Training at KC Sports Lodge 10 - 11:15 a.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 30 -- OFF
Thursday, Jan. 31 -- Training at KC Sports Lodge 10 - 11:15 a.m.
Feb. 1-16 -- Preseason training in Bradenton, Fla.
Feb. 9; 10 a.m. -- Kansas City vs. Columbus
Feb. 12; 10 a.m. -- Kansas City vs. D.C. United
Feb. 16; 10 a.m. -- Kansas City vs. Toronto (split squad)
Kansas City vs. Chicago (split squad)<br>
Feb. 19 - 26 -- Training in Kansas City*
Feb. 27 - March 14 -- Training in Argentina**
*All Kansas City training sessions Feb. 19-26 will be held at 10 a.m. CT either at the Kansas City Wizards Swope Park Training Center or KC Sports Lodge, depending upon weather.
**Specific match dates and times will be announced in the coming weeks.
All preseason games subject to change
Sports Lodge
From Downtown
-- Take I-70 East to I-470/M 291 South (Exit 15 A)
-- Go south on I-470, taking the first exit (16 A) onto 40 HWY East
-- Take 40 HWY East to Little Blue Parkway South/NE Lakewood Way
-- Head South onto Little Blue Parkway until the KC Sportslodge sign (1/4 mile)
-- Turn Right at the KC Sportslodge sign onto a gravel road
-- KC Sportslodge will be on the right-hand side of the street
From Overland Park
-- Take I-435 East to I-470 East
-- Continue on I-470 until 40 HWY East (Exit 16 A)
-- Take 40 HWY East to Little Blue Parkway South/NE Lakewood Way
-- Head South onto Little Blue Parkway until the KC Sportslodge sign (1/4 mile)
-- Turn Right at the KC Sportslodge sign onto a gravel road
-- KC Sportslodge will be on the right-hand side of the street
For Daily Practice Updates, Visit New Team Blog Hillcrest Road
Hillcrest Road, the official blog of the Kansas City Wizards, will be updated daily with practice information and inside info straight from the players. Monday, Hillcrest Road features a question/answer with second round draft pick Yomby William and photos from the session. Check in daily at www.hillcrestroad.blogspot.com for the latest news and notes.
CONCACAF Champions League Officially Launched
CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) announced today the official launch of the new continental club championship, the CONCACAF Champions League which will commence in August 2008. The CONCACAF Champions League will replace the Champions' Cup which will cease to exist after the 2008 edition.
The CONCACAF Champions League will see a Confederation record number of 24 teams from all sectors of the CONCACAF region participating. The preliminary round begins in August 2008 with the first CONCACAF Champions League winner to be crowned in late April 2009.
The CONCACAF Champions League will feature four teams from Mexico and USA; three Caribbean sides; two clubs each from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama; and one representative coming from Canada, Belize, and Nicaragua.
Eight clubs (two Mexican, two USA, one each from Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador) will be seeded and progress directly to the first round of the CONCACAF Champions League, while the Caribbean slots have been increased to three teams for this event.
The remaining 16 teams will be paired in eight home-and-away preliminary match-ups taking place from 26-28 August and 2-4 September.
The preliminary round winners will join the other eight seeded teams in the group stage that consists of four groups of four. All the teams in each group will play each other in a round-robin system during six match dates (three home games, three away games) from 16 September - 30 October.
The top two clubs from each group will advance to the knock out phase playing home-and-away elimination. The quarterfinals commence in February 2009; semifinals begin in March; and the Finals will take place in late April.
The CONCACAF Champions League winner will qualify as the CONCACAF's representative to the 2009 edition of the FIFA Club World Cup.
Technical Director Peter Vermes, Former Head Coach Bob Gansler up for National Soccer Hall of Fame
Kansas City Wizards Technical Director Peter Vermes is among 35 individuals eligible for National Soccer Hall of Fame induction. Vermes received the 8th most votes in 2007 voting. Voters selected Vermes on 31 percent of the ballots.
Eligibility Criteria
In order to be eligible in the Player category an individual must have met Number 1 and either Number 2 or Number 3 of the following criteria:
1.) Retired as a player for at least three years but no more than 10 years.
2.) Played at least 20 full international games for the United States. This requirement is reduced to 10 games if the games were prior to 1990.
3.) Played at least 5 seasons in an American first-division professional league, and won either the league championship or the U.S. Open Cup, or was selected as a league all-star at least once.
Players who have met either Number 2 or Number 3 of the above criteria but who retired more than 10 years ago are automatically placed on the Veterans eligibility list.
Any player named on less than 5% of the ballots is dropped from the eligibility list and placed on the Veterans list when he/she meets the Veterans' eligibility criteria. (effective with the 2007 ballot results)
Selection Committee
The Committee consists of all present and former coaches of the Men's and Women's full National Team; all active MLS coaches with a minimum of 4 years as Head Coach; MLS management representatives; MLS Commissioner; US Soccer Secretary General; designated members of the media; all Hall of Famers.
Procedure Committee members may vote for up to 10 candidates from the ballot. No write-in votes will be counted.
Election Criteria
Any player named on at least 75% of the ballots cast is elected.
Other former Wizards players on the ballot include: Brian Bliss, Mike Burns, March Chung, Frank Klopas, Roy Lassiter, Preki and Mike Sorber. Former Wizards Head Coach Bob Gansler has been nominated on the Builder's Ballot for his contributions to the sport of soccer in the U.S.
For more information, visit www.soccerhall.org.
Wizards to Open Versus D.C. United on March 29, 2008 at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in KCK
The Kansas City Wizards will open 2008 regular-season play at temporary home CommunityAmerica Ballpark Saturday, March 29, at 7 p.m. CT against Eastern-Conference rivals D.C. United. Kansas City played United in their first match of 2007, defeating the eventual Supporters' Shield winners 4-2 at RFK Stadium. Kansas City went 1-1-1 against United in 2007.,p>
Deposits for 2008 season tickets are now being accepted. Call the Wizards at (913) 387-3400 or (877) 828-7222 to reserve your seats today.
The 2008 ticket-pricing chart is listed below:
Seating Category -- Walk-Up -- Season (18 Games)
Stadium Seat -- $25.00 -- $405.00
Bleacher -- $20.00 -- $324.00
Grass Berm (GA) -- $15.00 -- $150.00
