Austin FC: Matthew McConaughey growth promise vindicated
Austin FC part-owner Matthew McConaughey says the team will start picking up players soon, even though they don’t hit the pitch until 2021. His promise of rapid growth and readiness is vindicated.
Austin FC part-owner Matthew McConaughey recently attended a Chelsea win over Lille In the European Champions League. There, he remarked how his team was near ready to start picking players:
"“We just got our [general manager], we broke ground, we’ve got our stadium coming up, we’ll have 22,000, we’re going to start looking for players now.”"
Austin doesn’t hit the pitch until 2021 and many MLS teams are still shifting players in and out of their roster before starting camps for the 2020 season, but McConaughey was confidently asserted that Austin FC had everything in place and moving in the right direction. His team doesn’t need to wait another year. Decision time is now.
Austin FC has already broken ground on their new 21,000-seat stadium, McConaughey said. Construction is underway, and you can check the progress of the project here.
The team also has a general manager in sporting director Claudio Reyna. Reyna masterfully guided the launch of New York City FC and prepared the organization for their 2015 debut. Not only is Reyna an esteemed front office individual throughout world soccer; he has experience of building one of the most successful expansion teams in MLS history. And with a stadium upcoming, Reyna will not suffer from the same homelessness as in New York.
Reyna described the environment of Austin FC as something he’s energized to work in and compared the situation of the previous team launch. MLS changed as NYCFC took to the pitch, he said.
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The league is evolving again as Austin FC prepares to enter and the organization gains momentum. Reyna described the changes as the new mechanisms of bringing players in, the growing profiles of players in MLS and the competition level in general. For instance, he emphasized the importance of Targeted Acquisition Money and the MLS expansion draft in the dynamics of building a team roster.
Reyna is joined in the organization by head coach Josh Wolff, experienced MLS and U.S. National Team assistant. As for the arrival of the first Austin FC player, Reyna’s comments are right in line with McConaughey’s statements outside the Chelsea game.
The next MLS transfer window runs February to May, 2020. Reyna says the organization is open to making a commitment as early as that transfer period. He said he’ll be close by his phone during that period as teams drop players ad will have a clear idea of what Austin FC’s style will be at that time. Then he’ll look for players who suit that style.
Next. US Soccer: Matthew McConaughey might just be right. dark
Austin FC is primed and ready for expansion. Just as Matthew McConaughey promised.