News & Notes after Game 1

Firsts

Last Saturday was one of the moments that Austin soccer supporters have been dreaming of for years. There will be many more firsts this season, but watching Austin compete in Major League Soccer on FOX was a beauty to behold. A small but vocal group made it to LA for Austin FC’s first ever match, while most of us viewed from homes and watch parties here in Austin. The national TV ratings placed the match as the top-rated soccer … Read the rest “News & Notes after Game 1”

Not a surprise, but another small step forward anyway: U.S. Soccer repeals ‘anthem policy,’ apologizes to Black community.

The policy was put in place after Megan Rapinoe kneeled in solidarity with the peaceful protest inspired by Colin Kaepernick, who was protesting police brutality, and the systematic oppression of Black people and people of color in America. It has become clear that this policy was wrong and detracted from the important message of Black Lives Matter.

Stoppage Time 2/1/20

Matthew McConaughey and Roger Bennett on Men in Blazers

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Austin Bold FC’s 2020 roster is taking shape:

The Austin Bold filled the most glaring hole in its roster on Tuesday, announcing the signing of left back Ismaila Jome.

Jome, who played for the Colorado Springs Switchbacks in 2019, will add a new dimension to the Bold, providing balance with his 6-foot-1 frame, speed and accurate left foot… The Gambia native grew up near

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Unquestionable Ambition

Austin FC stadium under construction

We are still a year away from watching our city’s first major league team take the pitch, yet Austin FC has already charted an ambitious start. For those of you that have followed sports in Austin over the last few decades, you know that securing a stadium has been the largest hurdle for any professional sports organization searching for sustainable success.

Austin FC has not only secured a stadium site, and inside Austin’s city limits at that, they have broken … Read the rest “Unquestionable Ambition”

Stoppage Time 12/14/19

UEFA Champions League Round of 16

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Giovanni Reyna, the 17-year-old son of Austin FC sporting director Claudio Reyna, is following in his father’s cleat-steps. He’s even been making waves with Borussia Dortmund’s U19s:

Reyna scored two goals and registered two assists, helping Dortmund to a 5-1 win over Slavia Praha. With the win, Dortmund advanced to the knockout stage of the tournament, the youth version of the UEFA

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Stoppage Time 11/17/19

St David's Performance Center

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Austin FC announced plans for a large training facility in Northeast Austin:

The center, home to Austin FC and its academy teams, will encompass four full-size soccer fields along with 30,000 square feet where players, coaches and other soccer operations staff will work, train, eat, watch film, recover and receive medical care. It is scheduled to be completed in time for the team’s first

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Stoppage Time 11/9/19

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Austin Bold showing signs of support heading to 2020:

Yet it was a midweek playoff match, scheduled only a few days in advance, that showed interest may be on the upswing for 2020. The 5,036-seat venue was by no means full for the Bold’s 2-0 win over LA Galaxy II on Oct. 23, but the announced crowd of 2,656 felt every bit of a

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Stoppage Time 11/2/19

UT win over Oklahoma, 2019

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Sergiño Dest has chosen to play for USA over Netherlands:

In recent weeks, both Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman and US counterpart Gregg Berhalter had spoken to Dest in an attempt to persuade him.

“Of course, it was a tough decision for me when the Dutch men’s national team showed their interest, but I have built up a very good feeling with Team USA over

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Stoppage Time 10/19/19

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It was a bad night for the reputation of Bulgarian fans, as their racist abuse of England’s black players nearly caused their European qualifying match to be abandoned. That the Bulgaria team leadership are turning a blind eye to it, makes it all the worse:

The statement from Bulgaria’s manager, Krasimir Balakov, that he had not noticed anything, that he just wanted to talk about

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Stoppage Time 10/12/19

DaMarcus Beasley, legend

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Farewell to DaMarcus Beasley: a US star with no interest in the limelight. DMB is such a good guy; looking forward to see what else he’ll do to grow the game in the US.

Tim Howard is coming to Austin:

The former Blues goalkeeper will be making a first appearance in his new role [as the Club’s first International Ambassador in the US]

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