"The Week in Review,” is a weekly series that highlights the biggest storylines and news updates from Sporting Kansas City.
1. Sporting KC Academy competes at MLS NEXT Fest
This past week, five Sporting KC Academy teams competed in the second-ever MLS NEXT Fest at Empire Polo Ground in Indio, CA as one of 400 clubs to compete in the showcase. From Dec. 2-8, Sporting's U-13, U-14, U-15, U-17 and U-19 squads played in three matches in front of U.S. Soccer’s Director of Talent Identification, Tony Lepore, and his staff as well as a large number of college programs and professional clubs.
The Sporting KC U-13s played three competitive matches, suffering defeats in all three. The U-14s claimed victory in their first match over Valeo FC, trouncing them 5-1 before slipping to two losses in their final two matches. The U-15s triumphed on penalties in both of their first two matches then slipped to a loss in their final contest. The U-17s opened with consecutive one-goal losses but won their final match in a competitive 1-0 win over NYCFC's U-17s. The U-19s showed out, winning 2-0 over Vardar and 2-1 over Southern Soccer Academy. Their third match ended in a 1-1 draw with Springfield SYC Soccer.
Fans can follow along with everything happening in the academy by following @SKCAcademy on Twitter.
2. Sporting KC announces MaXe as eMLS representative for 2023 Season
Sporting Kansas City announced last week that MaXe will represent the club for the fast approaching 2023 eMLS campaign. Internationally recognized by his gamer tag MaXe, Max Popov is a 20-year-old, two-time FIFAe Club World Cup Champion. As a member of Complexity Gaming, MaXe enjoyed a successful 2022, qualifying for the FIFA 22 Global Series Master Cup and winning the FIFAe Club World Series 2022 Playoffs.
In the 2023 eMLS season, players will compete for the largest total season prize pool in eMLS history – $100,000. The season begins Jan. 24-25 with eMLS League Series 1 qualifiers before group stage matches on Jan. 28 and the League Series 1 Final on Jan. 29. Following that completion, League Series 2 will kick off on Feb. 7-8 with qualifiers before the group stage on Feb. 11 and finals on the 12th. The season culminates in eMLS Cup in Austin at SXSW. Last Change Qualifiers jumpstart the event on March 11 before the tournament takes place on March 12.
Sporting fans can follow @MaXeVIP and @SportingGaming on Twitter for the latest eMLS news and updates.
3. Sporting KC Vice President Andrea Kimball named top Women Executives in Kansas City
Sporting Kansas City Vice President Andrea Kimball was recently featured in Ingram's Magazine as one of the top Women Executives in Kansas City. Kimball, the club's General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer, was recognized among 16 high-achieving local leaders in this year's WeKC Class honored for executive excellence within their organizations and significant contributions to the Kansas City region overall. A University of Toledo College of Law graduate, Kimball joined Sporting KC in April 2016 with 20 years of experience in sports and entertainment law. She has earned multiple honors throughout her career and was named to the Legal 500 in 2015 as a Top Employee Benefits / ERISA Litigation Attorney.
READ: Ingram's Nov. 2022 (page 32)
