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Sporting Kansas City

Sporting KC Weekly Update

January 9, 2013 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release


SPORTING KC RELEASES FULL SCHEDULE FOR 2013 SEASON

Sporting Kansas City released the club's 34-game regular season schedule on Wednesday for the 2013 Major League Soccer season, highlighted by 13 matches that will be carried on national television networks across the United States.

Full season tickets start at $400 for 20-game packages, which will include all 17 MLS home regular season matches as well as both CONCACAF Champions League group stage home games and all home matches in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup through the quarterfinal round (up to three potential games). Visit SportingKC.com, email tickets@sportingkc.com or call 888-4KC-GOAL to reserve seats.

Partial season ticket packages will be released on Jan. 15 and single-game tickets for the first nine home matches will go on sale to the general public on Feb. 7. Season Ticket Members will have access to a pre-sale starting on Jan. 31 for single-game tickets to all 17 MLS regular season home matches.

THREE SPORTING KC PLAYERS NAMED TO USMNT ROSTER

Sporting Kansas City's Matt Besler, Benny Feilhaber and Graham Zusi were selected to the U.S. Men's National Team roster on Sunday for a training camp from Jan. 7-27 at the National Training Center in Carson, Calif., the United States Soccer Federation announced. Head coach Jurgen Klinsmann named 25 players for the team's annual January Camp ahead of the United States first match of 2013 against Canada at 8 p.m. CT on Jan. 29 at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston.

The three players selected from Sporting Kansas City are tied for the most chosen from any club, following the team's first place finish in the Eastern Conference during the 2012 Major League Soccer season.

KEI KAMARA NAMED SIERRA LEONE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Sporting Kansas City striker Kei Kamara has been voted the Sierra Leonean Player of The Year 2012 by viewers of sierraleonefootball.com website, rewarding him for his outstanding performance for both club and country. The announcement was made by Mohamed Kallon on a live radio program linked worldwide by sierraleonefootball.com on Sunday. The 28-year old striker will be presented with a specially designed trophy to wrap up a golden season for him.

A 2012 MLS All-Star, Kamara was named the team's Offensive Player of the Year with a team best and career-high 11 goals in MLS play last year. He was also one of three finalists for MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Year for his work in Sierra Leone through the HeartShapedHands Foundation and his support of Schools for Salone. He provided scholarships for students in his native Sierra Leone, where the Kei Kamara Home and School for War Orphans was built in Freetown. Kamara was a finalist for the Courage in Sports Award and was also the subject of the documentary-length film KEI about his life story and desire to make a difference since immigrating to the United States as a youth.

GOALS FOR GILLIS HOSTS WRAP-UP PARTY TONIGHT

Sporting Kansas City partnered with Gillis to launch Goals for Gillis at the beginning of the 2012 season. The program was designed to raise money to help at-risk children and families with every goal Sporting Kansas City scored throughout their 2012 MLS matches.

Fans were able to participate by making pledges starting at a dollar for every goal that Sporting Kansas City scored during the year. The top four Goals for Gillis fundraisers will be recognized at a special event with Robb Heineman and Sporting Kansas City forward Kei Kamara at the Gillis Center tonight at 5:30 p.m. CT.

ACADEMY'S PALMER-BROWN TO ATTEND RESIDENCY PROGRAM

Sporting Kansas City U16 Academy defender Erik Palmer-Brown will attend the U.S. Soccer Residency Program in Bradenton, Fla. for the Spring Semester, the U.S. Soccer Federation announced on Tuesday. Palmer-Brown arrived in Bradenton on Sunday and will attend school while training with U.S. Soccer coaches and some of the best youth soccer players from around the country.

Palmer-Brown, 15, has been a key contributor with the Sporting KC Academy over the last two U.S. Soccer Development Academy seasons. He appeared in all 24 Academy matches during the 2011-12 season and started 11 games to date during the 2012-13 campaign. He appeared in an MLS Reserve League match for the Sporting Kansas City senior team and joined the United States U-15 National Team in September for a training camp.

LSP HOSTING JOB FAIRS ON JAN. 26 AND JAN. 30

LIVESTRONG Sporting Park will be hosting two job fairs to hire part time event staff employees for the upcoming season. The job fairs will be held on Saturday, Jan. 26 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and on Wednesday, Jan. 30 from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Job fairs will be located at in the Members' Club of LIVESTRONG Sporting Park, One Sporting Way, Kansas City, KS 66111.

Various part-time positions are needed, including concierges, ushers, ticket takers, merchandise and box office representatives. Applicants must be at least 18. Park in Lot D behind Lonestar Restaurant, and enter Members' Club Entrance. For more information, email Stephen at guestservices@sportingkc.com or call 913-912-7511.

SPORTING KC ON COVER OF KC BUSINESS JOURNAL'S BOOK OF LISTS

Sporting Kansas City forward Kei Kamara graces the cover of the Kansas City Business Journal's 2013 Book of Lists, recently released in time for the new year. Inside the 30th annual edition, additional Sporting Kansas City photos are shown of Graham Zusi, Seth Sinovic, Kamara and Roger Espinoza.

The Kansas City Business Journal has previously recognized Sporting Kansas City with numerous accolades, including the 2011 and 2012 ImpacT Award for Client Interface as well as a Capstone Award for Community Impact.

The Book of Lists provides readers with listings of hundreds of companies throughout the metropolitan area, by ranking, as well as names of key decision makers and industry leaders.

SPORTING KC LAUNCHES NEW PODCAST "SNIPPETS OF SPORTING"

SportingKC.com has started new a micro-podcast entitled "Snippets of Sporting" to discuss all the latest news and developments throughout 2013. The podcast will be available daily Monday through Friday and is hosted by a rotating cast of members from the Sporting Kansas City Communications and Digital departments.

Listeners can tune in at SportingKC.com/podcast and subscribe to the RSS feed for new episodes every morning.

2013 DISNEY PRO SOCCER CLASSIC SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED

The schedule has been announced for the 2013 Disney Pro Soccer Classic. The six Major League Soccer (MLS) teams participating in Central Florida Soccer Spring Training, as well as Orlando City Soccer Club (USL) and the Tampa Bay Rowdies (NASL), will compete in two weeks of group play, with Group A consisting of Orlando City, Philadelphia Union, Toronto Football Club and Columbus Crew. Teams in Group B will include the Tampa Bay Rowdies, D.C. United, Montreal Impact and Sporting Kansas City. All games will be played at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World.

Travel packages are available that include lodging, Disney Pro Soccer Classic game tickets, attraction tickets and exclusive VIP experiences. Additionally, Soccer Spring Training will include a number of events aimed at increasing excitement for soccer in Central Florida, including a College Combine, International Trials and amateur soccer tournaments.

For more information about Central Florida Soccer Spring Training and to book a travel package, please visit www.SoccerSpringTraining.com or call the official travel provider, GET Travel, at 888-877-4445, option 3.

SPORTING KC ANNOUNCES 2013 PRE-SEASON DESTINATIONS

Sporting Kansas City will travel to Tucson, Ariz. and Orlando, Fla. for the team's 2013 pre-season. The team will arrive in Tucson on Jan. 20 for a two-week stay and will participate in The Desert Friendlies presented by FC Tucson against other MLS competition at the Kino Sports Complex. The matches will be open to the public with tickets to go on sale later this month. Visit FCTucson.com for more information. The upcoming pre-season will mark the third straight year that Sporting Kansas City has selected Tucson as a pre-season site.

After returning home to Kansas City on Feb. 2, the club will depart for the second leg of the 2013 pre-season in Orlando on Feb. 7. Sporting Kansas City will be one of several MLS teams once again competing in the 2013 Disney Pro Soccer Classic at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex from Feb. 9-23. Sporting Kansas City supporters can follow the club to Central Florida to see the team compete in the tournament while enjoying all of the world class attractions Orlando has to offer. Travel packages are available that include lodging, match tickets, attraction tickets and exclusive VIP experiences. Visit SoccerSpringTraining.com for details.

In addition to the MLS regular season schedule, Sporting Kansas City's 2013 campaign will be highlighted by the club's defense of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title and participation in the 2013-2014 CONCACAF Champions League. Season tickets for the 2013 season at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park start at $300 for a20-game package and are available to purchase by calling 888-4KC-GOAL.

SPORTING KC NOW TAKING DEPOSITS FOR 2013 RESERVED SEATING

Sporting Kansas City supporters can now place 2013 Season Ticket Deposits for all Reserved Seating at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park by calling 888-4KC-GOAL or visiting here.

FOLLOW SPORTING KC ONLINE

Sporting Kansas City fans looking to keep up with the club on the worldwide web now have a place to go. The new social media page on SportingKC.com features Twitter account information for the club, its players as well as many staff members. Additionally, fans may take advantage of the Media Recap page for all the latest independent news coverage available online.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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