On the heels of Orlando being named best sports business city for attracting events by the Sports Business Journal, Camping World Stadium will host European juggernauts Manchester City and FC Barcelona on July 30.
The exhibition is part of the Florida Cup Series.
“We have the U.S. Men’s National Team playing Brazil coming up [on July 12] and then to follow it up with a game that has such broad international field, it’s not just going to be citizens of Orlando that are sitting in the seats,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. “So it’s a huge tourism driver, a huge thing for our local businesses and as I always say it’s because of the power of partnerships and collaboration that we get things done like this.”
Manchester City has been dominant under manager Pep Guardiola. Last season, the club won the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League — aka the treble. It became only the second team in Premier League history to achieve the feat, with the other being crosstown rival Manchester United in 1999.
In facing Barcelona, Guardiola comes up against a Catalonian side with which he is all too familiar. He had an 11-year playing career there before returning in 2008 to manage for four years. The club reached astronomical heights under Guardiola with Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and current manager Xavi. While the club hasn’t reached the same level of glory in recent years, it still is one of Europe’s premier clubs and is as exciting as ever to watch.
The last FC Series hosted in Orlando took place in January when Brazilian side Flamengo faced Orlando City in an exhibition. That match, as well as last summer’s matchup between Real Madrid and Juventus, was a success.
“We’ve had incredible games [with] Orlando City and what they do and all the teams that they host, but also the games that we’ve been offered the opportunity at Camping World,” said Orange County Commissioner Mayra Uribe. “This really [speaks to] what Central Florida is. It’s a destination point for major teams who want to participate and be a part of Central Florida.”
FC Series will be hosting matches for Manchester City against Celtic (July 23 in Chapel Hill, N.C.), AC Milan (July 27 in New York) and Chelsea (Aug. 3 in Columbus, Ohio).
The series that started as a local event has grown into a nationwide international competition featuring some of the best clubs in the world.
U.S. stars shined for Juventus in a 3-1 takedown of Real Madrid in front of 63,503 at Camping World in 2023.
In 2022, Arsenal routed rival Chelsea 4-0 in front of 63,811 to set a soccer attendance record for the venue.
