After Orlando City’s continuous success and popularity, the franchise has decided to expand its involvement in soccer even further. On October 20, 2015, Orlando City announced the launch of its new National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) team, the Orlando Pride.
“The name ‘Orlando Pride’ captures how we all feel about the City of Orlando, as well as firmly tying into the Lions family,” said Founder and President of Orlando City Phil Rawlins in a statement released by the club. “The time is right for women’s professional soccer here in Central Florida, and we are excited to launch this new team.”
The Girl’s Varsity Soccer Coach Alexis Hermosa is going to be trying out for the Orlando Pride team.
“I started training to play professionally with any team around the US and even abroad, so the news that Orlando was having a team was an added bonus!” Hermosa said. “I was born and raised in Orlando so it would be really cool to play for the town that I’ve [been raised].”
Hermosa said that tryouts haven’t been announced yet, but it should be sometime around February.
The team has created a logo, which includes an image of the well-known fountain in Lake Eola. The fountain is purple, representing Orlando City, and blue, representing the chain of lakes in Orlando.
The Orlando Pride is being managed by former head coach of the Australian and U.S. women’s nationals teams, Tom Sermanni. Sermanni shows a remarkable resume in coaching. He has had more than 300 professional games and 57 goals over a 16-year span for his clubs in Scotland, England, Australia and New Zealand.
“I think that the Orlando Pride will be a different dynamic,” Varsity soccer player and Orlando City fan Claire Callan said. “Women’s soccer and men’s soccer have a different style of play. Women’s soccer is not as predictable as men’s soccer, which is more possession based.”
Orlando has proven to be a great representative of national soccer, and everyone can appreciate its desire to expand and become a big part of soccer’s history and legacy. Orlando City has stolen the excitement of fans before, and they are ready to do it again with a brand new women’s team.
“I think that as a new women’s soccer team, they have a lot more to prove and will be more willing to step up as role models for all young girls who are now being exposed to soccer and seeing that it is regarded as a professional sport,” Callan said.
Rawlins is interested in bringing in two women from the U.S. national team, Alex Morgan and Ashlyn Harris. Both players have been visible around the club lately, but their official involvement in the team won’t show for a couple of weeks. This is still a huge step into the journey of the Orlando Pride.
“We want to win championships and build one of the best women’s teams in world soccer,” Rawlins said in the statement. “We have taken a strong first step in this direction by naming Tom Sermanni as head coach of the Pride. This is a thrilling time for our organization, our partners, and for fans in the ‘Soccer Capital of the South.’”
The Orlando Pride will have its first game in 2016 at the Orlando Citrus Bowl, and then it will move to the team’s new downtown stadium when it is complete.
Many soccer players and fans alike are excited for this new step into the future of Orlando soccer. This opens a new gateway, especially for women.
“Orlando has proven itself as a hotbed of soccer in the country, and I look forward to building on that legacy of success with the Orlando Pride,” Sermanni said in the club statement.
