Orlando City helps MLS get to Disney
Lions will be host seed for 1 of 6 groups, as draw will be held today
Orlando City CEO Alex Leitão said ever since Major League Soccer shut down play March 11 due to the coroanvirus pandemic, the Lions were eager to figure out ways to help bring back soccer safely.
As MLS began discussing playing in regional hubs to limit travel, Leitão said he thought, “Maybe we didn’t need hubs. We have a place that can accommodate all teams. … We have hotels that could host all the teams and a facility like ESPN Wide World of Sports with the fields to not only accommodate the games, but … give opportunities to the teams to train.”
He said his first call was to a club partner at Disney World and his second was to Orlando Health. He then introduced Disney and Orlando Health leaders to MLS staff.
League officials confirmed Leitão played an instrumental role suggesting Wide World of Sports as a venue to resume play. Existing bonds among MLS, Disney and ESPN made extended conversations about logistics easier and helped what once seemed impossible become official Wednesday.
The league announced it is staging the “MLS is Back” tournament, bringing its 26 teams to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando for a World Cup style tournament. The event will kick off on July 8 and feature 54 total matches.
“We selected Orlando because we wanted a neutral site where we could bring all 26 of our teams together in a format that we thought would be compelling and
“Orlando has shown … that it’s a great soccer community It is a city that is prepared to host big events. … I think it’s a great decision.”
Oscar Pareja, Orlando City coach
to partner with a company that has best in-class operational excellence,” MLS commissioner Don Garber said during a videoconference Wednesday. “[Disney] … really has us feeling that there is no better company to provide us with the certainty of being able to manage all of the operational needs of putting what is nearly 2,000 people into one environment for what will be from four to five weeks.”
In addition to lobbying for Disney as a host, Leitão also told the league the entire Orlando City staff would help MLS in any way possible if it staged a tournament in Central Florida.
“For me personally, the club, for the community in Orange County, it’s really, really something very important for all of us,” Leitão said, noting the economic impact and exposure for the Central Florida community that has been hit hard by the pandemic.
He said he expects Orlando City to field a full, healthy roster for the event and the club is eager to keep the tournament trophy in Orlando.
Fans will not be allowed to attend the tournament, with MLS creating a closed environment to help protect players and staff from the virus, but every match is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN, Fox or Univision. The games will be played at 9 a.m., 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. to avoid peak heat and humidity.
There will be a group stage, round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals and championship. Teams will get regular-season points for all matches and the champion of the tournament will get a prestigious spot in the 2021 Concacaf Champions League.
Orlando City coach Oscar Pareja joined coaches and players throughout the league in celebrating the announcement they will soon resume play.
He acknowledged it’s easy for a hometown coach to praise the league for bringing the event to Orlando, but he insists he still would have thought it was a great fit if he was still coaching at FC Dallas or elsewhere in the league.
“Orlando has shown … that it’s a great soccer community,” Pareja said. “It is a city that is prepared to host big events. … I think it’s a great decision.”
Orlando City captain Nani called it a privilege to play the tournament in Orlando and promised the Lions would be ready to compete despite their extended break from training when the sport was shut down.
“I’m so excited to know we have a confirmed plan to get to play,” he said. “I think myself, all the players, we want to come back and compete.”
The tournament draw will be held Thursday at 3:30 p.m. and it will be streamed live on MLSsoccer.com as well as on MLS’ Facebook and Twitter platforms and YouTube channel. Orlando City will be the host seed of the Group A pool in the East while the following teams will host the remaining pools:
East: Atlanta United (2019 MLS Cup semifinalist)
East: Toronto FC (2019 MLS Cup semifinalist)
West: LAFC (2019 MLS Cup semifinalist)
West: Seattle Sounders (2019 MLS Cup semifinalist)
West: Real Salt Lake (next highest 2019 points total in Western Conference)
To determine which of the 20 remaining teams goes into a group, a representative from each of the six seeded clubs will participate in the draw by picking a number at random from their conference. Each number will correspond to a ball containing the name of an unseeded club.
Nashville is moving from the Western Conference to the Eastern Conference for the tournament and remainder of the season to limit the travel load.
Teams will begin arriving in Florida on June 24 and will go through an extensive series of tests and safety protocol. All MLS players and staff will be housed at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort.
MLS clubs will be able to make up to five player substitutions per match, but they will have up to three chances to make those changes. Matchday rosters will feature up to 23 players.
Video review will be available for all matches. The league will follow its 2020 regular-season rules for match delays and postponement, which could come into play with the constant threat of summer storms in Florida. Any group-stage match may be considered final if it reaches the 60th minute and it is determined that the match cannot continue.
Now that the logistics are resolved, Leitão said Orlando City is focused on winning. While no schedules are set, he expects MLS to resume play at home stadiums after the tournament, and he wants all the tournament points up for grabs to help the Lions reach the playoffs for the first time in team history.
“We’re taking this tournament very, very seriously,” he said. “… It counts points to the [rest of the regular] season when we still believe we will play in front of fans. Secondly, it’s a trophy. It’s a trophy with all the MLS teams altogether and it’s important for us to have it.”