2022 Florida Cup: Arsenal and Chelsea to meet in Orlando

EPL rivals headline an expanded FC Series of international friendlies

ORLANDO, Fla., April 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- English Premier League rivals Arsenal and Chelsea, two of the world's most popular and successful professional soccer clubs, will meet at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, on July 23 for the Florida Cup. The stateside derby will be the finale of a weeklong "FC Series" expansion featuring international matches across the United States.

The Florida Cup has taken place in the state since 2015, featuring clubs from all over the world. In 2022, the FC Series will extend the weeklong "Clash of Nations" festival to multiple venues.

Arsenal will play Orlando City SC at Exploria Stadium on July 20, a first-time meeting between the two clubs.

Chelsea will headline two other international matches across the US during the FC Series — on July 16 and 20 — with locations and opponents to be announced. The club will be joining under new ownership. The Blues will only travel if the sale of the club has completed and they accordingly are no longer subject to United Kingdom government sanctions.

Group and single-match presale information for the FC Series is available at FCSeries.com. Public tickets for the July 23 Arsenal vs. Chelsea match go on sale Thursday, April 28. Broadcast information and official start times will be announced later this year.

Now in its eighth year, the Florida Cup returns to The Communities of West Lakes near Downtown Orlando after making its Camping World Stadium debut last summer. Everton FC of the English Premier League won the latest Florida Cup crown with a victory over top Colombian club Millonarios FC. Additional 2021 event participants included UNAM Pumas (Mexico) and Atlético Nacional (Colombia).

The weeklong festival will also include various events in Orlando featuring club legends and other celebrities, including a concert from Brazilian superstar Ivete Sangalo on Sunday, July 17, at Universal Orlando Resort.

Camping World Stadium recently completed the latest in a $260 million series of upgrades. The historic venue has hosted several top-tier international soccer events since adding upper decks in 1990. That run includes five matches during the 1994 FIFA World Cup and nine matches during the 1996 Olympic Games. Camping World Stadium is also a candidate to host games during the 2026 World Cup.

The GBAC Gold Star-rated facility hosted three matches during Copa América Centenario in 2016. In 2017, Florida Citrus Sports partnered with the International Champions Cup to bring Paris Saint-Germain FC and Tottenham Hotspur to Orlando. Orlando City also played its home matches at Camping World Stadium in all but the 2014 season from 2011-16, before making Exploria Stadium its permanent home field in 2017.

Longtime Florida Cup supporter Universal Orlando Resort returns as a major partner in 2022 and will welcome participating teams, select media and traveling fans throughout the event at Universal's three epic theme parks - Universal Studios Florida, Universal's Islands of Adventure and Universal's Volcano Bay - and its extraordinary resorts collection. In addition, AdventHealth will once again provide medical support to participating clubs throughout the event.

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2022 FC SERIES MATCH SCHEDULE

SATURDAY, JULY 16 – CLASH OF NATIONS

Chelsea FC (England) vs. TBD | Time TBD (Evening)
TBD
TBD

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20 – CLASH OF NATIONS

Arsenal FC (England) vs. Orlando City SC (USA) | Time TBD (Evening)
Exploria Stadium
Orlando, FL

Chelsea FC (England) vs. TBD | Time TBD (Evening)
TBD
TBD

SATURDAY, JULY 23 – FLORIDA CUP

Arsenal FC (England) vs. Chelsea FC (England) | Time TBD (Evening)
Camping World Stadium
Orlando, FL

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WHAT THEY ARE SAYING

Florida Citrus Sports Steve Hogan
"The FC Series is an exciting expansion of the Florida Cup and will welcome tens of thousands of fans to the matches while millions watch worldwide. We cannot wait to welcome these powerful global brands to the US."

Florida Cup / FC Series CEO Ricardo Villar 
"We are thrilled to continue our tradition of connecting the globe through sport. We look forward to delivering a first-class experience to our English visitors with help from our partners locally in Orlando and across North America."

Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta
"We're very pleased to see our pre-season plans taking shape with the announcement of our trip to the United States to take part in the FC Series. It's been a long time since we've seen our fans in the US, and we're looking forward to playing in front of them. The tournament features some good sides that will provide strong opposition, and the training and matchday facilities in Orlando will provide a first-class environment for our preparations for next season."

Arsenal Technical Director Edu Gaspar
"The FC Series, together with our Orlando training camp, will provide Mikel and the squad with an excellent level of preparation as we focus on next season. We look forward to confirming further plans for our pre-season very soon."

Chelsea FC Technical and Performance Advisor Petr Cech: 
"We've always had a lot of success on our US tours, taking so many fans to the stadium's and giving them the opportunity to see Chelsea FC play live. We have a huge fan base in the US that we've proudly built and we've seen that fan base getting bigger and bigger every year. We are delighted to go and play in the FC Series and the Florida Cup, where in total we will have three competitive games to prepare well for our upcoming season and to show what we can do to the American audience." 

Orlando City SC President of Business Operations Jarrod Dillon
"We're excited to be able to provide our fans and the greater Orlando soccer community the opportunity to experience one of the world's most iconic clubs, Arsenal FC, right here in the best soccer venue in America, Exploria Stadium. Not only will the friendly be a phenomenal experience for our fans, but we are excited to see our Lions take the field against a top international opponent. This is going to be a match that no one will want to miss."

Orlando City SC EVP of Soccer Operations and General Manager Luiz Muzzi
"This game is a unique opportunity for us to host one of Europe's most recognized teams at Exploria Stadium. This is a great way for our players to get high-level gameplay and for our fans to see us match up with a very exciting Premier League opponent. We're looking forward to it." 

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About Florida Cup / FC Series 
The largest annual international soccer event in the Sunshine State, the Florida Cup is a global platform that combines sports, music and entertainment. In 2021, the event's international TV audience reached over 5 million unique viewers. Across social networks, content posted by official event pages and shared worldwide reached more than 100 million people. In 2022, the event expands to the FC Series featuring multiple matches across the United States. For more information on the FC Series, visit FCSeries.com, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.

About Florida Citrus Sports
Florida Citrus Sports is a not-for-profit event management organization dedicated to positively impacting the Orlando region while enhancing the quality of life in Central Florida through world-class events, including the Vrbo Citrus Bowl, the Cheez-It Bowl, the Florida Blue Florida Classic, the FC Series and the Camping World Kickoff. For more information, visit FloridaCitrusSports.com.  

About Arsenal FC
Arsenal Football Club was born when a group of workers at Dial Square armaments factory in Woolwich decided to form a football team to break the monotony of factory life. 

Since that Dial Square team played its first match against Eastern Wanderers in 1886, Arsenal has gone on to become one of London's most successful football clubs and one of the most famous names in modern football with millions of passionate followers worldwide. 

Steeped in history and tradition, Arsenal Football Club has thrived on a pioneering and innovative spirit that has existed throughout its 134 years in existence. While society and football may have changed during this time, Arsenal has always served to create a sense of community for people in north London, across the UK and around the world.

About Chelsea FC
Chelsea Football Club is one of the world's top football clubs and reigning champions of Europe after winning the UEFA Champions League for a second time in 2021 with a 1-0 victory over Manchester City in Porto. It was followed by a first-ever world title in February 2022 when Chelsea beat Brazilian side Palmeiras 2-1 in the FIFA Club World Cup final in Abu Dhabi.

Founded in 1905, Chelsea is London's most central football club, based at the iconic 41,000-capacity Stamford Bridge stadium. Nicknamed 'The Blues', the club lifted the Champions League for the first time in 2012 and has also won the Premier League five times, the FA Cup eight times, the Football League Cup five times, the UEFA Europa League twice, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup twice, the UEFA Super Cup twice and the Football League Championship once, in 1955.

The 2021 Champions League and Super Cup triumphs saw Chelsea become the first club to win all four major UEFA club competitions twice following its earlier successes in those two competitions as well as the Europa League and Cup Winners' Cup.

In addition to possessing some of the world's most recognisable players, Chelsea has also invested in its future with a state-of-the-art Academy and training centre in Cobham, Surrey. Since its opening in 2007, the club has won seven FA Youth Cups, back-to-back UEFA Youth League titles in 2015 and 2016, and U18 Premier League national championships in 2017 and 2018.

The Chelsea FC Women's team has also enjoyed plenty of success and completed a clean sweep of domestic honours in 2021 by winning the FA Women's Super League for the fourth time, the FA Women's League Cup for the second time and Women's FA Cup for the third time as well as reaching the UEFA Women's Champions League final.

The Chelsea Foundation also boasts one of the most extensive community initiatives in sport, helping to improve the lives of children and young people all over the world.

About Orlando City SC
Orlando City SC joined Major League Soccer (MLS) as the league's 21st franchise in November 2013, becoming the first MLS team in the Southeast. The Lions began league play in March 2015, and in 2017, moved into its privately-owned downtown soccer stadium. In 2022, Orlando City SC re-launched OCB as a founding member of MLS NEXT Pro to bridge the gap between its successful youth development academy and the First Team.

In November 2015, the Club announced its intention to bring professional women's soccer to Central Florida and launched Orlando Pride in National Women's Soccer League. The Pride began league play in April 2016 with a star-studded team of FIFA World Cup Champions. For more information, visit orlandocitysc.com or orlando-pride.com. 

About Universal Orlando Resort
For more than 30 years, Universal Orlando has immersed guests in amazing moments. Across the award-winning destination, they can let go and live in the moment with those they care about most as they embark on incredible theme park adventures, like causing mischief with the Minions from Illumination's "Despicable Me," coming face-to-face with ferocious dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, walking the corridors of Hogwarts castle in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and so much more.

Universal Orlando is home to three epic theme parks that feature some of the world's most exciting and innovative experiences, including Universal's Islands of Adventure – named the #1 Amusement Park in the World for five years in a row by TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice; Universal Studios Florida – home to the most technologically-advanced stunt show yet, The Bourne Stuntacular; and Universal's Volcano Bay - a tropical oasis like no other that features an actual beach right in the middle of Orlando.

Universal Orlando's hotels are destinations unto themselves and include Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel, Loews Royal Pacific Resort, Loews Sapphire Falls Resort, Universal's Cabana Bay Beach Resort, Universal's Aventura Hotel, and Universal's Endless Summer Resort – Dockside Inn and Suites & Surfside Inn and Suites. And Universal's entertainment complex, Universal CityWalk, offers immersive dining and entertainment for every member of the family. 

CONTACT:

Sam Gardner (Florida Citrus Sports)
407.423.2476 ext. 117, sgardner@fcsports.com

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SOURCE Florida Cup