff, Leitão said players will stay at Disney and can’t go home. He added that games will return to Exploria Stadium and is hopeful that at least some fans will be in attendance.
Some notes from my interview with @OrlandoCitySC CEO @alexleitao:
-Lions players will stay on-site at Disney, they can’t go home.
-MLS will definitely play regular season games at home after the tournament. Leitão is hopeful that they’ll have at least some fans in attendance. pic.twitter.com/himSZEiJSi— Adam Shadoff (@FOX35Adam) June 10, 2020
Pride Release Keeper Kit
Following the release of the Pride’s away kits on Tuesday, the club shared the new keeper kits yesterday. The new kits feature a fingerprint design and are available in both purple and black. All of the new kits are available now.
We told ya they're keepers. 😈@orlandohealth | #VamosOrlando
— Orlando Pride (@ORLPride) June 10, 2020
U.S. Repeals Ban on Kneeling
The U.S. Women’s Soccer Federation called on U.S. Soccer to repeal its ban on players and staff kneeling during the national anthem and asked for an apology. With that, U.S. Soccer has repealed the policy requiring players to stand.
The U.S. Soccer Board of Directors voted yesterday to repeal Policy 604-1, which required our players to stand during the national anthem.
Black Lives Matter.
We can do more and we will. pic.twitter.com/wtyfkVZmsB— U.S. Soccer (@ussoccer) June 11, 2020
Free Kicks
- We see you, Pride, putting in the work.
Making progress 😈 #VamosOrlando pic.twitter.com/AxaVYWXUiM
— Orlando Pride (@ORLPride) June 10, 2020
- Canada Soccer announced that women’s national team head coach Kenneth Heiner-Møller will step down in August.
- Eintracht Frankfurt unveiled special jerseys to support Black Lives Matter.
Tonight: Make your mark 🖤
Everyday: Listen. Understand. Question. Stand. Speak up. Fight for tolerance and diversity. Overcome racism.@indeed #inEintracht #RoomForDiversity #FCBSGE pic.twitter.com/31gHIo3p4h
— Eintracht Frankfurt (@eintracht_eng) June 10, 2020
- Leagues and teams are wary about raising prices after the COVID-19 fallout, hoping that returning can help recoup some of the loss.
- Christian Pulisic will have to step up as Chelsea prepares for the arrival of Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech.
That’ll do it for me today, everyone. Have a great day and stay safe.