The Rhino Times would love to be able to report that soccer superstar extraordinaire Lionel Messi will be one of the two mystery players announced as new members of the Carolina Core Football Club.
However, the smart money isn’t picking Messi to be one of the two to be unveiled.
Carolina Core FC – the new High Point soccer team that’s joining the MLS NEXT Pro league in the spring of next year – is about to take the next major step in the formation of the team. On Friday, Oct. 20, team officials will announce the first two players signed.
Even with no Messi present, the event will be a big deal. These will be the first two players ever named to the team in club history, so the team has designated this as something of an historic event and has invited print and television media to the announcement, which will take place inside Congdon Yards in High Point.
The MLS NEXT Pro league that Carolina Core will be playing in has a high talent level since it prepares players for the top echelon of pro soccer in the US.
The October 20 announcement date likely wasn’t picked at random – because the following day the team expects to fill some other slots in the roster. The team is holding open tryouts for soccer players on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 9 a.m. at the Phillips Park Soccer Complex at 550 Hedgecock Road in High Point.
The Carolina Core Football Club has already made a lot of progress forming the franchise by filling key administrative and staff positions.
On October 20, along with making the first two players of the team available for press interviews, there will also be question and answer sessions with all of the following: Chief Sporting Officer Eddie Pope, Head Coach Roy Lassiter, Assistant Coach Amado Guevara, Head Scout Andy Williams, Principal Investor Megan Oglesby and President Andy Smith.
Many in that group speak Spanish and will be able to spread the excitement around the team to the area’s Spanish-speaking population – a community that has a strong love of the game of soccer.
A press release on the event states, “These signings mark a monumental moment in the club’s history.”
The team has been doing a good job drumming up publicity and excitement for much of this year. In mid-September, the team held a large “brand reveal” party at Gypsy Road Brewing in Kernersville that turned out to be a big success.
