Presented by Haig Club
Inter Miami CF is set to host its first international friendly on Wednesday, Jan. 26 at 7:30 p.m. ET, taking on Peruvian top-flight team Club Universitario de Deportes. The preseason match, which will take place exactly one month before Inter Miami’s first 2022 MLS regular season match, will mark the first opportunity of the year for fans to return to DRV PNK Stadium to see Inter Miami in action.
Club Universitario de Deportes is a Peruvian first division team based in Lima, Peru that was founded in 1924. Since then, La U has gone on to become the winningest team in Peruvian fútbol, with 26 league titles. Universitario has also participated in 45 continental club competitions, becoming the Peruvian side that has competed in the most international tournaments to date. The team plays its home matches at the Estadio Monumental that has capacity for over 80,000 fans, making it the largest stadium in South America and the second largest in Latin America.
In 2021, Universitario finished third in Liga 1’s Fase 1 Group A, amassing 15 points in nine matches, and third again in Fase 2, totaling 32 points in 17 matches. The team was led by Álex Valera, who tallied 11 goals and six assists in league play in 2021.
La U is currently led by manager Gregorio Pérez, a former professional player with 40 years of experience in coaching. The team’s roster features a number of standouts, including wingers Luis Urruti and Alberto Quintero, and midfielders Hernán Novick and Jorge Murrugarra.
Inter Miami, meanwhile, will feature several new faces in 2022, many of whom could be on display on Wednesday. The new players include Jean Mota, a 28-year-old midfielder with more than 250 matches under his belt at South American powerhouse Santos FC, Christopher McVey, a versatile defender with experience in European competition, Emerson Rodríguez, a Colombian U22 Initiative signing, and Leonardo Campana, a young Ecuadorian international coming from the English Premier League. The team also added a number of players with MLS experience, including Bryce Duke, a promising young midfielder Mo Adams, a versatile midfielder with a history of MLS success, Ariel Lassiter, a Costa Rican national team winger, and Clément Diop, a goalkeeper with Senegalese national team experience. The team has also promoted from within the club, including the signings of 2021 Fort Lauderdale CF standouts George Acosta and Aimé Mabika.
The match will mark Inter Miami’s first public preseason match of 2022, one of a number of scrimmages in the lead up to the team’s season opener against Chicago Fire FC on Saturday, Feb. 26.
Season Ticket Members will receive discounted rates for the exciting preseason contest and all fans are encouraged to buy before game day to get the best prices. Tickets are available now. Season Ticket Members will be contacted by the club via email with additional ticketing information. Complimentary parking will be available on a first come, first served basis while supplies last.
Inter Miami Season Ticket Members qualify to participate in the STM Referral Program and will receive a complimentary ticket for the friendly in their Inter Miami CF Account Manager if they refer a new STM via the referral program. The new STM will also receive a complimentary ticket.
Fans interested in securing the best ticket rates for Inter Miami’s 17 home games throughout the 2022 campaign, plus a complimentary ticket to the friendly match against Club Universitario de Deportes, can learn more about Season Ticket options here.
Parking lots open at 5:30 p.m. ET followed by gates at 6:30 p.m. ET. Inter Miami CF’s full preseason schedule is available here.
