Sporting Kansas City has kicked off the club’s 2021 preseason, presented by Children’s Mercy.
Sporting’s preseason calendar includes one week of voluntary training beginning today at Compass Minerals National Performance Center in Kansas City, Kansas, followed by four weeks of training at Phoenix Rising FC’s new training facility at Wild Horse Pass in Chandler, Arizona. The club will return to Kansas City for another two weeks of preparation prior to the 2021 MLS regular season, which will kick off the weekend of April 17.
Sporting players began reporting to Kansas City in February to complete a required seven-day quarantine period prior to completing their entrance physicals. All players who have completed their seven-day quarantine and continually tested negative throughout the quarantine period will begin voluntary training today at Compass Minerals National Performance Center. Sporting will continue to follow comprehensive health and safety protocols throughout preseason, including COVID-19 testing every other day.
For the 12th straight year, Sporting will spend part of their preseason training camp in Arizona. The club will train at Wild Horse Pass and is currently scheduled to play preseason matches on March 13, March 20, March 24 and April 3 (all dates subject to change). Sporting will announce preseason match details soon, with live coverage of each game available on Twitter at @SKCMatchday.
The 2021 MLS regular season is scheduled to begin the weekend of April 17 and consist of 34 matches for all 27 clubs. Sporting’s 2021 regular season schedule will be released in the coming weeks.
Sporting’s preseason calendar is listed below, with additional media availabilities to be confirmed in the near term and all dates subject to change.
Sporting KC 2021 Preseason Calendar
(all dates subject to change)
<div>Monday, March 1</div> |
<div>Sporting begins voluntary training at Compass Minerals National Performance Center</div> |
<div>Sunday, March 7</div> |
<div>Sporting travels to Arizona</div> |
<div>Monday, March 8</div> |
<div>Sporting begins preseason training</div> |
<div>Saturday, March 13</div> |
<div>Preseason match vs. opponent TBD</div> |
<div>Saturday, March 20</div> |
<div>Preseason match vs. opponent TBD</div> |
<div>Wednesday, March 24</div> |
<div>Preseason match vs. opponent TBD</div> |
<div>Saturday, April 3</div> |
<div>Preseason match vs. opponent TBD</div> |
<div>Saturday, April 3</div> |
<div>Sporting returns to Kansas City</div> |
<div>April 17-18</div> |
<div>MLS regular season opening weekend</div> |
Sporting will look to build upon a successful 2020 season that saw the team finish first in the Western Conference and post a 12-6-3 record, good for a club-record 1.86 points per game. It was Sporting’s fourth first-place conference finish under Vermes since 2011 and marked the best year-over-year improvement in MLS history, as Sporting jumped from 22nd place in the Supporters’ Shield standings in 2019 to third place in 2020.
