Sporting Kansas City defender Matt Besler and midfielder Graham Zusi are featured in Pepsi's new "For Club and Country" billboards, on display this month at three locations in the Kansas City area:
- 435 near Truman Sports Complex (facing north)
- I-70 at Lydia (facing east)
- I-35 at Mill Street (facing south)
Pepsi -- the team's exclusive carbonated soft drink and bottled water partner -- also advertised billboards for the team's "We Defend Together" campaign in two locations on I-35 (shown above) and released commemorative cans honoring Sporting Kansas City's 2013 MLS Cup championship, currently available in limited edition 12-packs at local participating retailers. In addition, Pepsi will serve as the match sponsor on Oct. 10 when Sporting Kansas City hosts the Chicago Fire. The first 5,000 ticket holders inside Sporting Park for the rivalry game will receive Sporting KC ear buds, courtesy of Pepsi.
The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be held in Brazil from June 12 - July 13 and U.S. Soccer is expected to submit the United States Men's National Team's preliminary 30-man roster to FIFA on Monday, May 12 ahead of the start of training camp on Wednesday, May 14.
Summer in the Soccer Capital, presented by Sprint, will kick off with Kansas City’s official 2014 FIFA World Cup watch parties hosted at KC Live! in the Power & Light District. All 64 matches will be shown live in the center of the KC Live! Block, as well as on screens in surrounding bars.
Admission to the KC Power & Light District for Summer in the Soccer Capital will be free for all ages. Food and drink specials will be available for supporters, as well as limited edition “For Club and Country” merchandise. Additional programming, including VIP opportunities, will be provided for all United States Men’s National Team matches at the 2014 FIFA World Cup:
Monday, June 16: United States vs. Ghana at 5 p.m. CT
Sunday, June 22: United States vs. Portugal at 5 p.m. CT
Thursday, June 26: United States vs. Germany at 11 a.m. CT
Besler (14 caps) and Zusi (20 caps) represented the United States throughout FIFA World Cup qualifying and helped the U.S. finish first in the CONCACAF region to reach their seventh straight World Cup. Besler debuted for the U.S. MNT in January 2013, appearing in six FIFA World Cup qualifiers and all three knockout round games en route to the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup championship. Zusi has three goals and four assists in his international career, including goals in the final two FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
