Missouri Reign kick off early preparations for inaugural season

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Reign held its first open-field practice all together as a team on Sunday afternoon as the club prepares to kick off a new era of semi-professional soccer in mid-Missouri.

Back in October, the Missouri Reign merged with AFC Columbia, forming a partnership between the two soccer clubs. The women's team will now be known as the Missouri Reign while the men's team will keep the AFC Columbia name, uniting the local semi-professional soccer landscape and giving both clubs their own identity.

"This is one of the first times that we've had a lot of the top talent in the area all play on one team, men's or women's, and so, to be able to bring that to this community, it gives us a lot of purpose and drive to what we're actually doing," Missouri Reign founder and head coach Dakota Acock said.

Missouri Reign's 2024 schedule is set to be released in mid-March, which will also reveal the club's home venue for the upcoming Women's Premier Soccer League season. Information about season tickets will also be unveiled soon.

"I know that last season whenever we played in the summer whenever we had a big crowd it was way more fun, so of course, coming out to support would be great and just building that whole fan base for this team this year," Missouri Reign midfielder Caroline Cole said.

Missouri Reign's first match of the season is expected to kick off in late Spring.