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

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

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: Columbus Crew vs Orlando City SC – 25.07.2025

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After four games without a win, Orlando City SC finally bounced back with a gritty 1-2 road victory at New England Revolution. A much-needed lift for the squad, our social media admin joined in the fun, celebrating not just 3 points at the scene of the Coldplay incident, but an awkwardly-timed fireworks show too! Most importantly, the Lions responded when they needed to, and just in time.

Just before the 2025 Leagues Cup group stage kicks off, we now face our first and only Friday fixture of the regular season – a road trip to high-flying Columbus Crew. With the table tightening and just 9 regular season games remaining after this, there’s no better time to build momentum. So let’s make one last push before the break! With Martín Ojeda in red-hot form, we should visit Ohio with renewed hunger, confidence, and belief. Continue reading

Twitter reacts to… the new 2025 Orlando City SC home jersey

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After much anticipation, the new 2025 Orlando City SC away jersey – “The Perfect Storm Kit” – has now officially been unveiled. The release comes prior to a Jersey Launch Event taking place tonight at 1401 Florida Mall Ave, 32809 as part of our “Kickoff to Soccer” activation.

Revealing the new look of our home purple just 10 days before facing Philadelphia Union in our 2025 MLS home opener, The Perfect Storm Kit is our sixth home jersey design in Major League Soccer and will be worn in both the 2025 and 2026 seasons. Continue reading

STATS PREVIEW: FC Cincinnati vs Orlando City SC – 05.10.2024

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Orlando City SC are simply on fire right now! Extending our strong run of form last night, City secured a vital 2-1 victory over Philadelphia Union at Inter&Co Stadium. This win not only completed a 2024 season sweep over Jim Curtin’s Philadelphia Union, but also marked a milestone for Facundo Torres, who became Orlando City SC’s all-time leading goalscorer (45) across all competitions. Impressively, it was also our fourth consecutive home victory in the MLS regular season, extending our unbeaten run at home to 10 matches (7-3-0) across all competitions. With a top four finish still ours to lose, the Lions remain firmly in the hunt for home field advantage in the Round One Best-of-3 Series of the 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs.

Following yesterday’s win, Orlando City SC remain fourth in the Eastern Conference with 49 points from 32 games. In fact, no side has won more points (27) in MLS since the beginning of July than the Lions. But with New York City FC and New York Red Bulls just two points behind us, our lead is far from secure as all three teams get set to contest their final two MLS regular season fixtures. NYCFC’s 3-2 win over FC Cincinnati yesterday propelled them to 47 points, while Red Bulls matched that total by thrashing Toronto FC 1-4 at BMO Field. It was a strong way to bounce back from a humiliating 1-5 home defeat to New York City FC last weekend in the Hudson River Derby.

Given how tight the current standings are, this makes every remaining point crucial as Orlando City SC aim to secure a second successive top four seeding in the post-season. With last night’s 3-2 defeat at NYCFC, Saturday’s opponents FC Cincinnati (56 points) missed the chance to overtake Ohio rivals Columbus Crew (57 points), who slipped up with a 2-3 home defeat to Inter Miami. A victory that saw The Herons unfortunately crowned 2024 Supporters’ Shield champions, FC Cincinnati and Columbus Crew are currently jockeying for second place. Despite goals from Luciano Acosta and Corey Baird, Pat Noonan’s FC Cincinnati fell short at NYCFC and they’ll be eager to respond against Orlando City SC at a boisterous TQL Stadium.

But under the pressure of securing a top four finish, City’s attack has thrived, with Facundo Torres, Martín Ojeda, and Ramiro Enrique making significant contributions since June. Despite Orlando City SC scoring just 17 goals in our first 17 MLS games of 2024, we’ve netted 38 in the last 15, matching 2016 and 2023’s joint club record of 55 goals in a single MLS regular season. With Orlando City SC now set to contest our final away fixture of the regular season, the Lions should be feeling mighty confident, especially given our ability to dominate or grind out results.

Oscar Pareja, the coaching staff, and players deserve massive credit for this tactical versatility and for peaking at the right time, much like we did last season. When you combine regular goalscoring with defensive discipline – as we are right now – this is the winning formula! With our post-season spot already secured, all eyes are on Orlando City SC to maintain our top four position and build momentum for what we hope is our deepest playoff run yet! And who knows, maybe, just maybe lifting the 2024 MLS Cup? Continue reading

STATS PREVIEW: Orlando City SC vs FC Dallas – 28.05.2022

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After a simply horrible refereeing performance from Joe Dickerson at Austin FC (2-2), Orlando City SC are back at Exploria Stadium to face fellow Texan side FC Dallas.

Brandishing red cards to Rodrigo Schlegel and César Araújo at Q2 Stadium, the latter was understandable but Schlegel’s dismissal was really bad at best and grossly incompetent at worst. Continue reading

STATS PREVIEW: Nashville SC vs Orlando City SC – 29.09.2021

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After a valiant yet painful 2-1 defeat at leaders New England Revolution, Orlando City SC now visit Nashville SC looking to end a four-game losing streak.

With our hopes of qualifying for the 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs now hanging in the balance, the Lions need to stop the rot. Continue reading

Sky Sports televising Orlando City SC’s July fixture against Philadelphia Union

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With only one Orlando City SC fixture televised live on Sky Sports this season, we finally have another 14 games into 2021.

Sky Sports Football will have LIVE coverage of Orlando City SC‘s home fixture against Philadelphia Union in the early hours of Friday, July 23 (00:30 GMT). Continue reading

STATS PREVIEW: Orlando City SC vs Toronto FC – 22.05.2021

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After a conservative, yet professional winning performance at D.C. United (0-1), Orlando City SC return home to face temporary Exploria Stadium tenants Toronto FC.

Unbeaten in five MLS games and conceding just two goals so far, Oscar Pareja‘s Lions ended Gameweek 5 second in the Eastern Conference and just two points behind leaders New England Revolution with a game in hand. Continue reading