REPORT: Odds of Sporting KC Acquiring FC Kansas City Increasing

Over the last month there has been a cloud of questions and uncertainty hanging over Kansas City's NWSL team, FC Kansas City, questions of not only the team's stability, but coaches and players as well. After some leaked emails by former FC Kansas City and Kansas City Comets owners Brad and Greg Likens and a lawsuit by former co-owner Brain Budzinski helped lead to the sale of the club to Minnesota businessman, Elam Bear, there was thought that the club would have stability under the new owner. Unfortunately that doesn't look likely. In mid-September, Richard Farley with FourFourTwo reported that the two time NWSL champions could be sold and moved in the offseason, with subpar conditions and absenteeism from Bear being the main concerns.

Farley's article was not kind to the Blues, talking about concerns about the club not meeting league minimum standards, operating under the league minimum for the roster budget. It brought up the players' concerns and only a loyalty to head coach Vlatko Andonovski was keeping players at the club. The original report said that owners had been located with potential relocation following, similar to the Western New York Flash moving to North Carolina this past offseason.

If loyalty to Andonovski was one of the reason players stayed, news only a few days later from Farley made things seem even bleaker for FCKC as he reported that Andonovski was in play for multiple different coaching positions in the United Soccer League. Farley also hinted at Andonovski also being a candidate for other NWSL openings, including the Houston Dash. Andonovski, the only coach that FCKC has ever known could see the move back to the men's side of the game as a step forward for his career after moving from the Comets assistant, to head coach, to FC Kansas City.

Today the rumors of Andonovski's departure and FCKC's sale continued with another article by Farley. For those wanting the Blues to stay in Kansas City, it was good news as apparently Sporting Kansas City's interest in acquiring has increased, apparently quite a bit from when Farley first reported it. In a Facebook live discussion Farley said the chances of Sporting acquiring the Blues had gone up to basically a 50/50 chance that the MLS team adds the Blues to the Sporting Club. According to Farley, if Sporting does take over the Blues, Andonovski is going to stay with the club, which combined with a renewed push by owners that wouldn't be absentee, should give the Blues a push towards really competing towards the top half of the NWSL table.

Combined with the Swope Park Rangers and the reports that the USL will not have any stadium exemptions next season when they are certified as a division two league by US Soccer, an acquisition of the Blues may lead to Sporting increasing the capacity of the stadium at the Swope Soccer Village to meet the 5,000 person stadium capacity required for division two teams.

If Sporting does not acquire the Blues, the NWSL apparently has a second set of Minnesota owners lined up to take over the club should Sporting not take over the women's team. If the Minnesota based group does take over the team, what would happen to them and Andonovski is up in the air, it could potentially lead to the Blues relocating to Minnesota or elsewhere, and Andonovski moving on from the club. It's something to watch as the NWSL offseason continues.