SALT LAKE CITY - While Real Salt Lake will square off against the Fiji National Team next Wednesday, tomorrow Utah's MLS side will welcome its visitors from the South Pacific as honored guests for its regular season match-up against the Columbus Crew at Rice-Eccles Stadium at 4:00 p.m. MT.
The entire Fiji National Team delegation will be on hand to take in Saturday's MLS matinee between RSL and The Crew, and the team's members will be accessible to fans throughout Rice-Eccles, as the squad will roam Rice-Eccles during the match to hand out 50 Fijian flags to fans and will also take part in RSL's post-game "Autograph Alley" on the south end of the stadium. In addition, Fiji Head Coach Juan Carlos Buzzetti and players Steven Morrel and Rajesh Kumar will be made available to media members during a gift-exchange ceremony set to take place in the Crocker Room following RSL Head Coach John Ellinger's post-game press conference at approximately 6:30 p.m. MT.
The Fijian delegation will head to Salt Lake City tonight following the team's exhibition match in Provo against the BYU Cougars of the USL Premier Development League (PDL), which kicks off at 7:30 p.m. at South Field on the campus of BYU. Fiji will end its eight-game tour of the western United States next Wednesday, April 18, against Real Salt Lake's reserve side at 7:30 p.m. MT, a match serving as the nitecap in a doubleheader at Rice-Eccles that will start with a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play-in contest against the Kansas City Wizards at 5:00 p.m. After starting its U.S. tour with a draw and two losses, Fiji has rebounded to win its last three games against a U.S./Fiji All-Star squad, the University of San Francisco, and the PDL's San Francisco Seals heading into tonight's match against the Cougars.
Crew Available to Media Following this Afternoon's Practice at Rice-Eccles
Columbus Crew Head Coach Sigi Schmid and all members of the Crew's 18-man traveling roster will be available to members of the local media following the team's training session at Rice-Eccles Stadium this afternoon. The Crew will begin its closed-door practice at 4:30 p.m. MT, with the session being opened to media members at 5:30 p.m.
