Anyone know anything about the rumor about the US men's soccer team playing a World Cup warmup in Jax before the world cup? Evidently one game in New Jersey and one in Florida are planned and we're in the running. The opponent may be Nigeria. That would be so cool.
http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1701852/us-play-nigeria-final-match-world-cup?cc=5901
QuoteThe final game of the tour will take place in Florida against reigning African champ Nigeria, multiple sources said, with Everbank Field in Jacksonville emerging as the early favorite to host that match.
QuoteAs for the third and final send-off game, the report also names fellow World Cup participants Nigeria as a probable opponent, and that Jacksonville's Everbank Field is a leading contender for the site. (The USMNT faced Scotland in a friendly there in spring of 2012.)
http://www.mlssoccer.com/worldcup/2014/news/article/2014/02/01/report-usmnt-base-pre-world-cup-camp-northern-california-send-offs-vs-nigeri
I like reading that - wonder if the new video boards would be ready(?).
Yeah, this would be amazing - I really hope it's true.
I don't know the schedule for the video boards construction, but I thought I read that Shad Khan wanted to debut the video boards when Fulham plays here, which I think would be later in the summer. Since the USMNT game would be nationally televised, maybe he would be willing to change his stance a little...
They mentioned it on the news tonight. It was mentioned as a possibility for late May and the new video boards would,not be ready. Honestly the story about it on the news was so disjointed I had no idea what they were saying. I guess perhaps it was all just a perhaps story based upon the link above.
I thought we got the game. Everyone I've talked to says we got it and it is June 7th.
couldn't care less about the boards, just give me the game.
This would be a huge event for the stadium.
Please happen!
I nominate Marks to be the official headquarters for the Nigerian team. It worked out great as the headquarters for the Scottish team.
Quote from: fsquid on February 03, 2014, 11:53:36 PM
couldn't care less about the boards, just give me the game.
If they aren't up, you better hope that their construction doesn't interfere with our ability to host the game. If this happens, it will be awesome!!
Quote from: Captain Zissou on February 04, 2014, 11:28:31 AM
Quote from: fsquid on February 03, 2014, 11:53:36 PM
couldn't care less about the boards, just give me the game.
If they aren't up, you better hope that their construction doesn't interfere with our ability to host the game. If this happens, it will be awesome!!
why would it interfere? College football games go on all the time while construction happens
Quote from: Captain Zissou on February 04, 2014, 11:28:31 AM
Quote from: fsquid on February 03, 2014, 11:53:36 PM
couldn't care less about the boards, just give me the game.
If they aren't up, you better hope that their construction doesn't interfere with our ability to host the game. If this happens, it will be awesome!!
I doubt it will. Most of the construction is in the north end zone and is outside the stadium anyway.
Here's a blurb from the Times-Union. Pretty much just says what we've covered in this thread, but hopefully we'll know more before too long.
http://members.jacksonville.com/news/metro/2014-02-04/story/jacksonville-among-cities-considered-us-mens-national-team-send-games
Anyone else keep thinking this thread is about TMNT??
This would be great for Jacksonville as we keep building a soccer tradition. I hope the Mayor's sports department is all over this. Go USA!
I know someone at USSF and have been told that JAX is on the short list.
Still not confirmed, but NBC Sports writes as if it's a foregone conclusion:
Quote•SI.com has reported that the team would depart from Florida for its base in Brazil on June 8, one day after its final match before actual tournament competition. The June 7 contest is all but booked for Jacksonville. You know who likes Jacksonville? Landon Donovan likes Jacksonville! Or have you forgotten about the man's hat trick against Scotland there two years ago?
•The ESPN FC report cited Nigeria as the most likely opposition for the Jacksonville contest. That makes sense, as the next time Klinsmann's bunch is on the field in an actual match, they'll be up against another African team – in a match they probably have to win for any realistic hope of advancing out of the first round.
My only apprehension would be around the logistics involved in getting the teams from JAX to Brazil the next day - charter(s)?
http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2014/02/08/rounding-up-the-u-s-national-teams-pre-world-cup-schedule/
^That's awesome. From what I've read the logistics are part of the reason they're scheduling the games like this, to get the team ready for the travel during the Cup. If it's not Jax it will almost certainly be somewhere else in Florida - it would be awesome if its us!. I'm sure they've got their own planes lined up.
I have talked to some people who think if it is Nigeria/US that the match could be a true sell out. I am talking all 70k seats at The Bank.
The Scotland/US match pretty much sold out the lower bowl and that was impressive.
This could easily shatter that record.
Yeah, the final send-off game could potentially be one heck of a pep rally in Jacksonville.
cool and that is a Saturday.
Pumped for Jax, sad for myself as a huge soccer fan. I already have plans/tickets to go to The Governors Ball Music fest that weekend in NYC. Might have to reconsider if this happens.
I agree that it could draw a massive crowd...I also think it would bring a pretty festive atmosphere Downtown.
A perfect weekend for Mr. Khan to introduce Fulham F.C. to Jacksonville as well (Sunday friendly?)
Quote from: blizz01 on February 10, 2014, 05:17:44 PM
A perfect weekend for Mr. Khan to introduce Fulham F.C. to Jacksonville as well (Sunday friendly?)
That is more likely later in the summer. Late July I had heard.
Quote from: blizz01 on February 10, 2014, 05:17:44 PM
A perfect weekend for Mr. Khan to introduce Fulham F.C. to Jacksonville as well (Sunday friendly?)
Nope, too many players off for summer break. English teams usually start their friendlies in mid-July or so.
Quote from: fsquid on February 11, 2014, 09:15:37 AM
Quote from: blizz01 on February 10, 2014, 05:17:44 PM
A perfect weekend for Mr. Khan to introduce Fulham F.C. to Jacksonville as well (Sunday friendly?)
Nope, too many players off for summer break. English teams usually start their friendlies in mid-July or so.
Probably even later in a World Cup year. I think Liverpool are coming in late July-Early August. I plan on seeing them in Charlotte in early August, which has been rumored.
Quote from: CityLife on February 11, 2014, 09:18:09 AM
Quote from: fsquid on February 11, 2014, 09:15:37 AM
Quote from: blizz01 on February 10, 2014, 05:17:44 PM
A perfect weekend for Mr. Khan to introduce Fulham F.C. to Jacksonville as well (Sunday friendly?)
Nope, too many players off for summer break. English teams usually start their friendlies in mid-July or so.
Probably even later in a World Cup year. I think Liverpool are coming in late July-Early August. I plan on seeing them in Charlotte in early August, which has been rumored.
The one thing I found interesting about the International Champions Cup is they announced all the venues but one. Not saying it's going to be Jacksonville but it would be phenomenal.
Quote from: CityLife on February 11, 2014, 09:18:09 AM
Quote from: fsquid on February 11, 2014, 09:15:37 AM
Quote from: blizz01 on February 10, 2014, 05:17:44 PM
A perfect weekend for Mr. Khan to introduce Fulham F.C. to Jacksonville as well (Sunday friendly?)
Nope, too many players off for summer break. English teams usually start their friendlies in mid-July or so.
Probably even later in a World Cup year. I think Liverpool are coming in late July-Early August. I plan on seeing them in Charlotte in early August, which has been rumored.
I thought tickets were on sale to that one already.
Quote from: fsquid on February 11, 2014, 12:41:31 PM
Quote from: CityLife on February 11, 2014, 09:18:09 AM
Quote from: fsquid on February 11, 2014, 09:15:37 AM
Quote from: blizz01 on February 10, 2014, 05:17:44 PM
A perfect weekend for Mr. Khan to introduce Fulham F.C. to Jacksonville as well (Sunday friendly?)
Nope, too many players off for summer break. English teams usually start their friendlies in mid-July or so.
Probably even later in a World Cup year. I think Liverpool are coming in late July-Early August. I plan on seeing them in Charlotte in early August, which has been rumored.
I thought tickets were on sale to that one already.
You can get tickets to the final in Miami, but they don't have the matchups for the early games determined yet. I was told by a friend that it is rumored that Liverpool will play a game in Charlotte, but who knows.
For what it's worth. This blurb on the BBC site.
QuoteNigeria will play friendly internationals against Greece and the United States in June as part of their warm-up for this year's World Cup.
The African Champions will play Greece in Philadelphia on 3 June then face USA in Jacksonville, Florida on 7 June.
I know we have not heard anything official but the fellow who wrote that is BBC writer specializing in African sports.
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/26216974
Quote from: pierre on February 17, 2014, 04:12:37 PM
For what it's worth. This blurb on the BBC site.
QuoteNigeria will play friendly internationals against Greece and the United States in June as part of their warm-up for this year's World Cup.
The African Champions will play Greece in Philadelphia on 3 June then face USA in Jacksonville, Florida on 7 June.
I know we have not heard anything official but the fellow who wrote that is BBC writer specializing in African sports.
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/26216974
Good find, Pierre - I had not seen that. There is an article on jacksonville.com that says they plan on announcing it within the next 10 days and that Jacksonville is a front-runner. Hopefully they're just ironing out some small details.
http://members.jacksonville.com/sports/other-sports/2014-02-17/story/city-awaits-decision-world-cup-sendoff-match (http://members.jacksonville.com/sports/other-sports/2014-02-17/story/city-awaits-decision-world-cup-sendoff-match)
I love that Jacksonville is getting a good reputation as a soccer town. The attendance at the two USNT matches the last few years was great. I think a potential US-Nigeria matchup in June on a Saturday night would blow away the attendance records.
Looks like it is a go. And it looks like we beat out Tampa for the game, due in large part to our support of the US team in the 2012 match v. Scotland.
http://jacksonville.com/sports/2014-02-25/story/us-mens-soccer-will-take-nigeria-jacksonvilles-everbank-field-pre-world-cup
WOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!
Awesome! Can't wait for this.
Good news for the City.
Yes! So happy this didn't fall through.
This will be so much fun...the USA v Scotland match was a great event and an even more fun atmosphere. Really looking forward to this.
http://www.starsandstripesfc.com/usmnt-friendlies/2014/2/24/5443528/usa-vs-nigeria-2014-friendly-world-cup-jacksonville
Challenge accepted!!
QuoteThe last time the U.S. played in Jacksonville was on May 26, 2012, when Landon Donovan scored a hat trick as the Americans hammered Scotland, 5-1, in front of 44,438 fans. In a World Cup year, and it being the last friendly before the U.S. leaves for Brazil, the city of Jacksonville could make it a 76,000 capacity sellout this time around.
This will be a great event for the city. Can't wait!
Already planning our tailgate!
This is great news. Our family of five will be attending. Can't wait.
Great News!
Jags President Lamping announced that Fulham FC will play match here in July. It will be the first event in Everbank after the renovations have been completed.
Pretty sweet.
Nice - the hits keep on coming...
Outstanding! Did he give a date or an opponent?
I'd heard the Fulham in Jax (July 26th) plan last fall, but I assumed it had been shelved since they're in a relegation fight.
I'm a long-time FFC supporter, and I'd love to see them here in JAX -- but only if they manage another great escape and remain in the Premier League. I'll be highly disappointed in Khan's leadership if he is willing to spend what will be rapidly dwindling club funds after falling out of Premiership for a US visit (unless he could make money off of the deal, which is unlikely). The side are going to get gutted of the (limited) top talent they currently have and history proves that you have to get back into the Premier League quickly or you stall in the lower leagues for quite a while. I'm really not ready for FFC to be a third division team again.
Quote from: JaxByDefault on February 26, 2014, 03:29:45 PM
I'd heard the Fulham in Jax (July 26th) plan last fall, but I assumed it had been shelved since they're in a relegation fight.
I'm a long-time FFC supporter, and I'd love to see them here in JAX -- but only if they manage another great escape and remain in the Premier League. I'll be highly disappointed in Khan's leadership if he is willing to spend what will be rapidly dwindling club funds after falling out of Premiership for a US visit (unless he could make money off of the deal, which is unlikely). The side are going to get gutted of the (limited) top talent they currently have and history proves that you have to get back into the Premier League quickly or you stall in the lower leagues for quite a while. I'm really not ready for FFC to be a third division team again.
Yeah, I had heard the 26th as well.
I remember reading somewhere that teams that fall from the Premier League are more likely to drop again than they are to make it back up to the Premiership. Yikes. I hope Felix can work his magic again.
Fulham is just experiencing bad karma after removing the Michael Jackson statue from Craven Cottage.
Quote from: edjax on February 26, 2014, 02:29:42 PM
Jags President Lamping announced that Fulham FC will play match here in July. It will be the first event in Everbank after the renovations have been completed.
Jacksonville is such a futbol town
Quote from: Ajax on February 26, 2014, 03:35:20 PM
I remember reading somewhere that teams that fall from the Premier League are more likely to drop again than they are to make it back up to the Premiership. Yikes. I hope Felix can work his magic again.
If they do not make it back up to Premiership with in 2-3 seasons, they are more likely to drop from League Championship to League One than they are to promote to Premiership. I have no idea if Financial Fair Play will alter that stat. Keeping Jol past last season (when he had lost every home game since the last week of March), all of last Summer's transfers, hiring Rene as a manager-in-waiting then promoting him all in the span of a month, the Dempsey loan, and the terrible Curbishley/Wilkins/Rene managerial troika, were all horrible decisions. Fulham are a hot mess.
Felix seems like a desperation move. He's got a decent record in times of woe, but he also has a trail of destruction in his wake. The Holtby loan is first good piece of transfer work FFC managed in a while, and he once famously declared that he would never play under Felix again. Yikes, indeed.
I'm not terribly happy with the Khan era so far. I wonder what kind of draw a League Championship side (stripped of player like Reither and Holtby) would have over here?
*And that MJ statue had to go. I purposefully avoided the Riverside Stands (with its roomier seats) and the Thames walk (preferring Bishop's Park/Stevenage Rd.) just to avoid ever seeing the horrible thing.
Quote from: JaxByDefault on February 26, 2014, 04:22:34 PM
Quote from: Ajax on February 26, 2014, 03:35:20 PM
I remember reading somewhere that teams that fall from the Premier League are more likely to drop again than they are to make it back up to the Premiership. Yikes. I hope Felix can work his magic again.
If they do not make it back up to Premiership with in 2-3 seasons, they are more likely to drop from League Championship to League One than they are to promote to Premiership. I have no idea if Financial Fair Play will alter that stat. Keeping Jol past last season (when he had lost every home game since the last week of March), all of last Summer's transfers, hiring Rene as a manager-in-waiting then promoting him all in the span of a month, the Dempsey loan, and the terrible Curbishley/Wilkins/Rene managerial troika, were all horrible decisions. Fulham are a hot mess.
Felix seems like a desperation move. He's got a decent record in times of woe, but he also has a trail of destruction in his wake. The Holtby loan is first good piece of transfer work FFC managed in a while, and he once famously declared that he would never play under Felix again. Yikes, indeed.
I'm not terribly happy with the Khan era so far. I wonder what kind of draw a League Championship side (stripped of player like Reither and Holtby) would have over here?
*And that MJ statue had to go. I purposefully avoided the Riverside Stands (with its roomier seats) and the Thames walk (preferring Bishop's Park/Stevenage Rd.) just to avoid ever seeing the horrible thing.
I've always liked Fulham but I can't say I was a supporter - more of an 'observer' due to the Fulhamerica stuff with McBride, Bocanegra, Dempsey, etc. I'm an Ajax supporter (if you hadn't guessed), so when Jol left us in mid-season to go to Fulham I was happy to see him go and didn't think he would do much for Fulham.
I guess since I have the luxury of being an observer and not a full-hearted supporter, I can be a little more patient and supportive of Felix and Shad. But if this kind of stuff was happening at Ajax I would probably be just as upset as you are. In watching what Khan is doing with the Jaguars, I trust that he will fix things at Fulham, but of course in the NFL you can take your time rebuilding since there's no relegation threat. Again, if I were emotionally invested like you probably are I wouldn't have any patience for that.
Funny that Holtby said that. Ooops! I view Felix as sort of a Tom Coughlin-type, sure a lot of players hate his old-fashioned ways, but he has his loyal supporters. Maybe that's too simplistic a comparison, but I'm still hopeful that Felix can keep them afloat and then move on after his 18 months are up. Or sooner. For what it's worth, I don't think Rene was going to be able to keep them up.
I really don't think Fulham will have much of a draw here if they're relegated. I know Stoke City played in Orlando a couple of years ago because the team president was on the Stoke board of directors, and I think they drew around 10k fans. I don't think Khan would want to bring Fulham over here to play in front of a small crowd like that.
Fulham had a horrible summer, but a really good January. Holtby is a really classy player and can potentially lead them out of relegation like Deuce used to. Mitroglou just left a team that has a chance to make the Champions League Quarterfinals, to join a relegation battle (who knows why), and Kvist is a steady DM. Might be too late, but they can definitely rally and pull it out.
If they get relegated, Khan is going to lose a lot of money overpaying players to take them back up to the EPL and even then there is no guarantee. I really don't think there is a huge gap between the bottom 5 EPL teams and top 5 Championship teams.