Before the New Year brings Major League Soccer to Orlando, the Florida Cup will help pacify Central Florida’s thirst for world class soccer by drawing four Brazilian and German soccer powerhouse teams for a unique “clubs for nations” tournament. The Florida Cup, hosted by Orlando City SC and Disney Sports, will take place on January 15th, 2015, at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort.



Four teams representing the most successful nations in the FIFA World Cup will play each other in a special double-header at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex before competing in Jacksonville – two-time FIFA World Champion Corinthians, Champions League club Bayer 04 Leverkusen, four-time Brazilian Champion Fluminense and three-time German Champion 1. FC Köln.



“Orlando City is delighted to help bring premier world class soccer to Central Florida, reinforcing our commitment to fans and the community while further strengthening the region’s reputation as the ‘Soccer Capital of the South’,” said Orlando City SC Founder and President Phil Rawlins.



“Orlando City will help present the tournament in 2015 since we are 100 percent focused on building our roster for the Lions' historic MLS debut,” said Orlando City Chairman and Majority Owner Flávio Augusto da Silva. “We are looking forward to a successful tournament this year and our possible participation in future years.”



“The Florida Cup will bring a global spotlight to Orlando as the matches will be broadcasted across five continents”, said Florida Cup organizer and 2SV Sports president Ricardo Villar. “The games will air domestically on ESPN Deportes and ESPN 3, in Canada on TSN, and across Asia, Africa, Europe and South America on various networks."



The teams will arrive for preseason training in early January to prepare for the tournament. They will face each other on January 15 at Disney and then travel to Jacksonville for another double-header on January 17. Every match win delivers three points, with one point for a tie in regulation and one additional point for a penalty shootout victory.



At the end of the tournament, a champion will be crowned and the points will also be aggregated for each nation to determine a national victor as well. Therefore, every single match represents precious points for club and nation, with the pride of two rich soccer cultures at stake.



Tickets for the matches at Disney start at $35 and are available online at Ticketmaster.com.