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At Daytona, NWSL joins race to make women’s soccer a big event

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On Sunday, a truly unique event in the history of the National Women’s Soccer League and women’s soccer will take place in Florida:  the Orlando Pride will host Racing Louisville at the Daytona Speedway as part of the first Daytona Soccer Fest

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This match, which will be played on a temporary field built over the race track’s pit row, will cap off the two-day festival that also features a concert from Chance the Rapper, the World Freestyle Football Qualifiers and an All-Star Legends game between men’s players from the Americas and Europe. 

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With its mix of concerts, soccer matches, and family activities, Daytona Soccer Fest aims to push soccer into new territory – a big-event space still untapped by the NWSL. Over $1 million dollars is being spent to build the temporary pitch on top of the speedway, John “J.P.” Reynal told The Equalizer. Reynal is the co-founder and CEO of OnSide Entertainment, the Miami-based sports event production company behind organizing the Daytona Soccer Fest. Reynal said a team of over 50 people is working around the clock this week to have the venue ready. 

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“It’s like the pyramids of Egypt,” Reynal said. “I think when people get there and they see this iconic race speedway and all the sudden they walk in there and they see a beautiful soccer pitch right in the middle of it, I think it’s going to be very, very unique.”

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