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Swansea City faced off against USL side Charlotte Independence on Wednesday.
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EPL side Swansea City has no expectations of repeating Leicester City’s feat of winning the league title, but hopes its new U.S. owners will help raise the club’s global profile. The Premier League’s only Wales-based club is currently in the U.S. to prepare for the upcoming season. It is Swansea City's third visit to the States after previous tours in '12 and '14. Manager Francesco Guidolin's team won its first preseason test against United Soccer League franchise Charlotte Independence, 4-0, on Wednesday. The game’s result serves only as a footnote at this stage of the team’s preparation, and while Guidolin was happy about his team’s performance he has no illusion of Swansea City wearing the Cinderella slippers next season. “This is a fantastic story for Leicester, but it happens once every 50 years,” he said after Wednesday’s friendly. “For us it’s important to do well and play a good season.” Guidolin, who took over the reins at Swansea City in January, signed a new two-year contract with team after guiding it to a 12th-place finish, with a 7-4-5 record over the final 16 games of last season. The team set up its 10-day summer training camp in the D.C. area and will take on another USL team, Richmond Kickers, on Saturday before heading back to the U.K.
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| More than 4,000 people attended the game at Charlotte's Ramblewood Stadium. |
U.S. RELATIONS: Swansea City in early June confirmed that Americans Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan had taken over the club. Levien is the managing general owner of MLS franchise D.C. United, while Kaplan serves as the exec vice-chairman of NBA team Memphis Grizzlies. The takeover is still subject to Premier League approval. Swansea City is expected to take advantage of this new ownership structure and increase its brand awareness in the U.S. and around the world, though no concrete plans have been announced. “It’s good for our brand to go out into the world,” Guidolin said. “It’s important because the Premier League is the most important league in the world. It’s important for soccer as well. Soccer in the U.S. is getting bigger.” The team could also benefit from Wales’ performance at Euro 2016, where it advanced to the semifinals. Guidolin said the national team’s “fantastic tournament” was important for the country and the club's fans. He hopes it will also bring in new Swansea City supporters. The team is continuing to look at the transfer market for opportunities to improve its squad. Guidolin did not reveal whether the new owners will increase the club’s war chest. However, the Italian said he is looking for other qualities in a player, besides transfer value. “It’s not important to sign an expensive player,” he said. “Every team has a lot of money in the Premier League [due to the league’s £5.14B ($6.8B) TV deal with Sky and BT Sport], but the most important thing is choosing the right players.”
