The Kansas City Wizards will participate in the first-ever New Mexico Cup Saturday, May 31 at the University of New Mexico Football Stadium in Albuquerque. Kansas City will face Guatemalan power Club Social y Deportivo Municipal at 8 p.m. CT in the first-ever meeting between the clubs. Municipal has played four other MLS teams. Tickets for the event put on by 3 Star Sports and Entertainment Management are available online here. Fore more information, CLICK HERE.
"We are very happy to take part in the first-ever New Mexico Cup," Wizards Technical Director Peter Vermes said. "Our selection to play in this match against CSD Municipal says a lot about the direction of our club. Many in the U.S. soccer community are realizing the strides we have taken since OnGoal took over in 2006, and playing matches like these will helps us reach our goal of becoming an internationally recognizable brand."
Club Social y Deportivo Municipal (CSD Municipal) commonly referred to as simply Municipal or Los Rojos (the Reds) was founded in 1936 in the Guatemala City. Municipal has won their national championship an extraordinary 25 times. The crown jewel of their trophy case is the silverware obtained by winning the CONCACAF Champions' Cup in 1974, as the Reds are the only Guatemalan team to have ever done so. The logo of Municipal is a variation of the coat of arms of the city of Santiago de Los Caballeros de Guatemala, with the image of Santiago (Saint James) over the scenery of the region. The Reds are referred to as "El equipo del pueblo" by their fans. This translates to "The People's Team," and Municipal is widely considered to be the most popular club in all of Guatemala.
The event will coincide with a weekend of soccer activity that includes The New Mexico Street Cup, a 2-v-2 freestyle soccer tournament Friday night in downtown Albuquerque. Masters of the Game, a group based in Amsterdam, Holland that features former Ajax players, highlight the four-team event during a round-robin tournament.
