MLS Sporting Kansas City

Sporting Kansas City Weekly Update

Published on May 25, 2011 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release


TONIGHT: SPORTING KANSAS CITY HOST NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION IN U.S. OPEN CUP

Having played its eighth of 10 road matches to start the 2011 regular season, Sporting Kansas City will finally play its first match in front of home support tonight.

Sporting Kansas City will host the New England Revolution on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. CT at the Blue Valley District Activities Complex in the final round of U.S. Open Cup qualifying. Sporting Kansas City defeated the Houston Dynamo by a 1-0 scoreline in the previous round of qualifying on April 6.

SPORTING KANSAS CITY TRAVEL TO TAKE ON COLORADO RAPIDS ON SATURDAY

Sporting Kansas City will continue the 2011 MLS season at 8:00 p.m. CT on Saturday night when they face the Colorado Rapids. The match will be broadcast live in English on KSMO-TV. KSMO-TV will again air a 30-minute pre-game show hosted by play-by-play announcer Callum Williams and guest color commentator Conor McGahey, as well as their weekly soccer show, Off the Pitch with Sporting Kansas City, on Sunday at 9:30 p.m. CT.

Saturday ‚¬â„¢s match, the ninth of 10 straight on the road to start the season while construction at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park is completed, will take place at Dick ‚¬â„¢s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado. A Reserve League match between the two clubs will be played on Sunday.

Colorado (4-3-4) sits in sixth place in the Western Conference after 11 matches, most recently drawing 0-0 at home against Toronto FC last Sunday. Check SportingKC.com on Friday for full game notes and join the website ‚¬â„¢s live chat on Saturday during the match.

SPORTING KC QUARTET BOUND FOR CONCACAF GOLD CUP

Shavar Thomas (Jamaica), Roger Espinoza (Honduras), Stephane Auvray (Guadeloupe) and Craig Rocastle (Grenada) have been selected to represent their respective national teams at this summer ‚¬â„¢s CONCACAF Gold Cup. Thomas, Espinoza and Rocastle could all potentially square off against each other, as Jamaica, Honduras and Grenada have all been drawn into Group B.

Auvray will have the chance to play in front of a hometown crowd when Guadeloupe face the United States in the second half of the Group C doubleheader at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park on June 14 at 8:00 p.m. CT. Panama will take on Canada at 6:00 p.m. CT.

KAMARA SELECTED FOR SIERRA LEONE

Sporting Kansas City forward Kei Kamara has been selected to represent Sierra Leone in their African Cup of Nationsqualifier against Niger on June 4. Sierra Leone currently sit third in qualifying Group G which also features South Africa and Egypt. The Leone Stars are 0-1-2 with three matches remaining in Group G and have a rematch with Niger, after a 3-1 loss in March that Kamara appeared as a second-half substitute for his seventh career international appearance.

Kamara will miss out on Sporting Kansas City ‚¬â„¢s trip to Toronto FC on the same day.

KEMPIN WITH U.S. UNDER-18 NATIONAL TEAM

Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Jon Kempinwas named to the United States Under-18 National Team roster for the Lisbon International Tournament in Lisbon, Portugal from May 19-29.

Kempin is one of two goalkeepers selected to the 20-player squad and will train under head coach Mike Matkovich as the team plays three matches against European competition. The United States opened the tournament against Netherlands today before taking on hosts Portugal one day later and concluding the tournament against Finland on May 28.

SINGLE GAME TICKETS ON SALE TO PUBLIC

Sporting Kansas City announced last week the release of single game tickets for the 2011 season at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. Tickets to individual Sporting Kansas City regular season home MLS matches at state-of-the-art LIVESTRONG Sporting Park can be purchased online via Ticketmaster.

SPORTING CLUB LAUNCHES SPORTING CLUB NETWORK

Sporting Club announced last week the launch of the Sporting Club Network, a groundbreaking membership of athletes and athletic organizations created toaffiliate all interested soccer and other organizations in the Midwest withSporting Club and Sporting Kansas City. Sporting Club Network affiliates will be provided with unique member benefits and access opportunities to Sporting Club ‚¬â„¢s facilities, content and events.

The founding members of the Sporting Club Network are the Kansas City Blues Rugby Club, Heartland Soccer Association, Kaw Valley Soccer Association, Blue Valley Soccer Club,Metro United Soccer Club, Sunflower Soccer Association, Blackfire Soccer Club, Leavenworth Soccer Association, Prodigy Soccer Club, Newton United Soccer Club, Club Azzurri and the United Soccer League of Kansas City. As part of the Sporting Club Network, each organization ‚¬â„¢s membership will become members of Sporting Club, the parent organization of Sporting Kansas City.

SPORTING KANSAS CITY LAUNCHES THE SPORTING 22 COMMUNITY PROGRAM

Sporting Kansas City announced recently the launch of its newest community outreach program, Sporting 22 presented by Teva Neuroscience. The Sporting 22 program is based around giving local high-school students the ability to execute ideasthat will positively impact the health of local children using soccer or related activities as a tool.

Students may begin submitting their project ideas beginning immediately via the official Sporting 22 Scholarship and Grant Application. The application is open and submissions will be accepted until midnight, May 28. The team will select 22 winners, whereupon each winner will be given up to $500 in grant funding as well as a $2,000 college scholarship once their program iscompleted.

Questions regarding the program can be directed to Sporting KC community relations manager, Erin Lawless, who can be reached at elawless@sportingkc.com, or by phone at 913-387-3424.

FARM AID CONCERT COMING TO LIVESTRONG SPORTING PARK

Farm Aid announced last week that it will bring its annual benefit concert to Kansas City, marking the first time that the organization will stage the event in Kansas. Farm Aid 2011 will be the first concert event at the new LIVESTRONG Sporting Park, which opens June 9.

Farm Aid 2011 will feature Farm Aid board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews on Saturday, August 13. Other top artists willsoon be announced.

For more information on Farm Aid 2011 at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park, visit the official website.

SPORTING KC JUNIORS CONTINUE DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY PLAY

The Sporting Kansas City U18 and U16 Juniors continued play in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy this weekend at the Sporting Club Training Center in Swope Park. The U16 Juniors, coached by Jon Parry, moved to 11-4-4 overall after winning 4-1 against St. Louis Scott Gallagher Metro on Sunday. The U16s currently sit in first place in the Frontier Division table.

The U18 Juniors fell on Sunday to St. Louis Scott Gallagher Metro U17/U18 by a 2-0 scoreline.

News and results from the Sporting KC Juniors program can be found on the official Juniors blog. The Juniors program was also recently featured on MLSSoccer.com as it continues to draw attention for producing two Home Grown Players, goalkeeper Jon Kempin and defender Kevin Ellis, and continuing to be competitive against some of the best teams in the nation.

TICKETS ON SALE FOR NEWCASTLE UNITED FRIENDLY

Sporting Kansas City announced recently the release of tickets for the club ‚¬â„¢s international friendly against English Premier League side Newcastle United on July 20.Tickets for the match start at just $20, and can be purchased on-line via Ticketmaster, or by calling 1-888-4KC-GOAL.

The match is the second international event scheduled to be held at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park, the 18,467 seat venue currently under construction in Kansas City, Kansas. The state-of-the-art, $200 million home ground of Sporting Kansas City is Major League Soccer's newest soccer-specific stadium and was selected to host a 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup doubleheader on June 14, featuring the United States Men's National Team.

The match will be included in all SportingKansas City season ticket packages, which are currently available for purchase at SportingKC.com/VirtualVenue. For more information, call 888-4KC-GOAL.

SPORTING KC RELEASE TAKE TEN TICKET PACKS, ADDITIONAL GOLD CUP TICKETS

Sporting Kansas City announced recently the release of the club's Take Ten ticket packages. The packages start at just $200/person and give fans access to a total of 10 matches throughout the 2011 season at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park, including the inaugural match June 9 against the Chicago Fire and the international friendly match against Newcastle United on July 20.

The Take Ten ticket packages and full season ticket packages can be purchased either by visiting SportingKC.com or by calling the Sporting Kansas City ticket office at 1-888-4KC-GOAL.

Sporting Kansas City also announced on last week the release of an additional allotment of tickets to the 2011 CONCACAFGold Cup €žÂ¢ doubleheader to be played on June 14 at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. Fans can purchase tickets to see the doubleheader here.

SPORTING KC PARTICIPATING IN US SOCCER FOUNDATION PASSBACK PROGRAM

Sporting Kansas City is once again participating in the US Soccer Foundation's Passback program to help provide soccer gear to disadvantaged children through local charitygroups in the Kansas City metro area.

Sporting Kansas City is helping to coordinate equipment drives across the metro for the following sets of dates. Fans are encouraged to donate new or used soccer equipment they might have at their disposal.

Date: May 17 - May 31: Overland Park Soccer Complex (In conjunction with Blue Valley Soccer Club)

Any questions regarding Sporting Kansas City's participation in the Passback program can be directed to Erin Lawless at 913-387-3424.

SPORTING KANSAS CITY TO HOLD VARIOUS YOUTH CAMPS IN 2011:

Sporting Kansas City and the Sporting Kansas City Juniors will hold four more youth camps in 2011 for boys and girls of all ages. Interested players and parents are encouraged to visit SportingKC.com/camps for additional information and to sign-up using the online registration forms.

Remaining camps available in 2011, include the following:

Pre-TryoutCamp, June 6-8, 2011

2011 Fantasy Camp, August 1-4, 2011

Boys Development Camp, June 20-22, 2011

Sporting Youngsters Camp, June 20-23, 2011

For more information on all youth camps and Juniors programs, please contact Betsy Pollard at 913-387-3883.

SPORTING KANSAS CITY MERCHANDISE AVAILABLE LOCALLY AND ONLINE:

Sporting Kansas City merchandise can be purchased at Dick ‚¬â„¢s Sporting Goods, The Kansas City Store and Kansas Sampler locations throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area, as well as online at MLSgear.com. Dick ‚¬â„¢s Sporting Goods launched the first line of Sporting Kansas City hooded sweatshirts, as well as short-sleeve and long-sleeve t-shirts following the team ‚¬â„¢s announcement of their new look in November 2010, while The Kansas City Store made merchandise available prior to the holiday season and continues to carry team items.

Check out the Sporting Kansas City Statistics

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