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Sporting Kansas City are just a day away from the start of their first soccer game of the 2021 calendar year. Sure, it’s a preseason game and the results don’t matter, but — SOCCER!
Let’s get the bad news out of the way first. The first game is closed to the media and to the public. Phoenix Rising FC issued a statement in their press release:
“No fans or media will be in attendance for the first match of the preseason. The club will look to lift fan restrictions and allow media to cover matches closer to the beginning of the 2021 season.”
In more bad news, the first game will not be streamed either. The remaining games are a little more up in the air. In Sporting KC’s release, they announced, “media and limited fan attendance at preseason matches will be determined by the host venues soon.” The “host” of the first game is Phoenix Rising. The three games against MLS competition will be held in Tucson, Arizona and be hosted by FC Tucson. All three games are set to be at the Kino North Complex, which in the past were the games that were shown on streams. So there is hope, but not for the first game of the preseason.
If it’s Not Streamed, then How do I Follow?
For the first game the only known option is following SKC Matchday on Twitter. It’s possible Phoenix Rising will Tweet updates from their Twitter account too. Of course, the team will be putting out a recap of the game that’s likely to include lineups and goals with some brief details. The bigger details will have to wait.
Here is to hoping that the subsequent games in Tucson are available to stream, open to fans and to the media. The Blue Testament has reached out to FC Tucson for an update but hadn’t received a reply at the time of this article publishing.
Full Sporting KC Preseason Schedule
- Saturday, March 13, 12:00 PM CT — Phoenix Rising FC
- Saturday, March 20, 5:00 PM CT — Colorado Rapids
- Wednesday, March 24, 1:00 PM CT — Portland Timbers
- Tuesday, March 30, Unknown Start Time — Intra-squad Scrimmage
- Saturday, April 3, 2:00 PM CT — LA Galaxy