Open letter: Orlando City UK, my baby, and my farewell (kind of!)

Ten years is a lot doing anything! 😮 And it takes real dedication to stick around so long. Luckily for me, these past ten years have been some of the best of my life, growing and nurturing Orlando City UK.

Orlando City UK has been my baby since November 2015 – a labour of love, obsession, and way too much caffeine. A little fun fact – when I first joined Twitter (X) in 2015, the @orlandocityuk handle was already taken. I reached out to the owner and explained my plans to cover the team, but he politely declined. So I went with @Orlando_CityUK – and from that moment, I was fully committed to covering all things Orlando City SC.

But life has a way of reminding you that you can’t do everything forever. There comes a time when balance matters more than ambition, when priorities shift, and the next chapter calls louder than the one you’ve been living. So here’s the big news first. In 2026, I’m going to become a DAD! 💜 Amazing, right? With Baby Williams arriving in June, our journey has been extremely difficult. But we’re incredibly grateful that our second round of IVF was successful. My wife, Christie, and I want to thank the team at Care Fertility, as well as our family and friends, for their constant support over the past four years. It’s been the perfect way to end 2025, and we’re both excited for what promises to be a huge 2026 – with maternity and paternity leave timed just right for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. 😉

Orlando City UK isn’t going anywhere, but content will be far more reduced. That means no more weekly Stats Previews, live blog commentaries, and transfer articles. Instead, I’m choosing to be kinder to myself by taking more off my plate. I’ll still be around – cheering, writing, and sharing. But with a lot less energy, more sleepless nights, and an exciting new focus on our own little Lion cub. 🦁 Continue reading

Orlando City SC to release MLS Archive Collection third kit in 2026

A die-hard Orlando City SC supporter and devoted jersey collector, I’ve been envious seeing 15 other clubs unveil stunning MLS Archive Collection third kits over the past two seasons. That’s why today’s news from FootyHeadlines.com is especially exciting! Indeed, Orlando are among eight teams set to receive an Adidas MLS Archive Collection third kit in 2026.

Aside from special edition Parley, PRIMEBLUE, and One Planet shirts worn on one-off, cause-related occasions, 2026 will be the first time City have ever had an official third kit in Major League Soccer. And surely, it has to be red?

Today’s unofficial announcement builds on Adidas’ revival of their “Freekick” magazine earlier this summer, which coincided with the 2025 MLS Archive Collection launch. That launch saw 10 additional clubs join the program after the inaugural 2024 rollout, when five teams unveiled third kits. The “Freekick” issue also revealed that eight more MLS sides would follow in 2026 – and now we know Orlando are one of them. Continue reading

Twitter reacts to… the new 2024 Orlando City SC away jersey

(Credit: Orlando City SC)

After much anticipation, the new 2024 Orlando City SC away jersey – “The Legacy Kit” – has officially been unveiled at Cheyenne Saloon on Church Street as part of the club’s Kickoff to Soccer activation.

Revealing the new look of our road whites just six days before facing Cavalry FC in the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup, The Legacy Kit is our sixth away jersey design in Major League Soccer and will be worn in both the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Continue reading

INTERVIEW: Orlando City UK chats to Orlando City SC’s Kay Rawlins

Having witnessed it all, from the club’s 2010 founding as Austin Aztex to present day, Orlando City UK caught up with the queen of Orlando City SC, Kay Rawlins.

Co-founder and co-owner of the club, plus Orlando City Foundation President, we spoke to Kay about that incredible MLS Cup Playoffs win over New York City FC, about community, plus her answers to a series of miscellaneous Lions questions covering the past 10 years. Continue reading

A thank you speech to Orlando City SC’s Phil Rawlins

Embed from Getty Images

Here at Orlando City UK, we really had to look twice when seeing Phil Rawlins had stepped down from his day-to-day operational responsibilities at Orlando City SC on Tuesday evening.

A personal decision with Phil now assuming a Life-President role, we wanted to take this opportunity to thank a guy who proved a huge motivation in us deciding to support Orlando City SC back in 2015. Continue reading