Long before brand-new stadiums and global superstars fueled the current soccer boom across the Southern United States, Central Florida was building a culture that helped make Orlando the original soccer home of the South.
While cities like Atlanta and Miami may dominate the conversation today, Orlando’s relationship with the sport stretches back decades. The U.S. Men’s National Team is set to return to the city later this month for a match against Peru, adding another chapter to the long-standing history of soccer in Orlando.
The roots of professional soccer in the city started in the mid-1980s, when pioneer Mark Dillon recognized the talent in the region and founded the Orlando Lions. Dillon, the former men’s soccer head coach at Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla., led the Lions as they played independently against international squads for two years before joining the reformed American Soccer League in 1988.
In the pre-MLS era, when soccer leagues came and went, the Lions competed in several leagues over the next few years, including the semi-professional United States Interregional Soccer League (USISL), where they finished as runners-up in 1993. Dillion also formed the Orlando Sundogs, who played one season in the USISL A-League.
When the Lions were unable to join the newly established Major League Soccer, the club folded and professional soccer in Orlando went on hiatus for more than a decade. The passion for the game, however, never left. The Florida Citrus Bowl (now known as Camping World Stadium) hosted matches during the 1994 FIFA World Cup and 1996 Summer Olympics, as well as the 1998 MLS All-Star Game, keeping the cityconnected to some of soccer’s biggest stages.
