Source: Will Palaszczuk, WFNZ / Will Palaszczuk, WFNZ/Radio One Charlotte
Bank of America Stadium was the focus of the Queen City sports fan on Tuesday night and for the first time in a while it wasn’t about the struggles of the Panther franchise that has some concerns about its future. Instead, the focus was on the MLS expansion franchise that held its expansion draft as they selected five players for the new franchise. Forward Orrin McKinze Gaines II (Austin FC), defender Anton Walkes (Atlanta United) and Joseph Mora (D.C. United) were the players selected by the franchise that they held on to at the conclusion of the night and will be a part of the inaugural season of MLS soccer in Charlotte. The team also selected defender Tristan Blackmon (Los Angeles Football Club) and Ismael Tajouri-Shradi (New York City FC), both of whom were traded to other teams in exchange for valuable General Allocation Money (GAM) that can be used in free agency.
Eric Krakauer was a fan of the moves and thinks this will go a long way for Charlotte FC in their first season in the league.
“Just look at what LAFC and Atlanta United have done. They built teams that were very strong right from the get go with good coaches at the helm like Charlotte FC has in Miguel Angel Ramirez. The coach and the staff are in place just like those other clubs and their making all of the right moves in terms of player personnel. I think there is a very good chance that Charlotte FC is gonna come out of the gate running and swinging.”
-Eric Krakauer on Mac Attack
With the squad beginning to come together, the franchise is set to announce its full inaugural schedule later on today. Keep it tuned to WFNZ for all of the latest around the franchise at they head towards that opening kick.
