“We want to bring championships,” says Mark Wilf, owner of Orlando’s two professional soccer teams, the Orlando Pride of the National Women’s Soccer League and Orlando City of Major League Soccer.
As the Pride goes into the NWSL playoffs as the standout team from the 2024 regular season and Orlando City enters the MLS playoffs for a fifth consecutive year, championships as soon as 2024 are still a possibility for both.
As well as being the name of the women’s franchise, pride is a word that crops up often around Orlando’s soccer teams.
The only other major league franchise in the city from one of the Big Four North American sports leagues is Orlando Magic of the NBA, so Orlando is proud of its soccer.
Prior to the arrival of Inter Miami in 2020, on joining the league in 2015 Orlando City was the only MLS team in Florida since Miami Fusion and Tampa Bay Mutiny folded in 2001.
In US sports leagues which try to aim for some kind of parity, being consistently successful can be difficult, but the definition of success can also involve building the right platforms to produce results by creating a good environment for players and supporters.
In Orlando, there is a player-first approach on the sporting side combined with fan-focused aims that have created a culture that builds towards sustainable success.
It ensures players from both the women’s and men’s team have the support systems around them—in terms of infrastructure, staff and facilities—to do their jobs to a high level.
“I think players want multiple things,” says Wilf. “Of course, they want to win championships, but they also want to be able to maximize their own potential in their careers.
“They want to make sure that the people around them—the coaches and the support staff and even those on the business side—have their best interests at heart and are taking care of them.
“I think that’s a win-win for everybody. If we have healthy players with a team-first approach, it does not just lead to winning, but it leads to the kind of culture that can really provide long-term success to a franchise.
ORLANDO, FLORIDA – SEPTEMBER 07: (L-R) Orlando City owners Zygi Wilf, Mark Wilf, and head coach … [+]
“It could be a place where players want to come to and they want to stay. Even after their careers, to always feel part of our extended family and be part of our alumni and retain a great connection to the fan base. That’s very important.
“We want to very much be the kind of franchise where we’re not just giving back to the community, but making our fans feel very much part of the culture.”
For these Orlando soccer teams, there is a focus on creating an overall culture that builds a platform for sustained tilts at success, but the ultimate aim is to win championships, not to merely be impressive also-rans.
Orlando Pride looks well poised for a shot at the NWSL championship. It has already secured its place at the top of the NWSL regular season standings as the final games of the season take place this weekend before the playoffs start a week later.
Topping the table ensures the Pride secured the NWSL Shield, which is seen as more of a major trophy in soccer than it might be in other American sports, but the champion is still considered the winner of the post-season playoffs.
Led by the goals of Barbra Banda and the experience of Brazilian great, Marta, this is the first time the Pride have made the playoffs since 2017.
It’s unfamiliar territory, but it goes into the post-season on the back of one of the most impressive regular season campaigns.
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 20: Barbra Banda #22 of Orlando Pride shoots the ball during a … [+]
The Pride went 23 games unbeaten from the start of the season in March until October. The only games it lost were the most recent two with the Shield already won.
The test now for the Pride is to take that good regular season form into the playoffs and claim the championship which was won last season by NJ/NY Gotham.
“It’s about hoisting a trophy at the end of a playoff run,” adds Wilf.
“Winning in the postseason is paramount, but certainly in the soccer world, we and our fans also place a lot of importance on making sure we win the regular season as well—topping the table.
“But, again, we ultimately want to win championships. So we’re as motivated as ever.”
The men’s team, Orlando City, faces increasingly stiff competition in the Eastern Conference of MLS, not least from Inter Miami, but also from a whole host of strong teams including Columbus Crew and FC Cincinnati.
Orlando City still managed to finish fourth in its conference this season and, as a result, qualified for the post-season with some initial home advantage.
It enters the second match of a best-of-three first-round series against Charlotte FC in North Carolina on Friday night, having won the opening game 2-0 at its home, the Inter&Co Stadium in downtown Orlando.
ORLANDO, FLORIDA – OCTOBER 27: Facundo Torres #10 of Orlando City sets up for a pass during the game … [+]
A potential meeting with Inter Miami awaits in the single-elimination conference semifinals should Orlando City progress against Charlotte and if Miami get past Atlanta United as expected.
Having tasted victory in the US Open Cup in 2022, Orlando City under the Wilfs’ ownership is not unused to winning knockout tournaments.
“We won the US Open Cup with the men a couple of years ago and we won the NWSL shield for the women this season,” adds Mark Wilf.
“We’re going to start [with the Pride] next weekend, hopefully, to make a run towards a championship.
“It’s very competitive, and we know it’s not easy, but I know we’ll get our teams right for these runs.”
.