SAFC 2023: Final week of training before season debut

SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio FC is less than a week away from breaking camp and playing their first match of the 2023 season as defending league champions.

But so far, all the talk about facing England’s Sunderland A.F.C. this coming summer in a exhibition match has taken over in camp. Part of the reason, besides the pure excitement for the match, was the visit this week by Sunderland’s sporting director Kristjaan Speakman, who made the trip to San Antonio to get a look at the facilities in and around Toyota Field.

“I’m really, really impressed - I think it’s going to be a great location for us‚” said Speakman. “We tend to spend a lot of our time in Central Europe on these kinds of occasions. We’ve got a lot of fans in North America and I think what we wanted to do was give the players a different experience and a little bit of exposure of what North America has to offer.”

San Antonio FC wrapped up their short preseason on Saturday. San Antonio will next host the Oakland Roots SC on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Toyota Field. This will be the first time fans will see SAFC play since they won the USL championship last fall.

San Antonio ended Oakland’s season in the Western Conference Semi-Final back in October.

Tickets are still available for the home opener. Fans can purchase tickets, as well as order the team’s new kits, by visiting the SAFC homepage.

Daniel P. Villanueva has worked with KSAT 12 for over 19 years and is an award-winning producer. To submit story ideas, email dvillanueva@ksat.com