Jayhawks Travel to Brazil for Nine-Day Tour
May 12, 2008
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
The <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Kansas soccer team will travel south next week to participate in a nine-day tour of Brazil. The Jayhawks will play four exhibition matches against various Brazilian teams and will tour the cities of Santos, São Paulo and Aguas de Lindoia during their stay.<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
“This is a great opportunity for us,” Kansas head coach Mark Francis said. “It’s a way for us to play a few more exhibition games against some tough competition and help us prepare for the fall. All four teams that we’re going to play against have players from the (Brazilian) national team, so it’s going to test us.”
The Jayhawks will depart from Lawrence on Tuesday, May 20 and arrive in São Paulo the morning of May 21. KU will play its first contest against Santos FC on the afternoon of May 22 in Santos, Brazil. The following day, the team will tour the city before traveling north to the capital city of São Paulo.
On Saturday, May 24, the Jayhawks will play an exhibition match against the University of São Paulo – one of the top women’s college teams in the country. On Sunday, the Jayhawks will take a tour of the Embu Fair before attending a professional soccer match on the evening of May 25.
The team will train together on Monday, May 26 before traveling to its final destination – Aguas de Lindoia. The Jayhawks will play SE Corinthians on Tuesday, May 27 and SAAD on Thursday, May 29 as well as take a jeep tour of the area and a white-water rafting excursion.
KU will depart from São Paulo, Brazil on Thursday, May 29 and return to Lawrence on the afternoon of Friday, May 30.
“This trip is not only a great way to get ready for the fall, but should also bring us together as a team,” Francis said. “We’ll get away from a lot of the distractions back home and be able to bond as a team.”
Kansas returns 14 letterwinners and eight starters from last year’s squad that went 7-10-4 overall and 5-2-3 in the Big 12 Conference to place third in the league. It marked the fifth-straight season that KU finished with a winning record in the Big 12.
