Three Sporting Kansas City players will join their respective National Teams for international matches, the club announced on Thursday. Forwards Kei Kamara and Teal Bunbury, along with defender Shavar Thomas were chosen to represent their countries during the upcoming FIFA international match dates, scheduled from September 2nd through 6th.
All three players will be available for Sporting Kansas City on Saturday as the club hosts FC Dallas at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. Less than 300 tickets remain for the match, presented by Sprint. The first 10,000 fans in attendance will receive a Sporting KC team poster, courtesy of Sprint, and the team will hold a post-game autograph session in the Sprint Plaza following the match.
Kamara returns to the Sierra Leone squad which is preparing to face Egypt on September 3rd in a 2012 African Cup of Nations qualifier at National Stadium in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Sporting Kansas City’s leading scorer with seven goals in 2011, Kamara has made eight appearances for the Leone Stars, most recently playing the full 90 minutes in the country’s 1-0 win over Niger in June.
Sierra Leone, ranked No. 92 in the latest FIFA rankings, are currently in third place in Group G entering the penultimate group stage match before travelling to group leaders South Africa on October 7th.
Bunbury will join the United States Men’s National Team for the first time under new Manager Jurgen Klinsmann, who announced his selections on Thursday for friendlies against Costa Rica and Belgium. Bunbury, the second-youngest player and one of four forwards on the 24-man roster, has two previous appearances with the United States, debuting in a friendly at South Africa in November 2010 and then again coming on a second-half substitute against Chile in January, converting a penalty kick in the 75th minute of a 1-1 draw.
The United States, ranked 28th by FIFA, will first face Costa Rica at 10:00 p.m. CT on September 2nd at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California before travelling to take on Belgium at 1:30 p.m. CT on September 6th at King Badouin Stadium in Brussels. Both matches will be nationally televised live on ESPN2 and available online at ESPN3.com.
Kamara and Bunbury are both expected to miss Sporting Kansas City’s match against the LA Galaxy at 5:00 p.m. CT on Monday, September 5th at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park.
Thomas will also be involved in international action as Jamaica, No. 43 according to FIFA, plays at Ecuador at 4:00 p.m. CT on September 2nd at Estadio Olimpico Atahualpa in Quito. The veteran central defender had made 41 senior team appearances for the Reggae Boyz, most recently captaining Jamaica in a friendly at China PR earlier this month.
Sporting Kansas City continues their nine-game homestand at 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, August 27th against FC Dallas. The first 10,000 fans will receive a complimentary team poster, courtesy of match sponsor Sprint, with an autograph session held in the Sprint Plaza following the match.
Tickets are available at the LIVESTRONG Sporting Park Box Offices or online at Ticketmaster.com.
