Inter Miami has expanded its preseason tour and will now include games in North, Central and South America.
The tour, which kicks off next weekend. will take the MLS club to stadiums all across the region and will include stops in Peru, Panama and Honduras.
“These fixtures will put us in the best possible position ahead of an unparalleled campaign with various competitions we’re playing for this year – the FIFA Club World Cup, Concacaf Champions Cup, Leagues Cup and MLS,” the club’s President of Football Operations Raúl Sanllehí said in a statement.
The club’s preseason will officially start at the Florida Blue Training Center on January 11, with training set to begin Monday. The team will then travel to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, where they will face Liga MX giants Club America on Saturday, January 18.
The team then heads south to face Club Universitario de Deportes at Estadio Monumental in Lima; Sporting San Miguelito at Estadio Rommel Fernández Gutiérrez in Panama City; and Club Deportivo Olimpia at Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano in San Pedro Sula.
Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium is Miami’s final preseason stop. (Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
Inter Miami will then return to Florida, where they will face MLS side Orlando City SC at Raymond James Stadium in Florida. The club then pivots to the CONCACAF Champions Cup, before kicking off regular season play with NYCFC at Chase Stadium on Feb. 22.
Inter Miami has been aggressive in its global outreach since signing Argentinean captain Lionel Messi. The club has a slew of international stars on its roster, like Sergio Busquets, Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba, all former teammates of Messi’s in Barcelona. In November, the team named another of Messi’s former teammates, Javier Mascherano, as their new head coach, replacing Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino.
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The three games in Central and South America are being organized by Never Say Never, the marketing agency co-founded by former Spanish international and another Barcelona great, Andres Iniesta. In a statement announcing the tour, the agency called the showcase “a historic occasion for thousands of Latin-American fans” to see players like Messi, Suarez, Busquets and Alba.
Inter Miami tour dates:
- Jan. 18 vs Club América, Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas, Nevada, USA)
- Jan. 29 vs Club Universitario de Deportes, Estadio Monumental (Lima, Peru)
- Feb. 2 vs Sporting San Miguelito, Estadio Rommel Fernández Gutiérrez (Panama City, Panama)
- Feb. 8 vs Club Deportivo Olimpia, Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano (San Pedro Sula, Honduras)
- Feb. 14 vs Orlando City SC, Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida, USA)
(Top photo: David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
