The trend has been extremely noticeable. Foreign teams (both national and professional) are playing a ton of friendlies (and even an occasional competitive match) in the US. This thread is designed to capture the details of this trend and perhaps to discuss if it's good or bad for the US soccer scene. Mexico hosted 5 friendlies in the US in 2013 with an average attendance of 42,415 and another 5 friendlies and a WCQ match in 2012 for an average of 48,000. Here are the top attended 2013 friendly matches (+ Gold Cup) in the US not involving US teams: 71,124 2. Brazil-Honduras (friendly) in Miami Gardens, Fla. 62,310 7. Brazil-Portugal (friendly) in Foxboro, Mass. 62,107 8. Mexico-Nigeria (friendly) in Houston 56,822 10. Mexico-Panama/Canada-Martinique (Gold Cup Group A) in Pasadena Calif. 54,229 12. Mexico-Trinidad & Tobago/Panama-Cuba (Gold Cup quarterfinals) in Atlanta 54,184 13. Real Madrid-Inter Milan (friendly) in St. Louis 49,165 16. Argentina-Ecuador (friendly) in East Rutherford, N.J. 48,263 17. Manchester City-Chelsea (friendly) in St. Louis 43,345 19. Mexico-Denmark (friendly) in Glendale, Ariz. 41,983 20. Chelsea-Inter Milan (Guinness Int'l Champions Cup) in Indianapolis, Ind. Full list: http://www.socceramerica.com/article/54931/2013-top-20-us-soccer-crowds.html The only upcoming friendly in 2014 I am aware of right now is the Mexico-South Korea match on January 29th in San Antonio. With 2014 being a WC year and the US being a possible destination for team training camps before setting up in Brazil, we can expect more matches to be added to the calendar.
South Korea vs. Costa Rica on January 25th in LA Memorial Coliseum: In the U.S., South Korea will take on three World Cup participants in friendly matches: Costa Rica on Jan. 25 in Los Angeles, Mexico on Jan. 29 in San Antonio and the U.S. in Carson on Feb. 1.
March 5: Mexico vs. Nigeria friendly in Atlanta May 31: Mexico vs. Ecuador friendly in Arlington, Tex.
England will play Ecuador & Honduras in Miami in June: The Three Lions face Ecuador on June 4 and Honduras on June 7 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, the English Football Association said. http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/england-play-ecuador-honduras-miami-21555739
http://www.expressnews.com/sports/o...to-rock-Alamodome-5176845.php?t=5aef52c83f#/0 Event organizers say more than 41,000 tickets have been sold for Wednesday's match, the first of five in Mexico's 12th annual U.S. tour.
Costa Rica 0-1 Korean Republic Competition Friendlies Date 25 January 2014 Kick-off 20:00 Half-time 0 - 1 Full-time 0 - 1 Venue Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (Los Angeles, California) Attendance 15000
More than 50,000 tickets already sold for tonight's Mexico v Korea Republic game at San Antonio's @Alamodome— Gabriel Gabor (@MLSGabor) January 29, 2014
This is definitely a good thing. Shows sponsors that supporting soccer is a worthy investment and at a grass roots level it signals that future generations will view soccer as a sport on the same level of the conventional big 3.
The Copa Centroamericana – the championship of Central American national teams and a qualifying tournament for the CONCACAF Gold Cup – could be held in the United States in fall 2014 or January 2015, according to FutbolMLS.com and reports from Prensa Libre in Guatemala and Prensa Grafica in El Salvador from UNCAF meetings this month. If the tournament is held in the United States, possible sites include Washington, Dallas, Houston, and multiple cities in California. http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...ms-could-hold-copa-centroamericana-tourney-us
I'm surprised they wouldn't have announced the site for the Copa Centroamericana already. The link says "ESPN Deportes Radio's Jose del Valle posted on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon that the tournament will be held in September 2014 in Houston, Dallas and Los Angeles." I don't think they should make teams travel during the Group Stage for this, but I could see Texas hosting the Group Stage (one group in Houston and one group in Dallas) with the Fifth Place Game, Semifinals, Third Place Game, and Final in Los Angeles.
Mexico 4 - 0 Korea Republic Friendly January 29th, 2014 Alamodome (San Antonio, Texas) Attendance: 54,313
Looks like plans for the 2014 International Champions Cup are falling into place. There's a placeholder page on the site that includes the locations (such as "Ann Harbor" & "Pittsburg"): http://internationalchampionscup.com/schedule/ It looks like no MLS teams this year. Teams Real Madrid Manchester United Manchester City Liverpool AC Milan Inter Milan AS Roma Olympiacos
Their slogan seems to be "No friendlies, just football." And for more than half a century, American promoters bringing in European clubs for summer games have pushed the idea that they aren't friendlies. However...
Arsenal May Play Friendly in Boston During Summer 2014, Says Report http://worldsoccertalk.com/2013/12/...-summer-2014-says-report/#CARsLqTe4cIJJCbX.99 And the ICC 2014 schedule: The tentative schedule for matches July 26 through August 4 is as follows. Note that the schedule is subject to change, and has not been confirmed. The official announcement will be made on Tuesday: July 26, 2014 Inter Milan vs Real Madrid — 4pm ET — Phoenix, AZ AS Roma vs Manchester United — 6pm ET — Denver, CO Olympiacos vs Liverpool — 6pm ET — Chicago, IL July 27, 2014 Manchester City vs AC Milan — 4pm ET — Pittsburgh, PA July 29, 2014 Inter Milan vs Manchester United — 7:30pm ET — Washington DC AS Roma vs Real Madrid — 9:30pm ET — Dallas, TX July 30, 2014 AC Milan vs Liverpool — 7pm ET — Philadelphia, PA Manchester City vs Olympiacos — 9pm ET — New York, NY August 1, 2014 AS Roma vs Inter Milan — 8pm ET — New York, NY August 2, 2014 AC Milan vs Olympiacos — 2pm ET — Hartford, CT Real Madrid vs Manchester United — 4pm — Ann Arbor, MI Liverpool vs Manchester City — 6pm ET — Charlotte, NC August 3, 2014 Semi-finals to be played at Sun Life Stadium in Miami, FL August 4, 2014 Final game and third place match to be played at Sun Life Stadium, Miami http://worldsoccertalk.com/2014/01/...to-united-states-in-july/#6AAeFqsTRIgdVkMK.99
Honduras has announced their tentative pre-WC schedule, including at least 2 matches (and probably 3) in the US: The second match will be on May 31 against Colombia in either New York or Chicago. Then, head coach Luis Fernando Suarez’s squad will meet Ivory Coast at a location to be determined, before concluding the slate three days later against England at SunLife Stadum in Miami Gardens, Florida. http://www.concacaf.com/article/honduras-confirms-pre-world-cup-schedule
The international friendly slate to-date: March 5: Mexico vs. Nigeria friendly in Atlanta May 31: Mexico vs. Ecuador friendly in Arlington, Tex. May 31: Costa Rica vs. Colombia friendly in NYC or Chicago June 4: England vs. Ecuador friendly in Miami June 7: England vs. Costa Rica friendly in Miami
Lots of news today. SUM/MLS are organizing many of the matches to be played in the US by WC teams (and others). Here's the latest list: ROAD TO BRAZIL PARTICIPANTS (as of Feb. 3, 2014) Bolivia Bosnia-Herzegovina** El Salvador Greece** Honduras** Ivory Coast** Nigeria** Spain** ** = Teams participating in the 2014 World Cup The tune-ups will take place between May 27 and June 10 and will be organized by Soccer United Marketing, the league's commercial arm. http://www.mlssoccer.com/worldcup/2...rganize-road-brazil-series-international-tune
Sorry about that... I put Costa Rica in Honduras' slot. The international friendly slate to-date: March 5: Mexico vs. Nigeria friendly in Atlanta May 31: Mexico vs. Ecuador friendly in Arlington, Tex. May 31: Honduras vs. Colombia friendly in NYC or Chicago June 4: England vs. Ecuador friendly in Miami June 7: England vs. Honduras friendly in Miami[/quote]
The international friendly slate to-date: March 5: Mexico vs. Nigeria friendly in Atlanta May 30: Bosnia vs. Ivory Coast friendly in Kansas City May 31: Mexico vs. Ecuador friendly in Arlington, Tex. May 31: Honduras vs. Colombia friendly in NYC or Chicago June 3: Mexico vs. Bosnia friendly in Chicago June 4: England vs. Ecuador friendly in Miami June 7: England vs. Honduras friendly in Miami
At least two of the semifinalists (maybe all four) are going to play three days in a row. Is this really true?
Manchester United has announced a tour, which I assume extends beyond the ICC matches: (NYSE:MANU) Manchester United has today announced that its 2014 Tour, presented by Aon, will take place in the United States. The team will visit a number of destinations in the country as they look to prepare for the 2014/15 season. Full details of Tour 2014 will be announced in the coming weeks.
More hints on friendly locations: As part of final World Cup preparations, defending champion Spain has lined up a friendly against an unspecified Central American team in early June, sources close to the planning told the Insider on Tuesday. The Spanish federation has already arranged a training camp in the Washington area before flying to Brazil for the World Cup, which kicks off June 12. El Salvador appears to be the leading candidate to face Spain. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...ne-for-proposed-international-soccer-matches/
Confirmation of the Copa Centroamericana coming to the US in September: http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...referral&utm_content=News&utm_campaign=Unpaid
Mexico vs. Portugal in Foxboro on June 6th. http://www.revolutionsoccer.net/news/2014/02/portugal-mexico-meet-gillette-stadium-june-6 The international friendly slate to-date: March 5: Mexico vs. Nigeria friendly in Atlanta May 30: Bosnia vs. Ivory Coast friendly in Kansas City May 31: Mexico vs. Ecuador friendly in Arlington, Tex. May 31: Honduras vs. Colombia friendly in NYC or Chicago June 3: Mexico vs. Bosnia friendly in Chicago June 4: England vs. Ecuador friendly in Miami June 6: Mexico vs. Portugal friendly in Foxboro, Mass. June 7: England vs. Honduras friendly in Miami