"This Week in Sporting," presented by The Smile Generation, is a weekly series that highlights the biggest storylines and news updates from Sporting Kansas City. To visit the series archive, click here.
1. A Winning Start
Sporting Kansas City cruised to a 4-0 victory over USL Championship club Phoenix Rising FC on Saturday at Wild Horse Pass in Chandler, Arizona, to open the club's 2021 preseason presented by Children's Mercy. Homegrown striker Wilson Harris scored an impressive hat trick, while fellow Sporting KC Academy product Gianluca Busio also found the back of the net in the win.
2. Home Opener vs. Orlando
Sporting Kansas City will host Orlando City SC on Friday, April 23, in the club’s 2021 home opener at Children’s Mercy Park. The 6:30 p.m. CT showdown will be televised nationally on FS1 and FOX Deportes, coming six days after Sporting kicks off the MLS campaign at the New York Red Bulls on Saturday, April 17.
MLS unveiled last Wednesday the 2021 home openers for all 27 MLS clubs, which includes Sporting’s trip to Western Conference rivals Real Salt Lake on Saturday, May 1.
FOX Sports Kansas City, soon to be Bally Sports Kansas City, will serve as the television home of Sporting KC in 2021. The local television schedule, the full MLS regular season schedule and Sporting KC ticket information for home matches at Children’s Mercy Park will be announced at a later date.
3. Buy the New Kit
Sporting Kansas City’s new primary jersey for the 2021 season is now on sale at MLSstore.com. The new primary jersey, which features a return of the iconic Sporting Blue and Dark Indigo horizontal stripes, showcases The Victory Project on the front with Children’s Mercy on the left sleeve and Compass Minerals on the right sleeve. This marks the first time in MLS history that a charitable foundation will appear on the front of a team’s full-season jerseys. As part of the new community campaign called “A Force for Good,” a portion of all Sporting Kansas City kit sales in 2021 will be donated to The Victory Project.
4. Captain Johnny Russell
Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes has appointed forward Johnny Russell as the club’s captain heading into the 2021 season.
One of the most electrifying attacking players in MLS, Russell has helped lead Sporting on and off the field since joining the club in 2018. The 30-year-old Scottish international has amassed 27 goals and 30 assists in 96 competitive matches for Sporting, guiding the team to first-place finishes in the Western Conference in 2018 and 2020. He is one of only five MLS players with a combined 20 goals and 20 assists over the last three regular seasons.
Off the field, Russell has endeared himself to supporters and teammates while also engaging with the Kansas City community through The Victory Project—the club’s charitable foundation that helps children through all of life’s challenges—and a number of other fan events and youth clinics.
5. Sporting Preseason Spotlight
With momentum building toward Major League Soccer’s 26th season in 2021, Sporting Kansas City players and coaches are laying the foundations for another successful campaign as preseason training unfolds this month in Arizona. As newcomers join familiar faces for the 2021 preseason presented by Children’s Mercy, SportingKC.com has launched the “Sporting Preseason Spotlight” web series to acquaint supporters with the goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards who will help Sporting Kansas City compete for silverware in 2021. To read up on every player and visit the series archive, head to SportingKC.com/Spotlight.
6. eMLS Cup This Weekend
eMLS player Alekzandur will represent Sporting Kansas City this weekend as one of 12 contestants in eMLS Cup 2021 presented by Coca-Cola. Some of the top EA SPORTS FIFA players in the country will face off for the top eMLS prize as well as a cash prize of $70,000.
The opening rounds of eMLS Cup take place on Saturday and begin at 2 p.m. CT. The quarterfinals, semifinals, and final will take place the following day, March 21, at the same time of 2 p.m. CT. Fans can watch via Twitch, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook as well as MLSsoccer.com and the free MLS App.
