S3E39 - For the Glory KC is back with the 104th episode of the show.

Sporting Kansas City's offseason got underway this week with two big chunks of news coming out. First, the MLS Players Association released the final 2024 salary information much later than in previous years. That meant we found out the salary of new signing Joaquin Fernandez, an increase in compensation showed up in the numbers for Alan Pulido and a new signing was leaked out.

Ian James, a yet-to-be-announced Homegrown signing for Sporting KC is set to join the team at just 16-years-old. We're excited for Ian, but also want to temper expectations a bit for such a young player to make an immediate impact.

The other info came in the form of Vermes' first press conference after the season ended. There were a lot of insightful things said which can give a clue to what is coming in the next few weeks and years. A few stand out topics include:

• Sporting KC taking their time with the current roster announcements.


• A heavy use of the word "rebuild" by Vermes.


• The main priority remains an attacking midfielder (#10) with a 'Pulido level' spend.


• A snippet about the formation of the future.


• And a hint at more Homegrown signings and potential roster rule changes.

There were also a handful of dates that came out around Sporting KC's 2025 season starting. We know MLS play will begin on the weekend of February 22-23. We also know that the CONCACAF Champions Cup (CCC) draw will take place December 10th where Sporting KC will learn their first opponent. SKC could be playing as early as February 4th!

What didn't make it into the podcast, yet again, was our Fantasy Sporting Director discussion. Next week (probably) we'll get into who should stay and who should go from the 16 eligible players.

Not to be left out, the KC Current won their second trophy of the season. This time, the much more prestigious Summer Cup was lifted on Friday night in San Antonio in front of a meager crowd. KC had to work their way through a competition featuring all the NWSL teams and many of the Liga MX femenil teams. Kansas City defeated NJ/NY Gotham in the finals, but the game, much like the initial tournament, came during an international break. Gotham were particularly devastated with injuries and absences, but the Current were shorthanded too. Temwa Chawinga scored two more goals, bringing her total in all competitions to 23 for 2024.

The KC Current also announced a new contract for Vanessa DiBernardo that runs through 2026 with a mutual option for 2027. Plus, it was leaked that options were picked up for 2025 for Bia Zaneratto and Regan Steigleder.

In the Digital Crawl, we touch on a few topics, including:

• A potential fall through spring MLS schedule starting in 2026


• Two USWNT wins during the break


• The US U-17s advancing to the World Cup semifinals


• San Diego FC being tied to Manchester City star Keven de Bruyne


• Bruce Arena potentially headed to the San Jose Earthquakes


• and a WNBA team maybe coming to KC.

Here is a rundown of topics (and approximate start times):

• New Sporting KC salary release and a signing - 4:12


• Lots of Peter Vermes quotes - 24:44


• KC Current win another Trophy + Roster News - 54:24


• Errors and Corrections - 59:15


• Digital Crawl - 1:00:16

Upcoming Schedule:

• KC Current at Chicago Red Stars - Sun. Nov. 3rd @ 1:00 PM CST


• Sporting KC and SKC II seasons are over...

We recently turned on "Listener Support." Don't feel obligated, but if you have a few spare bucks and are a fan of the pod, we'd appreciate your donation.

As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!

Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.

---

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fortheglorykc/support