Lionel Messi and Inter Miami expand preseason tour to five games across the Americas
Inter Miami has expanded its preseason tour and will now include games in North, Central and South America.
The tour, which kicks off next weekend, will take the Major League Soccer club to stadiums across the region and includes stops in Peru, Panama, and Honduras.
“These fixtures will put us in the best possible position ahead of an unparalleled campaign with various competitions we’re playing for this year — the FIFA Club World Cup, Concacaf Champions Cup, Leagues Cup and MLS,” the club’s president of football operations Raúl Sanllehí said in a statement.
Miami’s preseason officially begins at the Florida Blue Training Center on Jan. 11, with training set to start Monday. The team will then travel to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, where they will face Liga MX giants Club America on Saturday, Jan. 18.
The team then heads south to face Club Universitario de Deportes at Estadio Monumental in Lima; Sporting San Miguelito at Estadio Rommel Fernández Gutiérrez in Panama City; and Club Deportivo Olimpia at Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano in San Pedro Sula.
Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium is Miami’s final preseason stop. (Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
Inter Miami returns to Florida, where they will face MLS side Orlando City SC at Raymond James Stadium before pivoting to the CONCACAF Champions Cup. They kick off regular season play against NYCFC at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on Feb. 22.
Inter Miami has been aggressive in its global outreach since signing Argentina’s captain Lionel Messi. The club has a slew of international stars on its roster, like Sergio Busquets, Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba, all former teammates of Messi’s in Barcelona. In November, the team named another of Messi’s former teammates, Javier Mascherano, as its head coach, replacing Gerardo “Tata” Martino.
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Never Say Never, the marketing agency co-founded by former Spanish international and another Barcelona great, Andres Iniesta, is organizing the three games in Central and South America. In a statement announcing the tour, the agency called the showcase “a historic occasion for thousands of Latin-American fans” to see players like Messi, Suarez, Busquets and Alba.
Inter Miami tour dates:
- Jan. 18 vs Club América, Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas, Nevada, USA)
- Jan. 29 vs Club Universitario de Deportes, Estadio Monumental (Lima, Peru)
- Feb. 2 vs Sporting San Miguelito, Estadio Rommel Fernández Gutiérrez (Panama City, Panama)
- Feb. 8 vs Club Deportivo Olimpia, Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano (San Pedro Sula, Honduras)
- Feb. 14 vs Orlando City SC, Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida, USA)
(Top photo: David Buono / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
