By Ben Nicholson
October 28 – Sporting KC (Kansas City) has announced the formation of its new reserve team in the USL, the third tier of professional US soccer, called Swope Park Rangers.
Sporting KC previously partnered with USL teams Orlando City SC (now in the MLS) and OKC Energy FC. This new relationship enables closer relations between the feeder and parent club as Swope Park Rangers will play and train at Sporting KC’s training ground, allowing for the easier flow of players between the two teams.
Sporting KC head coach and technical director Peter Vermes sees the partnership as an opportunity to farm and breed talent for eventual inclusion in the senior team: “This is a great opportunity to fill in an important piece between the Sporting KC Academy and our senior team as part of the long-term vision for our organisation.”
Sporting KC captain Matt Besler channeled the same theory: “It gives us the flexibility to bring those kids up and get them experience. At the same time, we can use the opportunity to send some players down to get experience as well, and then we’ve got that player we’re bringing in from the outside that we’re not sure yet when he can make that jump, but we can start spending some time on him and see him for the future. That’s a big part of what this is all going to be about.”
The USL has no promotion/relegation relationship with the MLS but is closely related nonetheless, evidenced none more so by the fact that Swope Park Rangers will be the eleventh club in the USL to be owned and operated by a MLS club.
This takes the USL up to 30 teams, and potentially closer to achieving the league’s goal of jumping from Division 3 to Division 2 sanctioning.
USL President Jake Edwards said: “We are excited to welcome Sporting Kansas City and the Swope Park Rangers KC to the USL for the 2016 season. Sporting Kansas City is consistently one of the top organisations in MLS and has a fantastic locally-based ownership group that is committed to building the soccer culture throughout the Kansas City region.
“We expect that commitment to result in a highly successful club, playing in historic Swope Park, which will be embraced by local fans. We are also excited about the rivalry that we expect to develop between the Swope Park Rangers KC and Saint Louis FC, as we continue to grow the USL’s presence in the central US.”
Swope Park Rangers general manager Kurt Austin said: “For us, we think it’s the first time there’s been a professional sports team in the United States named after a municipal park. We couldn’t think of a better place than Swope Park. The city’s been a great partner for us with Swope Soccer Village, right after the team was bought in 2006 by Sporting Club, and recently renovated with more than $20 million poured in.”
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