Rapids Heading to London

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Colorado Rapids announced last week they will play Sounders FC in a charity match on March 19th, as part of their pre-season warm up. Today they gave details of the rest of their preparation. Like Sounders FC, they will head to Phoenix, Arizona, but they will also be heading to London.

The club’s players reported to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on January 25 and will continue the first stage of their Spring training at the complex through February 21, at which point they will report to the increasingly popular Casa Grande Performance Institute, just south of Phoenix, from February 21-27.

The club’s Arizona excursion will be highlighted by several exhibition matches against other Major League Soccer clubs. The details of those matches will be announced at a later date.

After a brief return home, the club will head to London for the third time in the last four years. The team will be hosted by their partner club, EPL title challengers Arsenal FC. The partnership between the Rapids and Arsenal, which was formed in 2007, allows the Rapids to practice at Arsenal’s facilities.

The team’s England trip will be from March 7-14 and will also include several matches against English opponents, whom will be announced at a later time.

The trip to England will be followed by four days of training back at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, after which the team will host the Sounders FC in Major League Soccer’s first-ever Charity Shield match on Friday, March 19 at 6 p.m. PT. Proceeds from this match will be donated to UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund) to aid relief efforts in Haiti.

Colorado conclude their preseason training with a solid week of work before they kick off the 2010 regular season on Friday, March 26, as they travel to face Chivas USA at The Home Depot Center at 7:30 p.m. PT.