Last week’s trip to Brazil from Orlando City is showing how the sports relationship between Orlando and Brazil continues to grow and flourish.
The relationship may not be official. Orlando and Rio de Janeiro may not be official “sister cities” quite yet. Whatever that honorary distinction might be, there have been increased efforts among Orlando’s sports teams specifically to connect with Brazil.
The latest was last weekend’s friendly between Orlando City and Flamengo, believed to be the first MLS team to play at the legendary Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro. The teams played to a 1-0 Flamengo win, but the good will trip was about much more.
The tie between Orlando City and Brazil is pretty obvious. When Flavio de Silva bought the team, he spoke about the allure of Orlando to Brazil. Both he and Phil Rollins spoke about how they wanted Orlando City to be Brazil’s MLS team — the second team everyone cheers for, a common occurrence in soccer circles with the interlocking world of domestic and foreign leagues.
Orlando City had already hosted Brazilian teams Fluminese and Sao Paulo. A trip south to Brazil seemed inevitable.
Orlando City plans more trips in the future to help grow their fan base in that market, according to Adrian Heath after last week’s game:
It was one of those things that came from our organization and the Brazilian connection with our ownership group and Kaká. It’s a big market for us and I know we’ll be here again in the next few years. For us to come and play such a historic club as Flamengo, it was terrific for everybody involved. The guys were really excited about coming to Rio and hopefully we can do it again.
Orlando sports teams have recognized how much potential is in the Brazilian market. The Magic have worked with partners in Brazil to include Magic tickets in many Brazilian tourism packages to Orlando.
The Magic themselves played a game against Flamengo in Rio de Janeiro in October.
And of course Copa America is due in Orlando next summer and there is at least a small possibility Brazil will play one of its games in Orlando considering the large Brazilian presence in Orlando.
Orlando and Brazil are tied closer together. It is a business partnership that makes too much sense for the city to push into the market and create a partnership that will connect with residents and visitors to the city.
The relationship is becoming a two-way relationship now with the Orlando teams heading to Brazil.
