Sporting Kansas City waives defender Daneil Cyrus
Sporting Kansas City trio invited to national teams
Zusi signs new contract with Sporting Kansas City
Sporting Kansas City signs defender Cyprian Hedrick
Sporting Kansas City begins second phase of pre-season
Zusi and Sapong billboards unveiled
Sporting Kansas City to host open tryouts
Single-game tickets available now
Tune into 610 Sports Radio this Thursday for the Sporting KC Show
Sporting Kansas City releases half-season ticket packages
Sporting KC 2012 media credential application due Saturday
Sporting KC unveils boys and girls youth soccer camps for 2012
Follow Sporting Kansas City online
Series tickets on sale now for Olympic qualifying at LSP
2012 home opener set for March 17
Season tickets on sale for 2012 season at LSP
SPORTING KANSAS CITY WAIVES DEFENDER DANEIL CYRUS
Sporting Kansas City announced Wednesday that defender Daneil Cyrus has been waived by the club. The Trinidad & Tobago international made five appearances in all competition for Sporting Kansas City in 2011 after being acquired in July, but suffered a broken fifth metatarsal in his left foot during a Reserve League game in August and missed the remainder of the season.
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SPORTING KANSAS CITY TRIO INVITED TO NATIONAL TEAMS
Sporting Kansas City forwards Teal Bunbury (United States) and Kei Kamara (Sierra Leone), along with midfielder Roger Espinoza (Honduras) have all been invited by their national team federations in advance of the Feb. 29 FIFA friendly date.
Bunbury is currently with the United States Under-23 Men’s National Team for a training camp in Frisco, Texas leading up to the team’s match against the Mexico Under-23 Men’s National Team on Wednesday, Feb. 29. On Wednesday, Bunbury started and played 68 minutes in a 2-1 victory over local MLS side FC Dallas.
Midfielder Roger Espinoza will also join his national team, Honduras, for an international friendly against Ecuador on Feb. 29. Honduras is currently ranked 59th in FIFA rankings. Espinoza has been capped 23 times for the Honduran senior team, including the 2009 and 2011 Gold Cups and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Espinoza has scored three goals for Honduras.
Kamara is expected to join Sierra Leone for their 2013 African Cup of Nations qualifier against São Tomé e Príncipe. Since making his debut for Sierra Leone in 2009, Kamara has earned a total of 10 appearences for his national side.
All three players will return to Sporting Kansas City in Orlando, where the team will be participating in the 2012 Disney Pro Soccer Classic.
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ZUSI SIGNS NEW CONTRACT WITH SPORTING KANSAS CITY
Sporting Kansas City announced Wednesday that midfielder Graham Zusi has signed a new contract with the club. Per club policy, terms of the agreement will not be disclosed.
The 25-year-old playmaker is coming off a career season in 2011, in which he earned Player of the Week, Player of the Month and MLSSoccer.com Breakout Player of the Year recognition. He tallied career highs with five goals and nine assists in 35 appearances, including postseason, and became known for his set pieces and long-range goals following two Goal of the Year nominations with goals from beyond 35 yards.
Zusi’s stellar season propelled him onto the U.S. Men’s National Team, where he started in each of his first two international appearances last month and scored the game-winning goal in a 1-0 victory at Panama.
Selected in the second round of the 2009 MLS SuperDraft as a two-time NCAA champion at the University of Maryland, Zusi has appeared in 67 matches with six goals and 10 assists in his first three MLS seasons.
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SPORTING KANSAS CITY SIGNS DEFENDER CYPRIAN HEDRICK
Sporting Kansas City has signed 2012 MLS SuperDraft second round pick Cyprian Hedrick.
Primarily a centerback, Hedrick attended Coastal Carolina University, where he was named Big South Defensive Player of the Year in 2011 and was named to the First Team All-Big South and the NSCAA’s All-South Atlantic Team. He was also recognized as an NSCAA Men's Collegiate Scholar All-American first team selection.
Born in Cameroon before coming to the United States at a young age, Hedrick began his collegiate career at San Jacinto College and earned NSCAA All-Region honorable mention recognition for the 2008 season. Hedrick then went on to spend three seasons with the Chanticleers before Sporting Kansas City selected the 22-year-old with the 30th overall pick at this year’s SuperDraft in Kansas City.
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SPORTING KANSAS CITY BEGINS SECOND PHASE OF PRE-SEASON
Sporting Kansas City began their second phase of preseason this week in Orlando, where the team is training at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports in preparation for the 2012 Disney Pro Soccer Classic along with five other MLS teams.
Sporting Kansas City will open the tournament on Feb. 24 at 5 p.m. CT against the Houston Dynamo in a rematch of the 2011 Eastern Conference Championship. Sporting Kansas City will then take on expansion MLS side Montreal Impact on Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. CT. The final match of Pool One play for Sporting Kansas City will be played Feb. 29 at 5 p.m. CT against Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
Should Sporting Kansas City win their group, they will advance to the tournament championship match, set for March 3 at 7 p.m. CT. A consolation match will be played the same day at 5 p.m. CT. For all media inquiries and interview requests during Sporting Kansas City’s stay in Orlando, please contact Josh Whisenhunt at (802) 558-1874 or by email at jwhisenhunt@sportingkc.com.
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ZUSI AND SAPONG BILLBOARDS UNVEILED
Look for Sporting Kansas City’s billboards this week during your commute. The billboards are part of Sporting Kansas City’s new “Live for it” campaign.
Billboards featuring Rookie of the Year C.J. Sapong and Breakout Play of the Year Graham Zusi were unveiled yesterday. Two additional billboards will be posted during the season featuring Matt Besler and Jimmy Nielsen.
The first flight of billboards will be on display at the following locations:
- C.J. Sapong: I-435 and 350 Highway (Feb. 21)
- C.J. Sapong: I-70 and Indiana (Feb. 27)
- Graham Zusi: I-35 and Cambridge Circle (Feb. 21)
Local artist Chris Sembower and Sporting Kansas City's marketing department collaborated on the artwork for the outdoor campaign and the billboards.
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SPORTING KANSAS CITY TO HOST OPEN TRYOUTS
Sporting Kansas City will hold open tryouts for prospective players on Saturday, June 9 and Sunday, June 10 at the team’s Sporting Club Training Center in Swope Park. The tryouts are open to players who are 18 years of age and older, and are among the first 300 registrants.
This year’s event marks the fifth consecutive year the club has held an organized open tryout. The previous occasions have drawn scores of players from more than a dozen different countries.
Interested individuals can register for the 2012 open tryouts at SportingKC.com. Players must pay the tryout fee, ranging from $200-$208 depending on payment method, for the opportunity to participate and also must be able to provide their own transportation, lodging and food for the weekend.
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SINGLE-GAME TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW
Single-game tickets for Sporting Kansas City’s first eight home matches of the 2012 MLS season at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park are available now.
Individual match tickets for each of the opening eight home games on the Sporting KC schedule -- beginning with the highly anticipated home opener on Saturday, March 17 and continuing through the visit from rivals Chicago Fire on Friday, June 29 -- will be available for purchase on Ticketmaster.com or at the LIVESTRONG Sporting Park Box Offices (open Monday thru Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. CT).
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TUNE INTO 610 SPORTS RADIO THIS THURSDAY FOR THE SPORTING KC SHOW
Sporting Kansas City’s weekly radio show will again be available over the airwaves on Thursday with hosts Rob Thomson and Kurt Austin on 610 Sports Radio. Tune in from 7-8 p.m. CT to hear from Sporting Kansas City players and call 913-576-7610 to join the conversation around all the latest news from Sporting’s pre-season.
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SPORTING KANSAS CITY RELEASES HALF-SEASON TICKET PACKAGES
Sporting Kansas City has released half-season ticket packages for the 2012 Major League Soccer season at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park.
The packages, which start at just $210,include access to a total of 10 matches at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park and are offered in six different seating categories throughout the state-of-the-art stadium.
Fans can reserve their seats by calling888-4KC-GOAL or by visiting Ticketmaster.com.
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SPORTING KC 2012 MEDIA CREDENTIAL APPLICATION DUE SATURDAY
Media members planning to cover Sporting Kansas City during the 2012 Major League Soccer season may now apply for full-season media credentials for Sporting Kansas City home MLS matches at LIVESTRONG SportingPark.
All media members are asked to download and return the applicationby Saturday, Feb. 25 to Kurt Austin either by fax at (913) 387-3401, by email at kaustin@sportingkc.com or by mail:
Attn: Kurt Austin
Sporting KC Communications
210 W. 19th Terrace, Suite 200
Kansas City, MO 64108
Media credential applications are evaluated on an annual basis and credentialed media from previous seasons are not guaranteed full-season credentials in 2012. Sporting Kansas City will accommodate as many media outlets as possible, but it may be necessary to credential some media on a single-game basis.
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SPORTING KC UNVEILS BOYS AND GIRLS YOUTH SOCCER CAMPS FOR 2012
Sporting Kansas City and the Sporting Kansas City Juniors youth development academy will again offer a series of youth soccer camps in 2012 for boys and girls of all ages. Please see the list of scheduled campsbelow:
- Spring Break Camp: March 12-14 for boys ages 9-16 ($130)
- Invite-Only Sessions: April 2 – May 1 (Monday’s only) for U11 – U14 boys ($255)
- Pre-Tryout Camp: June 4-6 for U11-U14 boys ($130)
- Boys & Girls Development Camp: June 18-20 for boys and girls ages 8-12 ($130)
- Sporting Youngsters Camp: June 11-14 for boys and girls ages 4-7 ($100)
- Sporting Development Camp: June 11-14 for boys and girls ages 8-12 ($150)
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FOLLOW SPORTING KANSAS CITY ONLINE
Sporting Kansas City fans looking to keep up with the club on the worldwide web now have a place to go. The new social media page on SportingKC.com features Twitter account information for the club, its players as well as many staff members. Additionally, fans may take advantage of the Media Recap page for all the latest independent news coverage available online.
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SERIES TICKETS ON SALE NOW FOR OLYMPIC QUALIFYING AT LIVESTRONG SPORTING PARK
Series tickets for the elimination-round matches of the 2012 CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park are now available to purchase by the general public.
A series ticket consists of a ticket to all three matches at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park, beginning with the decisive semifinal matches on Saturday, March 31 at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. CT and culminating with the championship match on Monday, April 2 at 7 p.m. CT. Series tickets begin at $56 for all three matches (seating and pricing chart on right) and can be ordered online at ussoccer.com, by phone at 1-800-745-3000, at local Ticketmaster ticket centers and at the LIVESTRONG Sporting Park box offices.
Individual tickets will go on sale at a later date, pending availability.
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2012 HOME OPENER SET FOR MARCH 17
Sporting Kansas City will play their first home match of 2012 at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park on Saturday, March 17 against the New England Revolution. The match comes one week after Sporting Kansas City opens the 2012 season on the road at D.C. United on Saturday, March 10. Visit SportingKC.com/schedule to see all 34 games on Sporting Kansas City's regular season slate.
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SEASON TICKETS ON SALE FOR 2012 SEASON AT LSP
Season tickets for the 2012 Sporting Kansas City season at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park are now on sale. Fans ages 21 and older now have the option to purchase season tickets in the Budweiser Corner at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park, an all-inclusive terrace area which provides stadium-style food options and draft beer choices.
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