The U.S. women’s national team "will not play at RFK Stadium this summer," according to Steven Goff of the WASHINGTON POST. Sources said that despite "signing a contract with local organizers, the U.S. Soccer Federation has abandoned plans for the world champions to play their final Olympic tuneup in Washington." The USSF "apparently became uneasy about trying to draw a big crowd for a celebratory match" that would have been at an "imperfect time." The USSF "never announced that the game would take place at RFK ... but it did say the women’s team would play somewhere that weekend before packing for Brazil." RFK was the front-runner "for several weeks." With RFK out, it is "unclear where the USSF has turned its attention." The Friday night TV slot "would work best in the Central or Mountain time zone," while only an East Coast venue "could accommodate an 11 a.m. kickoff on Sunday." Though the pre-Olympics schedule remains incomplete, 24 players have gathered for a "training camp in the Denver area ahead of two friendlies against Japan: Thursday at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo., and Sunday at Cleveland’s FirstEnergy Stadium." The first match, at an MLS stadium with about 19,000 seats, "sold out quickly." More than 21,000 tickets "have been issued at the Browns’ venue" (WASHINGTON POST, 5/29).
