Orlando City UK celebrates our eighth birthday: 2023 round-up

/ Taylor Williams

Today, we’re celebrating our eighth birthday here at Orlando City UK with our Official International Fan Club of Orlando City SC established eight years ago.

A season on from our victorious 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title, Oscar Pareja has Orlando City SC in their second ever Eastern Conference Semi-Final with our loyal UK supporters watching every kick live on Apple TV this side of the Atlantic.

No Orlando City SC game 🙁 – yet!

Unfortunately, unlike previous years, we haven’t made it out to Central Florida for an Orlando City SC game so far this season.

Always longing to be at home games in The City Beautiful, I’ve been daydreaming about revisiting for a potential 2023 MLS Cup at Exploria Stadium – the holy grail fixture and the title we all desperately crave!

2023 Orlando City SC home jersey (The Wall 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 late March, we got our hands on the 2023 Orlando City SC home jersey (The Wall Kit) and released our own unboxing video.

This year, I opted to get our new Designated Player Martín Ojeda on the back of my primary purple kit.

Despite our short-lived participation, I also had a CONCACAF Champions League sleeve patch applied to commemorate our first ever season mixing it with North America’s footballing elite.

2023 Orlando City SC “Sea Cows” (April Fools’ Day) pre-match jersey unboxing

After the 2023 Orlando City SC “Sea Cows” pre-match jersey was revealed on March 31, we got our hands on the kit in April.

We released our own unboxing video, taking a closer look at this collector’s item and instant classic that commemorated April Fools’ Day.

If you know, you know!

2023 Orlando City SC Adidas One Planet Kit unboxing

After the 2023 Orlando City SC Adidas One Planet Kit was revealed on April 18, we got our hands on the kit in May.

We released our own unboxing video, taking a closer look at the one-off jersey, made with 100% recycled Parley Ocean Plastic™, and the features making up the design.

2023 Orlando City SC magenta goalkeeper jersey unboxing

After a very limited number of 2023 Orlando City SC magenta goalkeeper jerseys were released for public sale in April, we got our hands on the kit in August.

We released yet another unboxing video, taking a closer look at the goalkeeper jersey and the features making up the vibrant and eye-catching design.

Cutting Edge Shirts

Scoring an unprecedented 13 MLS goals in his first rookie season out of college, Duncan McGuire has been a huge success story for Orlando City SC.

When it came to The Wall Kit and The Sunshine Kit, I already had Martín Ojeda and Facundo Torres adorning the back of my jerseys.

Still eager to show Duncan some love, I simply had to contact Cutting Edge Shirts.

A UK specialist in custom football shirt printing, Cutting Edge Shirts sourced and applied Duncan McGuire‘s name and number (13) to my 2023 Orlando City SC Adidas One Planet Kit.

A jersey worn in the Lions’ 1-3 home defeat to D.C. United back on April 22 (the less said, the better), at least Duncan McGuire scored in this game.

You can contact Cutting Edge Shirts for your own custom football shirt printing requests right here.

Getting published on NYCFC.com

Ahead of Orlando City SC vs New York City FC back on May 17, NYCFC.com’s Kristian Heneage interviewed me as part of New York City FC’s opposition segment – “The Away End”.

With Kristian, I discussed Orlando City SC‘s hopes for 2023, who City’s dangerman is, and where any visiting NYCFC supporters should visit for food and drinks pre-game.

Membership growth

Our Official International Fan Club of Orlando City SC now boasts 68 loyal and passionate Orlando City UK 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

Conducting live blog matchday coverage yet again this year, 2023 saw us keep Orlando City SC supporters up-to-date with the key plays from over half of the Lions’ 42 overall fixtures so far (MLS, CONCACAF Champions League, U.S. Open Cup, Leagues Cup) in real time on Twitter, or X as it is called these days.

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 course of the 2023 campaign.

And who could forget July 15 when the Lions treated their supporters to a super-sweet comeback victory in front of a packed Mercedes-Benz Stadium crowd at fierce rivals Atlanta United?

Not me!

42 Stats Previews – so far!

Orlando City UK has yet again provided comprehensive statistical match previews for every single one of Orlando City SC‘s 42 overall fixtures throughout the course of 2023 so far.

Each of our 34 MLS regular season fixture stats previews included five researched stats.

Then there was Orlando City SC‘s participation in the 2023 CONCACAF Champions League, the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, and the 2023 Leagues Cup, not forgetting our current run in 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs as well.

All in all, Orlando City UK has generated a whopping 210 individual stats in 2023 so far.

With an unprecedented amount of games, this is the highest number of stats we’ve ever generated within a single Orlando City SC season.

Gabrielle Amado interview

Since lockdown, we’ve utilised Zoom to run a series of video interviews with Orlando City SC players past and present, fellow and opposition supporters, and other City personalities too.

Back in April, I had the pleasure of exclusively interviewing Orlando City SC Senior Producer and Video Host, Gabrielle Amado  (@gabamado).

In the interview, Gabby and I not only previewed the Lions’ April 15 away game at Minnesota United.

I also discussed City’s MLS season so far, as well as asking Gabby a few more questions about her own career working within Major League Soccer broadcasting.

Stay tuned for more exclusive interviews next year in 2024.

Did you know, Orlando City UK is also on YouTube?

You can subscribe right here.

“Walk and Talk” establishment

As I’m sure many of you will agree, working from home has many pros but a con is the overarching feeling of claustrophobia.

To get out of the house, to enjoy a healthier work-life balance, and to walk my new King Charles Cavalier Spaniel “Denny” who came into my life last spring, I used this opportunity to establish Orlando City UK’s “Walk and Talk” series.

In this series of 5-minute first-person videos, I preview the next Orlando City SC game ahead, also recapping the action from the game most recently played.

It’s been really enjoyable creating this content and I’m super grateful for the fantastic feedback I’ve received so far.

And yes,  my dog “Denny” truly earns his name from the popular American diner-style restaurant chain!

Regular news output

While statistical match 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 Felipe Martins, Martín Ojeda, and the hugely popular mid-season re-signing of Júnior Urso.

Plus, a feature about Ercan Kara‘s August transfer to Turkish Süper Lig side Samsunspor.

We also wrote features about the arrivals of Ramiro Enrique and Dagur Dan Thórhallsson, the 2023 Orlando City SC home jersey launch, the 2023 Orlando City SC Adidas One Planet Kit, and a ratings and stats lowdown for Orlando City SC players on EA Sports FC 24.

Last but not least, we had to blow off some steam after Orlando City SC’s highly controversial 3-1 defeat at Florida rivals Inter Miami in the 2023 Leagues Cup Round of 32 back in August.

Interview appearances

Always delighted to discuss Orlando City SC online, I joined fellow City fans Lionsblog, On The Capo Stand, and Orlando City Fan TV throughout the course of 2023.

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 2024.

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 2024.

Comment below or tweet us at @Orlando_CityUK.

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