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 club announced Tuesday. The tryouts are open to players who are 18 years of age and older, and are among the first 300 registrants.
“The quantity and quality of talented players to participate in our open tryouts each of the last four years has been encouraging,” Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes said. “These tryouts are an important opportunity for us to evaluate players with aspirations to play in Major League Soccer and by moving the tryouts to June, we put ourselves in a position to align the tryouts in advance of the summer transfer window.”
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.
In 2008, the club offered open tryouts for the first time since the team’s inaugural season in 1996 and signed two players to professional contracts later that season. Nelson Pizarro appeared in three matches, while Kevin Souter played in ten games over two seasons, including two appearances in the 2008 MLS Cup Playoffs.
Members of the Sporting Kansas City technical staff will conduct the tryouts, evaluating and identifying all players who participate on Saturday, June 9. They will then select a group of the top performers from day one to return on Sunday, June 10 for a second session to allow the players an additional opportunity to showcase their abilities. No registered players are guaranteed a spot at the second day of tryouts.
Finalists from the open tryouts may then be given the chance to train with the Sporting Kansas City first team as they compete in their 17th season in Major League Soccer.
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.
