Orlando wants to host soccer events in lead-up to LA28 Olympics
One of the memorable scenes during the 2024 Summer Olympics, which were hosted in Paris, France, was seeing the surfing competition happening 9,700 miles away in Tahiti. The footage was spectacular, and it made sense to have the surfers compete there in French Polynesia instead of trying to find a less-than-suitable location off the coast of France.
Looking ahead to the next Summer Olympics in Los Angeles during 2028, Florida has emerged as a surprise candidate as one of the states interested in hosting pre-Olympics events.
That’s according to Jason Siegel, President and CEO of the Greater Orlando Sports Commission, who told World Soccer Talk, “We’re having a number of conversations [about hosting some pre-LA28 events in Orlando]. I was in Paris. I spent a lot of time with a lot of the leaders from different governing bodies. Not only with the USOPC (United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee) but also with the IOC (International Olympic Committee) to see what might be available to us.”
LA28 Olympics pre-events in Orlando to include soccer?
Qualification hasn’t begun yet for LA28’s soccer competitions for both men and women. However, if the IOC decides to follow a similar format as the 2024 Summer Olympics, the United States will automatically qualify as the host nation. For all of the other countries attempting to qualify, there are a range of different qualification paths to reach LA28. Quite possibly, some of those qualifying games could end up in Orlando, Siegel revealed.
“The spring of 2028 will provide some possible opportunities as it relates to qualifiers, but we want to make sure that everyone knows that we’re on the radar and that we’re going to invest and seek out opportunities around the lead-in to LA28.
“Those include opportunities in 2027, too. We’re very bullish.”
Having been crowned as Olympic champions five different times (1996, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2024), the US Women’s National Team will be looking forward to the prospect of playing on home turf in the 2028 competition. So too will the US Men’s National Team who reached the quarterfinals of the 2024 competition before being knocked out by Morocco.
Between now and then, Orlando has already been confirmed as a host city for both the 2025 Club World Cup, and World Cup 2026. While we won’t know for quite a while whether Orlando also gets some of the pre-LA28 games, Siegel has made it clear that Orlando is ready if given the opportunity.
“We have a great relationship with [Chairman of LA 2028] Casey Wasserman and their team, but at the same time we want to make sure that folks that are looking for places to train, stay, or compete – whether it’s FIBA and basketball tours, certainly FIFA and soccer exhibitions leading in [to LA28] – [that they know] we’re very excited to be part of the mix.”
Photo credit: IMAGO / Xinhua