Happy Friday! This Florida winter has some whiplash in store for us, as temperatures are expected to rise this weekend before plunging again next week. I’ll be spending the weekend baking in preparation for a competition in a couple of weeks, but am hoping to enjoy the warm weather outdoors here and there as well. Let’s get to the links!

Inter&Co Stadium Upgrading Premium Seating

Changes are coming to Inter&Co Stadium’s premium seating options ahead of Orlando City’s and the Orlando Pride’s seasons. The West Club will have renovations, including an increase in its seating capacity and upgrades to its interior. The dining will also be revamped to focus on live cooking stations and all-inclusive selections. There will also be two open-air seating areas called Concourse Boxes added to the east side of the stadium. Sideline Social, a 245‑seat area with swivel seats and armrests, is also a new addition for 2026. While I don’t think I’ll be enjoying a game in this kind of comfort anytime soon, it’s nice to know what my options would be if I won the lottery.

MLS Announces Transfer Window Changes

MLS announced the transfer window dates and amendments to the league’s roster rules and regulations for the 2026 season. The secondary transfer window in the summer will now notably last through Sept. 2, which lines up with some of the world’s top leagues to help give MLS clubs a better opportunity to bring in players in the summer. The primary transfer window will run from Jan. 26 to March 26, with the roster compliance deadline date set for Feb. 20. Changes to the rules include removal of the limitations on how many times clubs can make cash for player trades and intraleague loans each season.

USWNT Gets Ready to Face Paraguay

The United States Women’s National Team will take on Paraguay on Saturday night in California in the first of two friendlies this month. This will be the third meeting between the two nations, with the U.S. beating Paraguay twice in September of 2021. While there are some notable names missing from Paraguay’s roster, it does include 18-year-old attacker Claudia Martinez. She scored six goals at last year’s Copa America Femenina and is reportedly joining the Washington Spirit for a $950,000 transfer fee. Following Saturday’s friendly, the USWNT will play Chile on Tuesday to close out its January camp.

Trinity Rodman Re-Signs With the Washington Spirit

The Washington Spirit signed American forward Trinity Rodman to a new contract that will last through 2028, ending one of the biggest sagas of the off-season regarding whether or not she would stay in the league. The deal will reportedly make Rodman the highest-paid women’s soccer player in the world. Selected by the Spirit with the second overall pick in the 2021 NWSL College Draft, Rodman was named Rookie of the Year and helped Washington win the NWSL Championship that year. Washington Spirit President of Soccer Operations Haley Carter, who left the Pride this off-season to join the Spirit, confirmed that the league’s new High Impact Player played a factor in the contract as well.

Keeping Up With the Europa League

The league phase of this year’s Europa League is nearing its conclusion and we’re getting a better idea on how the field will shake out. Aston Villa secured its spot in the round of 16 after a 1-0 win over Fenerbahce, with Jadon Sancho scoring the game’s only goal. Lyon is the only other team already through to the round of 16, winning 1-0 against Young Boys. Elsewhere across Europe, Niccolo Pisilli scored a brace in Roma’s 2-0 win over VfB Stuttgart, PAOK beat Real Betis 2-0 in Greece, and RB Salzburg stayed in contention with a 3-1 win over Basel.

Rangers and Nice finally won their first games of the tournament but were eliminated regardless. Celtic scored twice, went down to 10 men, and then held on for dear life in a 2-2 draw against Bologna. Despite its rollercoaster of a campaign, the Scottish side will qualify for the knockout phase with a victory against winless Utrecht next week.

Free Kicks

• Inter&Co Stadium is hosting Orlando Storm games for their inaugural season in the United Football League, and their season will kick off at home on March 29 against the Columbus Aviators.
• The New York Red Bulls are reportedly close to signing American goalkeeper Ethan Horvath from Cardiff City.

• Inter Miami signed goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo to a permanent deal after he spent last season on loan from Lanus in Argentina’s top flight. The 23-year-old replaced Oscar Ustari down the stretch for the Herons and started in the MLS Cup final.
• The Houston Dash signed goalkeeper Caroline DeLisle, who played collegiately at the University of Central Florida. DeLisle’s 31 shutouts are the most in UCF program history.
• Manchester United announced that Brazilian midfielder Casemiro will leave the club following this season. Signed by United in 2022, Casemiro scored 21 goals in 146 appearances and helped United win the 2024 FA Cup and 2023 EFL Cup.
• Schalke signed forward Edin Dzeko from Fiorentina, giving the club a boost up top as it aims for promotion. The 39-year-old should get some more playing time in Germany to prepare for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s World Cup qualifier against Wales in March.
• We’ll end our links with some Jeopardy!, since the game show had a category devoted to MLS. Not only did each contestant get at least one question correct, but there were no wrong answers. Kudos to them and best of luck playing along.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!

How’s it going, Mane Landers? I’m getting pretty excited for soccer to return to the City Beautiful, and it won’t be much longer until we can see our favorite players in purple once more. Until then, enjoy today’s links from around the soccer world!

Orlando City B Announces 2026 Schedule

We now know the schedules for all three of the club’s soccer teams, as Orlando City B unveiled its MLS NEXT Pro schedule for 2026. The Young Lions will open the season on a Monday when they host Huntsville City FC on March 2. They’ll follow that match with another home game on March 8 against Chicago Fire FC II. OCB’s schedule will include 28 games yet again, with the league staying in action while the World Cup is going on. Decision Day will take place on Sept. 20 against Atlanta United 2, with all Eastern Conference teams playing at 2 p.m. Hopefully the Young Lions can return to the playoffs after missing out last year.

MLS Unveils General Allocation Money Totals

MLS released information on how much 2026 General Allocation Money (GAM) each club has heading into the upcoming season. As of Jan. 20, Orlando City’s total comes to $3,518,514, which is a bit low compared to other clubs. However, it’s worth bearing in mind that roster moves are still being made that could easily change these totals, such as former Lion Facundo Torres’ reported move to Austin FC that will give Orlando some money due to the sell-on percentage. Clubs who choose the MLS U22 Initiative roster construction path will also receive another $2 million in GAM once the roster compliance deadline passes.

Minnesota United has the most 2026 GAM in the league and is the only club with over $7 million of it. The award for the lowest amount goes to Austin, which has roughly $2.5 million and is the only club under the $3 million mark according to the league.

Adrian Heath Was Held at Knifepoint in Morocco in 2024

You will need to get past the paywall for the full details, but former Orlando City head coach Adrian Heath spoke to The Athletic about being kidnapped and held at knifepoint in Morocco in 2024. Heath flew to the country for a management opportunity in Saudi Arabia that turned out to be a sham, with men holding him captive in exchange for money. Heath thankfully made it back to the United States thanks to help from his wife Jane, his son and former Lion Harrison Heath, and Harrison’s wife and soccer analyst Kaylyn Kyle (formerly with the Orlando Pride). It’s a harrowing story that’s worth checking out, and hopefully Heath coming forward about this helps keep other coaches safe.

UEFA Champions League Roundup

The penultimate round of the UEFA Champions League’s league phase is complete and the tournament’s bigger teams cruised for the most part. English clubs Liverpool, Chelsea, and Newcastle all had shutout wins, Harry Kane scored a brace in Bayern Munich’s 2-0 win over Union Saint-Gilloise, and Barcelona rallied to beat Slavia Praha 4-2. The match of the day though was in Azerbaijan, as Qarabag scored a late equalizer and then a winner in stoppage time to beat Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2. While Frankfurt has been in dire straits this tournament and is eliminated, it’s still an impressive result from Qarabag.

The last round of matches in the league phase is next week and there’s plenty to play for for most teams as they jockey for position to qualify for either the knockout phase or the round of 16.

Free Kicks

• The cinematography on these videos of the Orlando Pride training this preseason is pretty top notch if I do say so myself.

• The LA Galaxy are reportedly aiming to acquire St. Louis City forward Joao Klauss in exchange for around $2 million. Klauss scored 10 goals last season and would reportedly fill the Designated Player slot opened up in LA by Riqui Puig’s injury.

• The Josh Sargent transfer saga has reportedly escalated as he pushes for a move from Norwich City to Toronto FC.

• Barcelona midfielder Pedri sustained a hamstring injury and had to be substituted out in the second half of his team’s Champions League win.
• Manchester City’s captains will refund the tickets of nearly 400 fans who paid to watch the team lose 3-1 to Bodo/Glimt in Norway.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week.

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers! I hope you’ve been staying warm, though I assume it’s been a bit cooler up here in Tallahassee than it has been for those of you who reside in or near Orlando. Personally, I love this weather. I get that I live in Florida, but I should be able to wear jackets and sweaters during January and February at the very least. I appreciate you reading my short weather rant. Now, let’s get to the links.

The Orlando Pride Are Back

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. If that is indeed the case, then I wonder how many words a video is worth? Since we don’t have any articles detailing the return of the Orlando Pride to training on Tuesday, the club’s social media pictures and videos will have to suffice to let us know how it went.

Torres Returns to MLS

Facundo Torres’ time with Palmeiras is over. The former Lion is reportedly headed back to MLS to sign with Austin FC. Assuming that Tom Bogert’s information is correct, Orlando City will pocket an almost $1.5 million sell-on fee for Torres. That money plus the $14 million the Lions got in the transfer to Palmeiras is a good chunk of change for the left-footed attacker. If anyone knows his strengths and weaknesses, it will be Orlando City.

MLS Transfer News

The rest of MLS is not sitting around waiting for the season to begin. There have been more signings from across the league. The Houston Dynamo acquired forward Nick Markanich on loan from Spanish side CD Castellón. The LA Galaxy signed Johnny Nelson to a new contract through the 2027-2028 season.

Atlanta United transferred midfielder Edwin Mosquera to Colombian side Independiente Santa Fe. Meanwhile, the New England Revolution signed Griffin Yow from Belgian Pro League side KVC Westerlo through the 2027-2028 MLS season.

U.S. National Team News

Every day we get a little closer to the 2026 World Cup, although we’re still a way off from Mauricio Pochettino naming his World Cup roster. That being said, there are still some obvious front runners for those spots, including Orlando City’s Alex Freeman. Once the MLS season starts, the selection process will really begin, as all the potential players will be playing for their respective clubs in the hopes of playing for their country. Ricardo Pepi might be with a different club despite a recent broken arm. The PSV striker has interest from English Premier League sides like Fulham. Also, check out this goal from Haji Wright.

On the women’s side, Emma Hayes is doing some evaluations of her own. The USWNT coach is using the January camp to look at how deep the player pool for the U.S. really is. The first chance for players to shine comes Saturday against Paraguay. The second match will be Tuesday against Chile.

Free Kicks

• We now know the where the Concacaf W Champions Cup semifinals and final will be played. You’ll need your passport if you want to attend.

• Your might have seen the Orlando Pride’s schedule drop video last Friday. I felt it was a bit Full House (the television show) in presentation. Here is a compilation of the other club’s schedule announcement efforts.

• It seems that Haley Carter is busy spending Michelle Kang’s money up in the nation’s capital. The Washington Spirit have signed Claudia Martinez from Club Olimpia.

• The Canadian Premier League will institute Arsene Wenger’s “daylight” offside rule this season. This is a trial of the new rule to see how it plays out in actual matches and not just in theory. If it works it could pave the way for broader adoption.
• You probably saw the video of Moroccan ball boys trying to take a towel away from Senegal’s backup goalkeeper. This is worse and indicative of how out of control the match really was.

• Anyone that fights against the obvious graft and corruption surrounding FIFA is all right in my book. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is looking into ways for his residents to have watch parties since most average citizens have been priced out of World Cup tickets.

That will do it for today. We very much appreciate you reading our content so please feel free to provide feedback in the comments of any of our articles. Vamos Orlando!