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Friendly Match against Orlando City SC scheduled for May 23 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports
(April 10, 2014) – Italian Serie A club AS Roma today announced that it will return to ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla., this May. In March 2012, Roma entered into a multi-year agreement with Disney Sports to become the official professional football club of the renowned amateur and pro sports complex.
After playing its 2012 and 2013 summer matches in the U.S., Roma is returning stateside for the third consecutive summer. Roma will train at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney from May 22 to May 25 and play a friendly match against Orlando City Soccer Club of the United Soccer League on May 23 at 7:30pm local time.
Roma’s presence at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex coincides with the annual Disney Memorial Day Shootout, which takes place May 23-26 and is the largest three-day soccer tournament in the U.S. In 2013, the shootout attracted more than 600 teams and consisted of more than 1,000 matches and 7,200 participants. The Memorial Day Shootout is one of 15 soccer events held at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, which features soccer events for youths of all ages and skill levels, in addition to professional soccer events.
“Our partnership with Disney is an important part of our efforts to connect with young fans worldwide,” said AS Roma CEO Italo Zanzi. “We look forward to hosting fans, particularly the Disney Memorial Day Shootout players, at our training and for an exciting match versus Orlando City.”
“It’s always a thrill for the youth athletes and coaches competing and training at our sports complex when AS Roma is here,” said Disney Sports’ director of sports development Mike Millay. “Having world-class soccer teams, prestigious youth soccer events and creating unique soccer experiences are part of what makes our sports complex one of the premier youth soccer venues in the country.”
Roma fans can purchase tickets via Ticketmaster starting today, Thursday, April 10, at 10 a.m. ET, and the general public will have an opportunity to secure their seats on Saturday, April 12, beginning at 10 a.m. ET. Training session times for the Orlando City fixture will be announced at a later date.
Later this summer Roma will return to the U.S. for a rematch against Liverpool FC at Fenway Park (July 23) before playing in the loaded Guinness International Champions Cup against Manchester United (July 26 in Denver), Real Madrid (July 29 in Dallas) and F.C. Inter (August 2 in Philadelphia) and, if qualified, the final on August 4 in Miami’s Sun Life Stadium. The 2014 U.S. summer tour speaks to Roma’s growing international presence and follows two recent U.S. summer tours – 2012 in Boston, Chicago and New York City, and 2013 in Boston, Kansas City (vs. MLS All Stars), Toronto and Washington D.C.
About AS Roma
Founded in 1927, the legendary AS Roma plays in the world-renowned Italian Serie A football league. The Rome based professional team has won three Serie A titles, nine Coppa Italia title and two Supercoppa Italiana titles. AS Roma’s youth academy regularly produce more Serie A players than any other in Italy. The “Giallorossi” is the only Italian League team to be owned and managed by a United States-based group. The group, based out of Boston, MA, is led by owner James Pallotta, Chairman of Raptor Group, who is President of AS Roma.
Media Contact
AS Roma
ufficio.stampa@asroma.it
Disney
Darrell Fry
(407) 566-5338 (office)