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

LIVE! Orlando City SC’s 2025/26 off-season – Transfers and rumours tracker

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Behold, your ultimate guide to Orlando City SC’s transfer activity during the 2025/26 MLS off-season.

This live tracker covers everything from winter signings and rumours to player departures and contract updates, all the way through to the close of the MLS Primary Transfer Window on Thursday, March 26, 2026.

Right here, you can stay fully up-to-date on every move and development involving the Lions. Continue reading

Orlando City SC’s complete 2026 MLS schedule revealed

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Yesterday, Orlando City SC supporters learned when each of their thirty-four 2026 Major League Soccer regular season fixtures will be played.

Now that our full MLS regular season schedule is out, away days can be planned, rivalry games can be circled, and Lions supporters can now start mapping out Orlando City SC’s quest to reach the 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs. Continue reading

Twitter reacts to… César Araújo’s Orlando City SC exit

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After César Araújo announced his departure via social media on Friday, Orlando City SC officially confirmed today that the midfielder is leaving the club after his contract expired. Known for his tireless energy, tough tackling, and mastery of the dark arts, Araújo is a difficult asset to replace this off-season.

César Araújo departs after four successful seasons at Inter&Co Stadium. Making 152 appearances across all competitions, Araújo helped City win the U.S. Open Cup in 2022. Despite being a ‘walking yellow card’, Araújo and Wilder Cartagena formed one of the strongest midfield partnerships in MLS. A dynamic duo that is now broken, they were instrumental in our rise under Oscar Pareja. Continue reading

Orlando City UK celebrates our 10th birthday: 2025 round-up

Today, we’re celebrating our 10th birthday at Orlando City UK, with our Official International Fan Club of Orlando City SC established a whole decade ago 😮 – time flies!

After back-to-back top-four finishes in 2023 and 2024, this season has been a big step backwards – plain and simple!

A strange season that quickly swung from hope to heartbreak, our loyal UK supporters watched all the action live on Apple TV. Continue reading

Twitter reacts to… Pedro Gallese’s Orlando City SC exit

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A CLUB LEGEND DEPARTS! 🐙😢 After six unforgettable seasons between the sticks, Pedro Gallese’s time with Orlando City SC has officially come to an end. The club confirmed the news yesterday, with the Peruvian international departing following the expiration of his contract.

Having flexed his tentacles for the last time in purple, the man affectionately known as “El Pulpo” departs Orlando just nine days after our gutting 3-1 defeat to Chicago Fire in the 2025 MLS Wild Card match (East). Continue reading

Winners revealed in Orlando City UK’s 2025 end-of-season awards

This past week, we asked Orlando City SC supporters on X to select their Orlando City SC Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year for 2025 as part of our annual Orlando City UK end-of-season awards.

A public vote designed to recognise the standout Orlando City SC players in our challenging 2025 campaign, we can now proudly reveal the winners as voted by you! Continue reading

Votes now open in Orlando City UK’s 2025 end-of-season awards

I don’t know about you, but I’m still hurting from Orlando City SC’s gutting 3-1 loss to Chicago Fire in last Wednesday’s 2025 MLS Wild Card match (East).

After back-to-back top-four finishes in 2023 and 2024, it’s clear we’ve come a long way since our rough early years in Major League Soccer. But this season felt like a big step backwards – plain and simple! Sadly, we still yearn for that elusive first-ever MLS Cup title!

Despite scoring more single-season goals than ever before (63), our ninth-placed finish is impossible to ignore. Nevertheless, our latest public vote is designed to recognise the standout players in the Lions’ 2025 season. Continue reading

The good, the bad, and the ugly: Orlando City SC’s 2025 season – From hope to heartbreak

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⚠️ Warning: this blog comes with a disclaimer. ⚠️ Before you read any further, be warned – there’s a high probability you might upset yourself again as we delve into Orlando City SC’s 3-1 defeat at Chicago Fire in the 2025 MLS Wild Card match. Maybe, like me, you were already resigned to defeat – a feeling so alien in the Oscar Pareja era. How quickly times have changed! But it’s time for a final word on 2025 – a strange season that promised so much but ultimately delivered so little. When you rely on the same tactics, you often get the same results, and many supporters are now ready to call time on Pareja’s six years in purple.

I didn’t watch the game live – which is unlike me for such a pivotal game – but when I caught the eight-minute MLS highlights this morning, all I saw was wave after wave of Chicago Fire attacks. With last night’s win, Fire sealed their FIRST MLS Cup Playoffs appearance since 2017 – EIGHT years ago! While Alex Freeman, Martín Ojeda, and Marco Pašalić can hold their heads high this year, their individual contributions have sadly counted for nothing.

When the Wilf family completed their takeover in 2021, the aim was trophies. We got one in 2022, of course, but since then, MLS Cup has remained elusive. Moving away from signing international superstars like Kaká and Nani, the club has leaned on a low-risk, high-ceiling transfer strategy – a hallmark of Ricardo Moreira’s approach. Yet with the recent news that Orlando are attempting to lure Richarlison to Central Florida, perhaps it’s time to rethink everything.

Bouncing back will be hard though. When you perform below expectations, your best players become targets. Alex Freeman is almost certain to move on this winter and Borussia Mönchengladbach are “interested” in Marco Pašalić who “would like to return to Europe”. You have to imagine that suitors will come circling for our MVP Martín Ojeda too – heaven forbid!

This blog is our full autopsy of 2025 – so buckle up for a bumpy ride as we put in the final word on a season that quickly swung from hope to heartbreak. Continue reading

STATS PREVIEW: Chicago Fire vs Orlando City SC – 22.10.2025

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EMBARRASSED, HUMILIATED, CRESTFALLEN!! All words that describe Orlando City SC’s pathetic 4-2 collapse at Toronto FC on 2025 MLS Decision Day. At the start of the night, a win would have sealed a playoff spot proper – in the top seven of the Eastern Conference. Instead, the Lions limped to another defeat, ending the season in 9th place – a staggering decline from our top four finishes of recent years. We started the season with a 2-4 loss to Philadelphia Union, and we ended it the same way against Toronto. Symmetry, right? Over the year, Orlando have surrendered 13 points after the 80th minute alone. Had we held on in these games, we’d be sitting on 66 points, likely contending for the Supporters’ Shield. Instead, we’re now heading to SeatGeek Stadium (not Soldier Field) to contest the Wild Card play-in game. It’s a far cry from the home playoff ambitions this roster promised.

And what a roster it was supposed to be. Martín Ojeda producing at MVP level, Alex Freeman enjoying a meteoric rise, and Marco Pašalić becoming Facundo Torres’ perfect replacement. Despite scoring more regular season goals (63) than ever before, we have failed to make our firepower count. A spare U22 Initiative slot sat vacant all season, and Ramiro Enrique was sold after the Secondary Transfer Window closed. Mismanagement, wasted talent, and poor execution on and off the pitch have defined Orlando City SC’s disappointing 2025 regular season. The collapse in decision-making and consistency has been breathtaking, leaving fans, staff, and owners with every right to feel frustrated and betrayed.

This isn’t just disappointing – it’s regression. From legitimate MLS Cup contenders to 9th in the East, Orlando City SC have taken a massive step backwards. Wednesday’s trip to Chicago Fire isn’t just another match. It’s the final chance to salvage some pride from a season of squandered opportunities, soft goals, wasted leads, and unfulfilled potential. The squad, the coaching staff, and the club as a whole must take a long, hard look at themselves before 2026, because this year has been nothing short of disastrous. If you ask me, major changes are needed this off-season – both on the touchline and in the squad. Continue reading