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HOUSTON – The 2022 Copa de Lone Star, a showcase international soccer event featuring reigning English Premier League champions Manchester City and Liga BBVA MX powerhouse Club América, will kick off in primetime at 8 p.m. CT on Wednesday, July 20. Played at NRG Stadium in Houston, the game will be televised live within the United States on ESPN2 (English) and TUDN (Spanish). The fixtures will also be available globally for fans via Manchester City's content subscription channel, City+ (excluding USA and Mexico). Fans can visit www.mancity.com and www.clubamerica.com.mx for more information on global broadcast outlets and find match and ticket information at www.lsse.net/copadelonestar.

About Lone Star Sports & Entertainment

Lone Star Sports & Entertainment is an event management company founded in 2003 that is closely affiliated with the NFL’s Houston Texans. Since its founding, LSSE has established itself as the leading sports event promoter in Houston. In addition to producing annual college football events such as the TaxAct Texas Bowl, LSSE has emerged as a premier promoter for international soccer matches, including the Copa de Lone Star, Copa America Centenario, the 2010 MLS All-Star Game featuring Manchester United, the 2006 FC Barcelona U.S. tour, the International Champions Cup, the 2003 and 2008 matches between the United States and Mexico, and the 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2019 and 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cups.

 

About Manchester City Football Club

Manchester City FC is an English Premier League club initially founded in 1880 as St Mark’s West Gorton. It officially became Manchester City FC in 1894 and has since then gone onto win the European Cup Winners’ Cup, eight League Championship titles, including six Premier League titles (2012, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022), and six FA Cups. Manchester City FC is one of 12 clubs comprising the City Football Group and counts New York City FC and Melbourne City FC among its sister clubs.

Under manager Pep Guardiola, one of the most highly decorated managers in world football, the Club plays its domestic and UEFA Champions League home fixtures at the Etihad Stadium, a spectacular 55,000 seat arena that City have called home since 2003. Today, the Stadium sits on the wider Etihad Campus, which also encompasses the City Football Academy, a state-of-the-art performance training and youth development facility located in the heart of East Manchester. Featuring a 7,000 capacity Academy Stadium, the City Football Academy is also where Manchester City Women’s Football Club and the Elite Development Squad train on a daily basis and play their competitive home games.

For more information, please visit www.mancity.com.

 

About Club América

Founded on October 12, 1916, Club América is the largest and winningest soccer team in both Mexico and North America. The Eagles have secured 13 Liga MX titles, six Copa MX titles and one Liga MX Femenil. At the international level, Club América has won two Inter-American Cups and a record seven Concacaf Champions Cup/Champions League tiles. Playing its home games at the historic Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, Club América is also heavily involved in various social responsibility initiatives and activities.

For more information, please visit www.clubamerica.com.mx

 

It’s June and while we wait for football to return, all we can do is look at projections and predictions. Today, we’ll look at some of the VERY early TaxAct Texas Bowl projections to see who the experts think will take the field at NRG Stadium on December 28.

Last year’s matchup featured lots of purple with the K-State Wildcats facing off against the LSU Tigers. K-State took home the hardware after a 42-20 victory over LSU that featured four Deuce Vaugh touchdowns. With the 2022 TaxAct Texas Bowl in the rearview mirror, it’s time to look at some predictions for the 2022 game.

 CollegeFootballNews.com

Bowl Projection: Baylor vs Auburn

The first projection features a matchup between two teams that haven’t faced off on the gridiron since 1976. Previous matchups have resulted in two Baylor wins, one Auburn win, and one draw. The Baylor Bears are 1-1 in their two TaxAct Texas Bowl games while the Auburn Tigers don’t have an appearance yet. With this being only their fifth matchup ever and their first in almost 50 years it makes for an interesting Bowl game.

 

247sports.com

Bowl Projection: Texas vs. Kentucky

This is another matchup that hasn’t happened in quite some time. These two teams last met on the field back in 1951 with the win going to the Longhorns by a score of 7-6. Now that Texas joining the SEC in the next couple of years this would be one of the last chances for these two to meet before becoming conference mates. Texas has one TaxAct Texas Bowl appearance while Kentucky is a fresh face for this Bowl game. With one team looking to bounce back after a down year and another looking to continue their success from the previous season this looks like a pretty good matchup overall.

 

Actionnetwork.com

Bowl Projection: Texas vs. Tennessee

Once again, we have Texas and a new face to the Bowl game. With these two teams in the game, it becomes a battle of orange schools whose names start with a ‘T’. It’d be the perfect follow-up to the purple vs purple matchup of the K-State vs LSU Bowl game. These two haven’t faced each other since 1969 and the current score is two Texas wins to one Tennessee win. It’s been a long wait but if this is the matchup then Tennessee finally has a chance to tie the series up.

            Join the waitlist to stay informed on all things TaxAct Texas Bowl. 

As spring football comes to a close and teams prepare for the final stretch before the season starts let’s take a look at some rankings. With no actual action on the field, all we can do is argue about where all our teams rank. Here are some post-spring football power rankings for both the BIG 12 and SEC.

In the first set of SEC rankings, there’s the usual Crimson Tide in first place followed up by the defending national champions, the Georgia Bulldogs. Bryce Young and Will Anderson leading their respective units have the Tide as the favorites to claim the National Championship after a one-year drought. With Georgia having 15 total players drafted they’ll be looking to reload and at worst be in the mix for a CFB playoff spot again. The Aggies are coming in hot this season after assembling the greatest recruiting class in CFB history. Anything other than a CFB Playoff birth will be seen as a wasted year. All those four and five-star players should be able to get the Aggies into their first-ever CFP.

 

Full rankings:

1.       Alabama – Crimson Tide

2.       Georgia – Bulldogs

3.       Texas A&M – Aggies

4.       Kentucky – Wildcats

5.       Arkansas – Razorbacks

6.       Tennessee – Volunteers

7.       Mississippi State – Bulldogs

8.       LSU – Tigers

9.       Ole Miss – Rebels

10.   South Carolina – Gamecocks

11.   Florida – Gators

12.   Auburn – Tigers

13.   Missouri – Tigers

14.   Vanderbilt – Commodores

 

The Big 12 rankings by USA Today have Oklahoma as the current favorites to claim the conference title. Even after taking some considerable loses at various coaching positions and some players transferring OU has done a lot of work to prove they’re still in contention. With Dillon Gabriel out of UCF stepping in at QB and Brent Venables taking over as HC the Sooners will most likely contend for a spot in a New Year’s Six bowl once again. Behind the Sooners are both Oklahoma State and Baylor who both had very successful seasons last year. After facing off for the conference championship last year both teams will look to contend with OU for the Big 12 title this year.

 

Full rankings:

1.       Oklahoma – Sooners

2.       Oklahoma State – Cowboys

3.       Baylor – Bears

4.       Kansas State – Wildcats

5.       Texas – Longhorns

6.       West Virginia – Mountaineers

7.       Iowa State – Cyclones

8.       TCU – Horned Frogs

9.       Texas Tech – Red Raiders

10.   Kansas – Jayhawks  

Houston – Lone Star Sports & Entertainment announced today that reigning English Premier League champions Manchester City will meet Liga BBVA MX powerhouse Club América in the 2022 Copa de Lone Star at NRG Stadium on Wednesday, July 20, at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets for this international friendly will go on sale to the public beginning on April 28. Fans can find ticket and match information at www.lsse.net/copadelonestar. Television broadcast information will be announced at a later date.

 

The contest will mark Manchester City’s first international friendly in over two calendar years due to COVID-19 restrictions and the club’s return to NRG Stadium after taking on Manchester United on July 20, 2017, in the first overseas Manchester derby. Club América returns to NRG Stadium for the first time since meeting F.C. Barcelona on August 9, 2006. Manchester City will play a second U.S. preseason fixture to be announced in the near future.

 

“We are thrilled at the opportunity to welcome these two iconic teams and their passionate fans back to Houston for one of this summer’s most exciting events,” said Greg Grissom, President of Lone Star Sports & Entertainment. “Manchester City and Club América are truly global brands. On July 20, the stage will be set at NRG Stadium for another exciting chapter in each club’s storied legacy.”

 

“Houston is the nation’s most diverse and inclusive city. We love sports and welcome fans worldwide to come and enjoy the electrifying atmosphere of great competition and sportsmanship,” said Mayor Sylvester Turner. “We are honored to be the host city for the match between these two outstanding teams. The event is guaranteed to be huge for soccer fans and a big win for the City of Houston.”

 

“The game of soccer is as close as we get to having an international language,” said Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo. “As the third largest county in America, the most diverse in the nation and a destination for people and businesses from across the globe, we are delighted to welcome these two teams to Harris County. I’m confident these teams and their fans will not soon forget the wonderful hospitality, energy, and spirit of competition our region is known for.”

 

Manchester City was originally founded as St. Mark’s West Gorton in 1880, later assuming its current name in 1894. The Club has secured a European Cup Winners’ Cup, seven League Championship titles, including five Premier League titles in the last seven years (2012, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2021) and six FA Cups. Manchester City is one of 11 clubs comprising the City Football Group (CFG). Under manager Pep Guardiola, one of the most highly decorated managers in world soccer, the Club plays its domestic and UEFA Champions League home fixtures at the 55,000 seat Etihad Stadium that City has called home since 2003.

 

“We are excited to return to the United States for this summer’s preseason trip, our first since before COVID. Our players and coaches cannot wait to play once again in-person in front of our American fans, who have shown us such great support and passion,” said Omar Berrada, Chief Football Operations Officer at City Football Group. “Our first stop will be to Houston where we will take on Club América in our first preseason exhibition match. Houston is a city we are familiar with and have had the privilege to play at NRG Stadium before. Houston welcomed us with southern hospitality when we came for preseason in 2017 and we are really looking forward to returning to see our Texan fans.”

 

Founded in 1916, Club América plays its home matches at the famous Estadio Azteca in Mexico City and has won a record 13 league titles, six Copa MX titles and six Campeón de Campeones cups. Club América’s 10 FIFA recognized club trophies are the most of any club in the Concacaf region, with a record seven Concacaf Champions Cup/Champions League titles, two Copa Interamericana titles and one Cocacaf Giants Cup.

 

“Facing a rival like Manchester City is always an exciting opportunity and we’re very thankful for the invitation,” said Santiago Baños, President of Club América. “The upcoming match on July 20 is an incredible chance for fans in the United Kingdom, United States and abroad to better get to know Mexican football, and of course this represents an amazing opportunity for the Americanistas to watch their favorite team play against an elite international opponent.”

 

The home of the Houston Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, NRG Stadium has also hosted numerous major sporting events, including two Super Bowls, two NCAA Men’s Final Fours, Copa America Centenario, Concacaf Gold Cup and various international soccer matches the United States Women’s and Men’s National Teams, the Mexican Men’s National Team and top soccer clubs from around the world.

 

About Lone Star Sports & Entertainment

Lone Star Sports & Entertainment is an event management company founded in 2003 that is closely affiliated with the NFL’s Houston Texans. Since its founding, LSSE has established itself as the leading sports event promoter in Houston. In addition to producing major annual college football events like the TaxAct Texas Bowl and other leading entertainment properties, LSSE has emerged as a premier promoter for international soccer matches, including Copa America Centenario, the 2010 MLS All-Star Game featuring Manchester United, the 2006 FC Barcelona U.S. tour, the International Champions Cup, the 2003 and 2008 matches between the United States and Mexico, and the 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2019 and 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cups.

 

About Manchester City Football Club

Manchester City FC is an English Premier League club initially founded in 1880 as St Mark’s West Gorton. It officially became Manchester City FC in 1894 and has since then gone onto win the European Cup Winners’ Cup, seven League Championship titles, including five Premier League titles (2012, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2021), and six FA Cups. Manchester City FC is one of 11 clubs comprising the City Football Group and counts New York City FC and Melbourne City FC among its sister clubs.

 

Under manager Pep Guardiola, one of the most highly decorated managers in world football, the Club plays its domestic and UEFA Champions League home fixtures at the Etihad Stadium, a spectacular 55,000 seat arena that City have called home since 2003. Today, the Stadium sits on the wider Etihad Campus, which also encompasses the City Football Academy, a state-of-the-art performance training and youth development facility located in the heart of East Manchester. Featuring a 7,000 capacity Academy Stadium, the City Football Academy is also where Manchester City Women’s Football Club and the Elite Development Squad train on a daily basis and play their competitive home games.

 

For more information, please visit www.mancity.com.

 

About Club América

Founded on October 12, 1916, Club América is the largest and winningest soccer team in both Mexico and North America. The Eagles have secured 13 Liga MX titles, six Copa MX titles and one Liga MX Femenil. At the international level, Club América has won two Inter-American Cups and a record seven Concacaf Champions Cup/Champions League tiles. Playing its home games at the historic Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, Club América is also heavily involved in various social responsibility initiatives and activities.

 

For more information, please visit www.clubamerica.com.mx.