U.S. Women’s National Team to play Brazil in Orlando – 10th November 2013
In conjunction with the U.S. Soccer Federation, Orlando City SC announced today that the two-time defending Olympic champion U.S. Women’s National Team will play the fourth-ranked Brazilian Women’s National Team next month at the Florida Citrus Bowl.
The U.S. Women’s National Team vs. Brazil will take place on Sunday, November 10 at 3:30 p.m. ET and will be nationally broadcast on NBC.
“Orlando City SC is thrilled to help bring the U.S. Women’s National Team to Orlando,” said Orlando City President Phil Rawlins. “Since our organization launched in 2011, our goal has been to grow the sport of soccer in Central Florida. Successfully hosting this match will be yet another step forward in Orlando City’s goal of being announced this year as the next Major League Soccer (MLS) Expansion Club.”
Today’s announcement comes after the first of two vitally important public votes involving the Club. On Monday, the City of Orlando Board of Commissioners voted unanimously (7-0 vote) to fund a new downtown soccer stadium that would be the future home of the Lions. The stadium is part of a 50/50 public-private partnership proposed by Orlando City Soccer Club – and which is vital to the Club’s MLS aspirations.
The second required public vote will occur on October 22nd with the Orange County Board of Commissioners. A positive outcome from both votes would allow Orlando City to enter into final negotiations with MLS to award an expansion team.
“We are excited to be working with Orlando City Soccer on the upcoming Women’s National Team match,” said U.S. Soccer’s Chief Executive Officer Dan Flynn. “We’ve watched for several years as Orlando’s fan base continued to grow, and Central Florida has established itself as a very important soccer market.”
The match was further arranged with the assistance of the City of Orlando’s venue management division Orlando Venues, which oversees operations for a variety of facilities such as the Citrus Bowl and Amway Center.
Announcement for the high-profile international soccer match is further supported by key local elected officials, including Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs and City of Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer.
“We were delighted to hear that the U.S. Women’s National soccer team will play the Brazilian Women’s National team in Orlando on November 10th,” said Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs. “The economic benefits associated with this international match will be significant. We look forward to welcoming the players, coaches and fans for this nationally televised game, and to hosting a memorable soccer match.”
“We are proud to host the U.S. Women’s National Team at the Florida Citrus Bowl,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. “Our community’s commitment to building world-class venues will allow us to continue to attract national and international events like this that bring significant economic impact to our entire region and offer unique sports options for our residents.”
Orlando City’s fans have established Central Florida as a top soccer market by setting multiple attendance milestones, including the highest average attendance in all of minor league soccer during the 2013 season with more than 8,000 fans per match. Most recently, over 20,000 fans watched the Lions win the 2013 USL PRO Championship, setting the record for largest minor league championship attendance in any sport.
As mentioned publicly numerous times by Orlando City officials, the construction of a new downtown soccer stadium will result in an increased number of high-profile soccer matches. In recent years, Orlando City has locally staged and promoted other big-name international friendlies, including matches involving Brazilian powerhouse Fluminense FC and English Premier League Club’s Stoke City and Newcastle United.
“I am especially proud of the number of international exhibitions our organization has hosted as a minor league club,” said Rawlins. “These matches have been vital to establishing ourselves as a viable future MLS Club. As we prepare to move to the major leagues, Orlando City is committed to continuing to partner with even more high-profile international soccer clubs in the years to come.”
For more information on the upcoming U.S. Women’s National Team international friendly, including ticket information, stay tuned to USsoccer.com and OrlandoCitySoccer.com. As a preview, here’s my interview with Hope Solo, U.S. Women’s National Team goalkeeper before the game with Scotland earlier in the year:
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