1. Founded in 1995 and known as The Wiz and KC. The “Wizards” name refers to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz which was set in Kansas.
2. They play at the 10,385 capacity stadium called Community America Ballpark. The noisiest section of the stadium is known as “The Cauldron”.
3. In 2008, the Wizards moved their home game against the Los Angeles Galaxy to Arrowhead Stadium to accommodate the larger crowd that was expected to be in attendance for David Beckham’s Kansas City début.
4. They have several different supporters groups, such as the Hillcrest Syndicate, Southern Voodoo and Yardbirds.
5. Their anthem is ‘Ain’t Nobody Gonna Stop Us Now‘ by Blackpool Lights.
6. Their honours include the US Open Cup in 2004 as well as the MLS Cup and MLS Supporters Shield in 2000.
7. In their squad of 26, they have 12 Americans, 3 Englishmen, a Dane, a Jamaican, a Frenchman, a Canadian, an Argentinian, an Indian, a Hungarian, a Senegalese, a Greek and a player from Sierra Leone.
8. Their captain is Davy Arnaud who has spent his entire career with the Wizards and has made 7 appearances for the US national team. Other notable players include Craig Rocastle who spent 2 years at Chelsea, played for Sheffield Wednesday, Port Vale and Oldham Athletic, amongst others. Ryan Smith started his career at Arsenal and represented them in the League Cup, before signing for Derby, Millwall and Crystal Palace before moving to the US. Goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen played for Millwall and his agent claimed he was ‘the next Peter Schmeichel’ when he signed for Leicester in 2007.
RoM will be running a liveblog for the match.
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