A Letter from Orlando City SC CEO Alex Leitão
To the Orlando City SC family,
I’d like to start off by first saying, on behalf of everyone at Orlando City SC, we are thinking of you and your families during this emotional and unprecedented time.
As you may be aware, our 2020 seasons have been put on hold while the world collectively turns its focus to stopping the spread of COVID-19. As of March 27, Major League Soccer has announced that the season will be delayed in response to CDC recommendations. The National Women’s Soccer League, which was scheduled to begin play the weekend of April 18, has announced a delay to Opening Weekend and is working hard on a rescheduled plan. As a Club, we remain connected to each league, our local and national government agencies, and the CDC on a daily basis to monitor the situation.
We entered 2020 with renewed vision and hope and, when appropriate, we will return to the field with that same drive. Led by new manager Oscar Pareja, our Lions worked relentlessly each day throughout the preseason with great expectations for this season, featuring many familiar faces and some talented new additions, that had the opportunity to enjoy our fantastic new training facility. On the women’s side, the Pride had just gotten things underway, completing the first week of preseason at Sylvan Lake Park and looked forward to welcoming the team’s international superstars to camp during Week 2.
While our seasons may have been put on hold, our staff is working hard from home to keep you as connected to the Club as we can. I encourage you to follow our teams on social media to see some of the fun and unique content that our players and staff are helping to create, and subscribe to our email newsletter to stay up to date on Club news. To satisfy your game day void, we are also excited to showcase #CityClassics each Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on OrlandoCitySC.com/live. And there is much more to come.
You, our fans, are the lifeblood of our Club. Your continued support and dedication to our teams keeps us motivated and moving forward in everything we do. From our daily sessions on the field, to game days on Church St. and even now - during conference calls from home and individual workouts from our living rooms - we continue to be focused on how we can provide the best soccer experience to you all when we return to play.
Our community has been tested before and each time we stay strong, we stay connected and we use our sport to help heal. I have no doubt in my mind that we will do the same on the other side of this pandemic. I am proud, every single day, to be part of this Club and I hope you are as proud as I am when you put on that purple jersey.
Soccer will be back and we will fill Exploria Stadium once again with love, passion and energy.
Though we wish we could be with you cheering on our teams at Exploria Stadium or supporting them on the road, the most important thing is making sure everyone stays home, stays safe and stays healthy. Please use the links below to stay informed on the most up-to-date information for your respective county.
Lastly, thank you to all essential workers who are continuing to provide for our community each day, including our friends at Orlando Health. Thank you for always keeping our teams safe and, especially now, for keeping Orlando safe.
#VamosOrlando,
Alex Leitão
COVID-19 Updates, Resources & Info
Here are the county level COVID-19 websites & Twitter accounts for the latest information about Testing Locations, Shelter-in-Place orders, business closures, etc:
