Orlando City UK celebrates our seventh birthday: 2022 round-up

/ Taylor Williams

Wow, what an incredible 2022 we’ve had! Today, we’re celebrating our seventh birthday here at Orlando City UK with our Official International Fan Club of Orlando City SC established seven years ago.

In our eighth MLS season, 2022 was the year the Lions finally got their hands on their first major silverware. Triumphantly winning the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, our loyal UK supporters keenly supported every step of the way from the United Kingdom.

Orlando City SC vs Houston Dynamo LIVE

After what felt like an eternity following the COVID-19 pandemic, Orlando City UK visited The City Beautiful for the first time since February 2020 to watch our June 2022 home game against Houston Dynamo live.

Coinciding with my honeymoon, Oscar Pareja‘s Lions won 2-1 with Ercan Kara‘s brace putting City two goals to the good by the hour mark.

A minute after Kara’s second, Sebastián Ferreira’s goal made City sweat.

Fortunately however, Orlando City SC held on to maintain my lucky record of seeing City win live more often than not!

Prior to kick-off, I had the honour of revealing Orlando City SC‘s starting eleven alongside City’s official mascot Kingston in a thrilling experience.

Elsewhere, this game was the first time I had visited The West Club – Exploria Stadium’s hospitality section. There was loads of food stations, free drinks, and premium seating offering awesome vantage points for the game.

I would thoroughly recommend The West Club to anybody seeking a super memorable hospitality experience!

Orlando City SC vs Sacramento Republic LIVE

Returning from my honeymoon in June, I had no idea I’d be back in Orlando as soon as September 5!

With Orlando City SC trailblazing their way towards the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final, something amazing happened on July 29.

Two days after Orlando City SC had thrashed New York Red Bulls 5-1 to punch their ticket to the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final, City season ticket holder Kyle Butler and 43 others left me speechless and overwhelmed with joy.

Raising an incredible $1,780 to crowdfund a trip for me to see the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final live and in-person, this was genuinely the nicest and most incredible gesture anybody has done for me.

Eternally grateful, I cannot thank every donor enough, and will never forget this amazing act.

Especially after we won the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup too, defeating Sacramento Republic 3-0 to historically lift our first major trophy as an MLS club.

Despite this trip being a four-day whistle-stop tour, I had the most amazing time in The City Beautiful.

Catching up with so many friends and familiar faces from #OCTwitter, I also volunteered my time on the morning of the final.

Alongside an army of volunteers, I helped lay tape and purple and gold coloured card on thousands of seats at Exploria Stadium.

This forged part of Orlando City SC‘s “card stunt” ahead of kick-off in the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final.

As for the game, I proudly stood alongside good friend Kyle Butler on the first row of The Wall.

Stood in the thick of the action, the continuous chanting, drumming, smoke, and feel-good atmosphere will always stay with me.

After a nervy first-half, a half in which minor league side Sacramento Republic frustrated the home side, the second-half belonged to Facundo Torres.

Enjoying a stellar first season with the Lions, “Facu” earned instant legendary status courtesy of a second-half brace that etched him into Orlando City SC folklore.

With Orlando’s very own Benji Michel adding a third late on, full-time was an outpouring crescendo of sheer joy, relief, and exuberance at finally winning our first trophy as an MLS club, eight seasons into our journey.

It was a first-hand reminder of why we’re all hopelessly devoted to sport and all its ups and downs.

Our early year struggles in MLS made this timely victory all the more sweeter!

The very next day (September 8), Orlando City SC held a trophy celebration downtown at Orlando City Hall, an event I was fortunate enough to still be in town for.

2022 Orlando City SC away jersey (The Sunshine Kit) unboxing

Each time a new Orlando City SC jersey is released, we like to provide our Twitter followers an up close and personal look at the latest design.

In early March, we finally got our hands on the 2022 Orlando City SC away jersey (The Sunshine Kit) and did our own unboxing video.

This year, we opted to get Facundo Torres‘ name on the back of our away whites.

And boy, that turned out to be a great decision!

2022 Orlando City SC Adidas PRIMEBLUE jersey unboxing

After the 2022 Orlando City SC Adidas PRIMEBLUE jersey was revealed on May 25, we got our hands on the kit in June.

We did our own unboxing video, taking a closer look at the one-off jersey, made with recycled Parley Ocean Plastic™, and the features making up the design.

2022 Orlando City SC Unity pre-match top unboxing

After the 2022 Orlando City SC Unity pre-match top was released on June 15, we got our hands on the jersey that month.

We did another unboxing video, taking a closer look at the pre-match jersey and the features making up the design.

2022 Orlando City SC #KickChildhoodCancer pre-match top unboxing

After the 2022 Orlando City SC #KickChildhoodCancer pre-match top was released on August 24, we got our hands on the kit in September.

We did another unboxing video, taking a closer look at the pre-match jersey and the features making up the design.

Cutting Edge Shirts

After returning victorious from my 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final trip, I simply had to contact Cutting Edge Shirts.

A UK specialist in custom football shirt printing, Cutting Edge Shirts applied my commemorative U.S. Open Cup Final patch to my 2021/22 Orlando City SC home jersey.

Serving as a permanent reminder of Orlando City SC‘s historic cup triumph, you can contact Cutting Edge Shirts for your own requests right here.

Getting published on Arsenal.com

Anybody that knows me knows I’m a huge Arsenal supporter from birth, alongside Orlando City SC of course.

In April, I was over the moon to learn that the Lions would be facing the Gunners on July 20 as part of the FC Series Clash of Nations 2022.

If that wasn’t enough, I also had the honour of being interviewed by Arsenal.com’s Jonathon Rogers ahead of the glamour mid-season friendly.

It’s always been a boyhood ambition of mine to get published on Arsenal.com.

I discussed with Jonathon why I support Arsenal and Orlando City SC, how Orlando City UK was established, and who I would be supporting come kick-off.

Getting published on NYCFC.com

Ahead of New York City FC vs Orlando City SC on October 2, NYCFC.com’s Kristian Heneage interviewed me as part of New York City FC’s opposition segment – “The Away End”.

I discussed with Kristian why I support Orlando City SC, how I’d rated our 2022 season overall, and what my score prediction was.

Membership growth

Welcoming even more Orlando City UK members in 2022, our Official International Fan Club of Orlando City SC now boasts 69 loyal and passionate members spread across the UK, Europe and North America.

As you can see from our Orlando City UK Fan Map, Orlando City SC supporters are spread throughout every corner of Great Britain, underlining the Lions’ mass appeal on our shores.

Since establishing Orlando City UK in November 2015, it’s been an aim of mine to make Orlando City SC the best supported Major League Soccer franchise in Great Britain and for us, we are exactly that!

Sign up for Orlando City UK membership yourself by clicking here.

Live Blog matchday coverage

Now I’m living back in the United Kingdom, I’m desperately missing watching Major League Soccer fixtures at sensible times.

Living in Canada for 1.5 years meant watching Orlando City SC in the PM more often than the AM!

Conducting live blog matchday coverage yet again this year, 2022 saw us keep Orlando City SC supporters up-to-date with the key plays from over half of the Lions’ 42 overall fixtures (MLS, U.S. Open Cup, FC Series) in real time on Twitter.

A hugely effective way to join in the greater Orlando City SC conversation online, we thank every single follower for their likes, comments and retweets throughout the 2022 campaign.

And who could forget Facundo Torres‘ nerves of steel to slam home that 2022 MLS Decision Day penalty to punch our ticket to the 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs?

Not me!

42 Stats Previews

Orlando City UK yet again provided comprehensive Statistical Match Previews for every single one of Orlando City SC‘s 42 overall fixtures throughout the course of 2022.

Each of our 34 MLS regular season Stats Previews included five researched stats.

Then there was Orlando City SC‘s victorious six-game run to the 2022 U.S. Open Cup title, our 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs game, and the 2022 FC Series Clash of Nations friendly against Arsenal.

All in all, Orlando City UK generated a whopping 210 individual stats in 2022.

This is the highest number of stats we’ve ever generated within a single Orlando City SC season.

Every Orlando City UK stat was also shared with the Orlando City SC community on Twitter as part of our gameday social media output.

Zoom interview series, including Tesho Akindele

Did you know, Orlando City UK is also on YouTube? You can subscribe right here.

Throughout 2022, we utilised Zoom to run a series of seven interviews with both fellow and opposition supporters.

Back in February, we previewed Orlando City SC’s 2022 MLS campaign with fellow die-hard, Dan Berridge (@TheEnglishLion1).

Throughout the season, we then interviewed Alex Stec, @RowdiesUK, Jessica Charman, @btwncleansheets, and @UKNYCFC to preview Orlando City SC games against FC Cincinnati, Tampa Bay Rowdies, Charlotte FC, D.C. United, and New York City FC.

In late May, we also had the pleasure of exclusively interviewing current Orlando City SC forward Tesho Akindele.

We spoke to Tesho about the Lions’ 2022 MLS season and seeing Canada qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

We also got Tesho to answer a series of miscellaneous quick-fire City questions too.

This was the first time that Orlando City UK had interviewed a current Orlando City SC player.

Stay tuned for more match preview interviews with fellow and rival MLS fans, plus other Orlando City SC personalities in 2023.

Regular news output

While statistical previews were Orlando City UK’s main offering to the Orlando City SC community online, so too were the biggest Orlando City SC headlines of the year.

As part of our crowdsourced segment “Twitter Reacts”, Orlando City UK wrote features about player acquisitions including Facundo Torres, Ercan Kara, Jake Mulraney, Gastón González, and Nicholas Gioacchini.

Plus, features about Daryl Dike and Jhegson Méndez‘s transfers to West Bromwich Albion and Los Angeles FC.

We also wrote features about the 2022 Orlando City SC away jersey launch, the 2022 Orlando City SC Adidas PRIMEBLUE jersey, and Orlando City SC‘s glamour mid-season friendly with Arsenal.

Plus, we covered Orlando City SC transfer rumours throughout 2022, including Brian Ocampo and Martín Ojeda, plus Facundo Torres, Gastón González, Ercan Kara and Wilder Cartagena who all later signed with the club.

Interview appearances

Always delighted to discuss Orlando City SC online, I joined fellow City fans Lionsblog not once but twice, plus Orlando City Fan TV throughout 2022.

Thanks for your support!

Orlando City UK is looking forward to providing in-depth coverage of Orlando City SC throughout the off-season and into 2023.

We’d like to take this moment to thank every single one of our followers for your unwavering support.

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Support Orlando City UK

Passionate about what we do, Orlando City UK content will always be free. The most important thing for us is sharing our love of Orlando City SC with you all and donations are by no means expected. However, if you enjoy our content, a token towards the regular maintenance of Orlando City UK is hugely appreciated!

Let us know what content you enjoyed and what you’d like to see from Orlando City UK in 2023.

Comment below or tweet us at @Orlando_CityUK.

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