Starting XI: Going Mobile

Starting XI, presented by StorageMart, is a biweekly series on SportingKC.com that highlights 11 of the biggest storylines and news updates from Sporting Kansas City, MLS and soccer around the globe. Click here to visit the Starting XI archive.

Sporting KC announced today that the club is moving to a mobile-only ticketing system at Children’s Mercy Park ahead of the 2019 season, mirroring the best practices from teams across professional sports.

Conducted in tandem with SeatGeek, the official ticketing partner of Sporting KC, mobile-only entry at Children’s Mercy Park will see fans exclusively use their smartphones to scan into matches. This paperless practice, already adopted by over 80 percent of Sporting KC Season Ticket Members last season, will enhance ticket security, support green initiatives like Sporting Sustainability, and make it easier for fans to send, sell, receive and manage their tickets. Entry to 2019 Swope Park Rangers matches at Children’s Mercy Park will also be mobile only.

2. Going in Blind

Last year’s kit launch set Sporting internet ablaze. So this year, we’re adding a wrinkle: for the first time, we’re offering an exclusive pre-order opportunity for Sporting diehards. Here’s the catch: You’re going in blind.

Anyone willing to buy the 2019 primary jersey sight unseen will skip the line at the Season Kickoff and Kit Launch Party on Feb. 4, receive a $20 SportingStyle gift card, a free drink ticket, and be invited to a private meet and greet with the players before they take the stage at the Nelson-Atkins Museum, one of Kansas City’s most iconic institutions. Pre-orders are available now at SportingStyle.com.

3. Good as Gold

Tickets for the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup doubleheader featuring the United States Men’s National Team on June 26 at Children’s Mercy Park are now on sale to the general public at SeatGeek.com. Children’s Mercy Park is set to host the final two matches of the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup group stage, with the United States among the four teams in Group D taking the field on June 26. The Gold Cup schedule and complete group assignments will be announced this spring when the tournament’s 16-team field is finalized.

4. Tucson Tune-Up

Sporting Kansas City will take the field Wednesday at noon CT against a team of FC Tucson trialists to round out the first leg of the club’s 2019 preseason, presented by Children’s Mercy. Follow @SKCmatchday on Twitter for live updates of the scrimmage at Phoenix Rising FC Soccer Complex in Tempe, Arizona.

5. Tracking Toluca

Sporting KC and Deportivo Toluca FC are on a collision course, the outcome of which will be decided when the clubs meet in the 2019 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Round of 16. Sporting will host the first leg of the aggregate-goal series on Feb. 21 at Children’s Mercy Park (get your tickets here) before venturing to Mexico for the decisive second leg on Feb. 28. In the buildup to this titanic battle, SportingKC.com is providing weekly updates on Los Diablos Rojos as part of the site’s Tracking Toluca series.

6. Champions League Chatter

With two shutout wins under their belts to open the 2019 preseason, presented by Children’s Mercy, Sporting KC are in full preparation mode for a daunting Champions League test against Toluca that will require the side to play its earliest competitive match ever. Sporting KC broadcaster Carter Augustine was with the team in Scottsdale, Arizona, this week to talk with Manager Peter Vermes and players about the upcoming Champions League challenge, which will take place over two legs on Feb. 21 and 28.

7. Preseason Dates

The Swope Park Rangers today announced the club's 2019 preseason schedule, which will consist of six matches in the lead-up to the new USL Championship campaign. SPR's preseason slate includes three contests at Swope Soccer Village, all of which are free and open to the public. Head coach Paulo Nagamura's side will take the field for the first time this Saturday, hosting Barton Community College at 2 p.m. CT.

8. Going to California

Sporting KC Academy forward Osvaldo Cisneros is set to join the United States U-15 Boys’ National Team for its first training camp of 2019 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. U-15 BNT head coach Clint Peay has assembled a squad of 28 players, all born in 2004, for a training camp that will run from Jan. 26-Feb. 6 at the training home of the LA Galaxy. The current pool of U-15 players will begin preparing for this summer’s 2019 Concacaf U-15 Boys’ Championship.

9. Harrington Hangs ‘Em Up

Former Sporting KC defender Michael Harrington announced last week his retirement from professional soccer after a 12-year playing career. Harrington, a North Carolina native and a product of the University of North Carolina, joined Kansas City out of the 2007 MLS SuperDraft as the No. 3 overall pick. He was a regular starter for most of his tenure with Sporting KC and ended his stint at the club with five goals and 15 assists in 170 matches across all competitions.

10. Yanks Roll

The U.S. Men’s National Team kicked off the Gregg Berhalter era with a comfortable victory on Sunday night, dominating Panama in a 3-0 friendly win at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona to give the program's new head coach a positive debut. 

11. Up for Grabs

Tickets to Sporting’s first home match of 2019—a monumental showdown with Mexican side Deportivo Toluca FC in the first leg of the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Round of 16 on Feb. 21—are now on sale at SeatGeek.com. Supporters can also secure single-game tickets to the club’s first eight MLS home matches, beginning with Fan Appreciation Day against the Philadelphia Union on March 10 and ending with a marquee matchup versus Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the LA Galaxy on May 29.

Games to Watch (Jan. 29-31, 2019)