Major League Soccer Returns to Southern Arizona

By Francisco Romero

Major League Soccer (MLS) teams once again will make Tucson, Arizona their preseason home for 2016.

Since 2011 MLS teams have made the Old Pueblo their training site with different teams participating.

Kino Sports Complex is the site utilized to have the teams practice and participate in the well-known Desert Diamond Cup.

The Kino Sports Complex is also the home of the FC Tucson of the USL Premier Development League.

The teams that will have their preseason in Tucson are the current MLS Cup Champion Portland Timbers along with the Cascadia Cup Champion Seattle Sounders, as well as the Vancouver Whitecaps. Three other perennial-playoff teams in the San Jose Earthquakes, Houston Dynamo, and New England Revolution will participate for the Desert Friendlies.

For the Desert Diamond Cup competition, the Eastern Conference Champion Columbus Crew will roll into town with the U.S. Open Cup Champion Sporting Kansas City, as well as last year’s winners of the Desert Diamond Cup, Real Salt Lake.

While these teams may steal the headlines in what is the deepest field of FC Tucson’s MLS Preseason to date, there will be plenty of promise and youth on display as well, with USL sides Swope Park Rangers and Arizona United joining FC Tucson and Ascenso MX side Celaya FC.

Teams will begin arriving for the Desert Friendlies on January 24^th, and matches will run February 3^rd through the 9^th. The Desert Diamond Cup will kick off on February 17^th, and will run through the 27^th.

Since the inception of the MLS Preseason in 2011, a team that visited Tucson except the 2013 U.S. Open Cup has won every major domestic trophy.

The Columbus Crew SC will journey to Tucson for the first time as the 2015 MLS Eastern Conference champions.

Tickets for all matches can be purchased at www.fctucson.com/team/ticket