As the culmunation of two months of Carnaval events organized by Kiwanis of Little Havana — which most famously includes Calle Ocho — the Carnaval Miami 5v5 Fútbol Challenge is taking place today at Kendall Soccer Park in West Kendall.
In a development that would’ve been totally unexpected even two weeks ago, The Miami FC Open Cup possibilities are still alive. The Miami FC 2 has been granted admission into the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. New York Cosmos B and Jacksonville Armada has also been granted admission.
In a statement, the Open Cup Committee said:
“The Committee carefully considered the teams’ exceptional situation which involved all three moving from Professional Division II status in 2017 to solely Open Division league participation earlier this year. Since the move occurred after the Open Division league’s 2018 Open Cup entry deadline in mid-2017, the Committee decided to allow the three teams the opportunity to compete in the 2018 edition of the U.S. Open Cup.”
The teams will have until 4 p.m. on April 2 to confirm that they are participating. Once they have been confirmed, the three teams will enter the competition via a “Play-In Round” scheduled for the weekend of May 5-6. The winners of the play-in round will advance to the First Round of the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on May 9.
Stephen Ross may yet have his soccer team, just not quite the Major League Soccer outfit he may have imagined.
According to Corriere dello Sport – Stadio, one of Italy’s major sports newspapers, Ross has inquired about the ownership of legendary Serie A club AC Milan.
It was pretty well understood that The Miami FC would not be partcipating in the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament. After all, when the Open Cup handbook was released two weeks ago, Miami FC was not among the names listed. There was a good reason for this: There was no Miami FC competing in American soccer in 2018, becaues the league if formerly competed in was not sanctioned. There was a The Miami FC 2, but it was in the NPSL, and hasn’t officially kicked off this year.
However, that didn’t deter the club. On March 16, CEO Sean Flynn requested a sitdown with U.S. Soccer Federation president Carlos Cordeiro to discuss Miami FC’s participation. On this very website, it was described as a “last-ditch effort.”
While Flynn apparently didn’t get the sitdown, it does appear there is some momentum building towards the idea of including Miami FC and New York Cosmos in the 2018 tournament after all.
A short roundup of coverage about Miami soccer:
–MiamiHerald.com: Soccer fever is shaking up Peru as they set eyes on the World Cup
Andre Carrillo, with his hair dyed gray, booted in a first-half strike, and Edison Flores used his left foot to knock in a rebound in the second 45, much to the delight of the crowd of 46,893, which was dominated by red-and-white clad Peru fans.
Walter Villa of the Miami Herald writes a recap of Friday’s Peru-Croatia victory, where Los Incas dominated in front of a very pro-Peru crowd. But he also goes into greater detail about what Peru’s participation in the 2018 FIFA World Cup means to the fans.
After a strong preseason debut against Weston FC a week before, The Miami FC 2 exploded for nine goals in a dominant 9-1 victory over South Florida FC of the American Premier Soccer League on March 25, 2018.
Most of the world has put a pause on club football until March 27 due to the International Break. That means you may be seeing more notable faces around town, as a high-profile friendly has drawn two World Cup sides to Miami-Dade, while other players come to soak up the sun.
In another twist in the ongoing saga of Fútbol Miami MLS, partner Jorge Mas told the Miami Herald the group is now considering “five or so” locations for a new soccer stadium for Major League Soccer. This is a stark on-the-record departure from the ownership group’s position since late 2015.
It was a game of firsts for The Miami FC 2, yet it seemed very similar at the same time. A new name. A new coach. Many new names.
Yet it was a number of familiar faces who led the way, as Miami FC 2 claimed its first victory, defeating Weston FC 5-0 to open the 2018 preseason at Bobcat Field at St. Thomas University.
In an apparent last-ditch effort to gain entry into the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, The Miami FC CEO Sean Flynn sent a letter to U.S. Soccer Federation president and fellow Miami resident Carlos Cordeiro.