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Chicago Fire Juniors unveiled a whole new look today. Like the Fire’s first team, CFJ is going with a navy home shirt, and a white away shirt. The new crest is a rounder, slightly different version of the Fire’s controversial new logo. And, Continental Tire is on board as the shirt sponsor.
“Continental Tire has long shown wonderful support for our Club, our League and all levels of our sport,” said Chicago Fire FC COO John Urban said in a news release. “We’re proud to build on an already terrific partnership; together we’ll continue to bring our very best to the players and families we serve throughout our Juniors programs.”
Overall, it’s a clean look that sort of resembles Chelsea. But, for fans hoping the club will dump the “Fire Crown” crest, adding it to the Fire Juniors shirts probably means it’s here to stay—for now, at least.
USL is Back, and Forward Madison is ready
USL League One announced a return-to-play plan today, meaning the Fire’s affiliate Forward Madison will be back in action soon. The season is scheduled to restart July 18. It’s unclear whether Forward will be able to host fans at Breese Stevens Stadium this season, but the club has a plan in place in case that happens, including increased sanitation, a six foot radius around seating groups, and contactless payments for concessions.
At the moment, no Fire first team players are on loan in Madison, but after Raphael Wicky finalizes his roster for the MLS is Back Tournament, we could see some of the remaining Fire players head north. Seeing some of the Fire’s young guys rocking that Forward “Drip Kit” will be fun.
Latest odds for MLS is Back and NWSL Challenge Cup
Speaking of Orlando, the latest odds from William Hill have the Fire at 40/1 to win the tournament, ranking Chicago 20th out of the 26 Major League Soccer teams. LAFC (9/2), NYCFC (8/1), Seattle (8/1), Atlanta (10/1), and Toronto (12/1) top the list.
As for the NWSL, the Chicago Red Stars check in at number two of the remaining NWSL teams, at 7/2 to win the Challenge Cup. Only North Carolina Courage (3/2) is higher.
Go read Kim’s Red Stars preview
If you haven’t read it yet, Kim McCauley has a great Red Stars Challenge Cup preview posted over at All for XI. Kim talked to head coach Rory Dames about how the team will look quite a bit different in the attack this year, now that Sam Kerr is gone.
So, what do you think of the new Fire Juniors logo and jersey? Are the Fire going to outperform those 40/1 odds in Orlando? Are the Red Stars coming home with the Challenge Cup? Let us know in the comments!