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MLS Inter Miami CF

Mas and Beckham Ahead of Season Opener: “Our Team Has to Fight”

February 25, 2022 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Inter Miami CF News Release


With just one day to go before the club's highly anticipated 2022 home opener, Inter Miami CF CEO and Managing Owner Jorge Mas and Co-Owner David Beckham hosted a press conference to share their hopes and expectations.

"Our team has to fight. Whether you're up or you're down, you fight until the last minute and the last second. I think that's something that in the careers of David Beckham and at least something that I know [myself], we fight, never give up...The team has to be a reflection, in that aspect, of its ownership. This team needs to fight and battle 90 plus minutes every game," said Mas.

"We want players that are going to step onto that pitch and our fans are going to be proud of and our fans are going to watch every week and say, 'okay, they're playing, we may not have won that game, but [wow] did we fight.' That's the most important thing, that they fight every time they walk onto the pitch," added Beckham.

The team's owners emphasized the trust they've placed in Chief Soccer Officer and Sporting Director Chris Henderson, as well as head coach Phil Nevlle. Mas and Beckham stressed that they feel they have put the right people in charge to lead the club and offered the necessary resources to support them.

"The first changes we saw prior to last year were predominantly in the front office, bringing Chris along and then Phil.... Revamping the roster at that time was a much more difficult task, but coming into this year, the whole team made a decision that, whatever it takes, this team has to be in the semblance of Chris and Phil. I think now they have all the elements in order to have their team and their fingerprints on the product, and we'll start seeing it on the field tomorrow. It's our role as owners to support them, to give them the resources necessary," stated Mas.

"This is what Phil has always talked about, bringing in the players that he wants in this team, bringing in players that want to work for us, that want to respect the jersey, that want to play every weekend or during the week, and come into training and come into this great facility that we have and work. I think that's the most important thing," said Beckham.

Mas and Beckham also touched on the team's strong preseason, including its Breeze Airways Carolina Challenge Cup title, expressing his excitement to see the culmination of the team's work.

"This is the first season we had a full preseason with a handful of games, with MLS competition, USL competition, with Universitario from Peru here at the stadium...The team is preparing and I think what we've seen so far, although it's preseason, I think it bodes well for what Phil and Chris' vision has been, that we as owners and our fans will be able to see and I think will be very proud of the product on the field," said Mas.

"The proof will be when the players step onto the pitch and hopefully they perform to the level that we as owners want, and obviously more importantly, that Chris and Phil want. We talked about the changes that we've made, we have spoken about our team being younger, quicker and winning more. This is the first step to doing that. So, we're excited for tomorrow," said Beckham.

On the subject of Saturday's match, Mas shared his enthusiasm for the return of the club's fans to DRV PNK Stadium.

"We very much look forward to opening our third season tomorrow here at DRV PNK Stadium against the Chicago Fire. We're looking forward to seeing our fans again, to seeing DRV PNK Stadium and our fans who are the heartbeat of our club...Truly, our fans make the environment here at DRV PNK Stadium something very special, special for our players, special for us as owners...Every step that we've taken in terms of building this club has been in with mind that all of our fans in the South Florida community can be proud of our team," stated Mas.

Inter Miami will take on Chicago Fire FC at DRV PNK Stadium this Saturday, Feb. 26 at 6 p.m. ET. Individual match tickets for each of the 17 regular season home matches on the Inter Miami CF schedule - beginning with the highly anticipated home opener - are available visiting https://www.intermiamicf.com/tickets/single. Fans can also call 305-428-0611 to learn more. The match will also be broadcast locally on MyTV 33 and UniMás.

Inter Miami fans can join the Heartbeat of the club and secure their seats for the 2022 campaign by becoming Season Ticket Members. Season Ticket Members receive the best prices and priority seating locations for all 2022 home matches. Additional benefits include priority access to home playoff matches, interest free payment options, and discounts on season parking passes. For more information on Season Ticket Memberships, please visit intermiamicf.com/tickets.

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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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