Blue Notes: Hedges Signing Update, a KC Current Coach Leaves and MLS Schedule Release Date

Let’s get right to the Kansas City and other soccer news.

Matt Hedges Signs Elsewhere

Despite having interest from Sporting Kansas City through free agency, former FC Dallas center back Matt Hedges has signed with Toronto FC according to MLS insider Tom Bogert.

That still leaves Sporting in need of a right center back. There was a rumor yesterday of Slovakian national team center back Norbert Gyomber coming to KC. Time will tell who signs, but it won’t be Hedges. That signing probably never made sense anyways.

KC Current Lose an Assistant Coach

Ella Masar, assistant coach to the Kansas City Current, appears to be headed to another NWSL team. She released a statement on Instagram and Twitter announcing her departure.

Her telling the Blue Crew not to be too loud behind “our GK” seems a clear indication she’s joining another NWSL team. In her playing career she played for both the Houston Dash and Chicago Red Stars (as well as numerous teams outside the league). That could be an indication of where she could end up.

MLS Schedule Announcement Tuesday

Major League Soccer will be unveiling their schedule on Tuesday, December 20th. No word if home openers will come out first as they often do or if it’s full schedule or bust this year.

Quick Notes

• Grant Wahl passed away of an aortic aneurysm according to his wife.
• If you haven’t had a chance to read all 125 pages of the NWSL/NWSLPA Report and want more than just the news we covered on the KC Current’s misconduct, Meg Linehan has her Biggest Takeaways over at The Athletic. It’s pretty tough to hear/read, but it feels worth knowing.
• For more on what led to this investigation, I recommend “Truth Be Told: The Fight for Women’s Professional Soccer” over on ESPN+.
• Tom Bogert and Matt Doyle do their “biggest needs” for the Western Conference teams. Unsurprisingly it’s center back for SKC.
• Bexar County, where San Antonio FC (USL Championship) are located, waived a $5 million fee the team would have had to pay for not landing an MLS team because of the “bamboozling” that Austin FC and Anthony Precourt pulled to leap into the league over SAFC.
• Here is cool story of Surface Tension, the drumline that sits with the Blue Crew at KC Current games from the North Kansas City School District.

• Morocco will host the 2025 Club World Cup and it is expanding to 32 teams.

• Boston, Tampa and San Francisco are finalists for NWSL Expansion (behind paywall)
• The Seattle Sounders traded Sam Adeniran to St. Louis City SC.

• Wrexham AFC are coming to American to play “a handful of MLS teams.” Do you want to see them play Kansas City? I personally would love to watch them play, but I don’t want SKC adding more games to their schedule.

• And a fun graphic to end it. Missouri, what are you doing? Overall, though, very diverse spread of teams.