Flamengo is back in the United States to prepare for the 2024 season, already looking ahead to next year's competitions. The club will face Orlando City on January 27th at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, during the Brazilian club's preseason in the United States. This match will also mark the return of the January edition of the FC Series, an event that incorporated the Florida Cup and marked the platform's expansion in the country. 

The match won't be the first between the two teams. In 2015, on its 120th anniversary, the Rubro-Negro hosted the Lions—who, at the time, had Kaká on the roster—in a friendly at the Maracanã and won 1-0. 

The July edition of the event, a success over the last three years and which featured the participation of major European teams such as Arsenal, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Juventus, is also confirmed for 2024. The announcement of the participating teams will be made in the first quarter of 2024. 

The January edition marks Flamengo's return to the United States after five years. In 2019, the club also began its preparations for the season in the United States, where it participated in and won the Florida Cup, playing two friendlies against Ajax of the Netherlands and Eintracht Frankfurt of Germany, kicking off the most successful year in its history, which also included the Campeonato Carioca, Campeonato Brasileiro, and Copa Libertadores. 

A longtime supporter of the Florida Cup, Universal Orlando Resort will welcome participating teams and select media during game week at Universal's incredible theme parks—Universal Studios Florida, Universal's Islands of Adventure and Universal's Volcano Bay—and its extraordinary resorts.

Pre-sale information is available at FCSeries.com. Tickets for the general public will go on sale Tuesday, December 12th. The match will be Orlando City's first friendly in preparation for the 2024 season and will conclude Flamengo's preseason tour in Florida.

"We are delighted to return to our traditional January preseason window, focusing on top South American clubs. We will provide Flamengo with a top-notch preseason while they are in town, while also welcoming Orlando City fans back to Camping World Stadium, where the club's MLS journey began in 2015," said Ricardo Villar, CEO of FC Series.

"This preseason in the United States, including matches with MLS semifinalists, is a great opportunity to build the Flamengo brand in the crucial American market, where we will compete in the Club World Cup in 2025. With the 2026 World Cup and the investments being made by the country, world football has the United States as a new focus of enormous attention. Flamengo, like several European giants, is aware of this and will increasingly strengthen its presence in the country, whether through social media efforts aimed at the American public or through in-person Flamengo brand events, such as this preseason event," explained Flamengo's Vice President of Communications and Marketing, Gustavo Oliveira.

"Flamengo is one of the most important clubs in Brazil, with three Libertadores titles and a World Cup under its belt. This is an exciting way to start the new year for our fans and a great test for our team as we prepare for 2024, which also includes the Concacaf Champions Cup. We're thrilled to have the nation's eyes on Orlando during this period and hope this match will be the springboard for a very successful year for our team and fans," added Luiz Muzzi, EVP of Soccer Operations and General Manager of Orlando City SC.

About the Florida Cup/FC Series

The largest annual international soccer event in the state of Florida, the FC Series is a global platform that combines sports, music, and entertainment. In 2023, the event was broadcast live in over 100 countries. On social media, content posted on the event's official pages and shared worldwide reached over 100 million people. In 2022, the launch of the FC Series marked the beginning of the event's national expansion in the United States, attracting over 180.000 fans during matches in multiple cities across the United States, most notably the Arsenal vs. Chelsea final in Orlando, which drew a record attendance of 63.811 for a soccer match at the stadium. For more information about the FC Series, visit FCSeries.com, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.

The event's international television audience reached more than 7 million unique viewers in over 150 countries. On social media, event-related content generated more than 200 million impressions worldwide. For more information about the FC Series/Florida Cup, visit FCSeries.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.