ORLANDO, Florida (Monday, Dec. 11, 2023) — Orlando City SC’s upcoming FC Series friendly against Clube de Regatas do Flamengo will now be played at Inter&Co Stadium, with Orlando City now hosting the match as part of its preseason home schedule, event officials announced today. The match, on the afternoon of Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024, was initially scheduled at Camping World Stadium with Inter&Co Stadium anticipated to be unavailable but has now been moved to the home of the Lions.
Group and single-match pre-sale information is available at FCSeries.com. Public tickets go on sale Tuesday, Dec. 12. Orlando City Season Ticket Members will have a match ticket pre-sale and will be contacted directly by their Member Services Representative.
The official match start time will be announced later this month.
The friendly marks the return of FC Series events to their traditional January window and will be the 11th FC Series match at Inter&Co Stadium all time, including 2019 victories by Flamengo against European powers Ajax and Eintracht Frankfurt — the latter coming in the tournament championship. The most recent FC Series match at the venue came in July 2022, when Orlando City hosted Premier League side Arsenal in a summer exhibition on the Lions’ home pitch.
Flamengo and Orlando City have never met on U.S. soil, but in 2015, the Lions became the first MLS club to visit historic Maracanã Stadium when the teams played a friendly at Flamengo’s home venue in Rio de Janeiro. Flamengo won that contest 1-0, closing out a day-long celebration of the club’s 120th anniversary.
For additional information, visit FCSeries.com.
*This release has been updated on Dec. 11.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
FC Series / Florida Cup CEO Ricardo Villar
"We are thrilled to return to our traditional January preseason window focused on top South American clubs. We look forward to delivering a first-class experience to Flamengo while in town and welcoming the Orlando City fans back to Camping World Stadium, where the club’s MLS campaign began back in 2015."
Flamengo Vice President for Communications and Marketing Gustavo Oliveira
“This pre-season in the United States, including games with MLS semifinalists, is a great opportunity to grow the Flamengo brand inside the very important American market, where we will play in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. With the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the investments that are being made by the country, world football has in the United Stated, a new, enormous point of attention. Flamengo, as major European clubs, are alert to this and will, more and more, reinforce their presence in the country, may that be with work on social media focused on the American public, may it be by way of in person events of the Flamengo brand, as this pre-season will be.”
Orlando City SC EVP of Soccer Operations and General Manager Luiz Muzzi
“Flamengo is one of the most historic clubs in Brazil, with the most on-the-field national championships, three Libertadores titles and a world championship. This is both an exciting way to open the new year for our supporters and a great test for our team, as we look toward a 2024 that also includes Concacaf Champions Cup early on. We’re excited to have the eyes of the Nação on Orlando during this time and are hopeful that this match will be the springboard for a very successful 2024 for our team and fans."
SATURDAY, JANUARY 27 - FC SERIES
ORLANDO CITY SC (USA) vs. CR FLAMENGO (BRAZIL) | Time TBD
Exploria Stadium
Orlando, FL
