Royal Roundup: RSL well represented on Concacaf Olympic qualifier rosters

Premier League may allow fans back, MLS parity problems, questions for new MLS coaches, and more.

The final Wednesday of February! Get ready for the unpredictable weather of March, at least it should be warmer.

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INTERNATIONAL

• Everton received city council approval for a new 52,888 seat stadium in Liverpool’s waterfront. The decision now rests with the UK local government. [Guardian]
• Premier League teams will vote to decide whether or not to allow fans to attend the final game of the season. [Guardian]
• US International Christian Pulisic may be heading back to Bayern Munich. [SportsLens]
• A look at Thierry Henry’s 6 best moments with Arsenal. [FFT]
• Aston Villa may ban it’s players from participating in fantasy leagues due to insider information allegations. [Balls]

USA

• All of the players for the US Women’s team stood for the National Anthem in their game vs Brazil for the first time in over a year. When asked about the decision Crystal Dunn replied: “I think we decided that moving forward we no longer feel the need to kneel because we are doing the work behind the scenes.” [USAT]
• The 50-man preliminary roster for the U-23 USMNT has been announced. RSL is well represented among all the Concacaf teams. [RSL] Full USMNT list here. [NBC] Links to rosters for all teams here. [Concacaf]
• The final match of the She Believes Cup kicks off 5 PM tonight (Wednesday) on FS1 as the USWNT face Argentina. [USSOC]

Photo by GREGG NEWTON/AFP via Getty Images

US LEAGUES

• Columbus Crew hope to break the MLS curse in 2021. Only 3 teams have ever won back-to-back MLS Cups. [USSP]
• NWSL ownership reads like a who’s who of A-list celebs, CEO’s, sports stars and of course foreign investors. [WaPo]
• USL Championship expansion team Monterey Bay FC is renovating an old football stadium on the campus of Cal STate University. [USL]
• MLS has a problem with maintaining parity, and it’s linked with geography. [USSP]
• Portland Timbers and Portland Thorns have announced TikTok as a sleeve sponsor for 2021. It will include a weekly content partnership on the platform with Crystal Dunn and Eryk Willimson as club creator-ambassadors. [NWSL][MLS]
• Chicago’s NISA team finally has a name - Chicago House Athletic Club. [FRS]
• A look at the three new head coaches joining MLS this year. Can they perform as hoped in a league where new coaches often need a year or more to show results? [WFBI]
• FC Buffalo becomes the 6th team to join the growing United Women’s League. [FRS]

FLASHBACK

• Eleven years ago it wasn’t a lockout that threatened to disrupt the league, it was a possible player strike. [2/24/10]
• As preseason ends, we looked at which players on the Real Salt Lake roster impressed the most. [2/25/13]
• A look at RSL’s midfield as the preseason friendly games wind down. [2/25/14]
• RSL beat Sporting Kansas City 2-1 in a foul-ridden game. [2/25/15]
• The first leg of the Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals had RSL lose 2-0 to Tigres UANL. [2/24/16]
• Five of RSL’s young players to watch (none are still with the team...) [2/24/17]

VIDEO

Now streaming on Netflix - a documentary on Pelé!