Some say there is no place like home. Well, we can’t wait to find out. It’s been a long road to get here.

On Wednesday, July 21st we played our final match in the Winnipeg bubble, and (to be honest) we hope our final bubble match ever. That final match had a little bit of everything – 2 red cards and our 2-goal lead flipped into a 2-goal deficit. Not the way we wanted it to end, but now we must move forward. All eyes are on Saturday August 14th, where we take to the field at TD Place for the very first time. Yes, it’s our Home Opener in front of fans. Hopefully a lot of fans. The maximum amount that health officials will allow. To say we are excited about this debut is a massive understatement. To say we are looking forward to seeing the faces and hearing the voices of our supporters would be downplaying how important this is to us.

Late Thursday night, our club landed at Ottawa airport. Even with all the adversity of being on the road for so long, there were smiling faces. You could feel an energy between the players. You could sense a small amount of relief and buckets of anticipation. Head Coach Mista put our Home Opener very succinctly, “It’s a historic day for us, and we’re counting down the days.”

En route, there was a very nice surprise… seeing (and hearing) supporters on the Juno Beach Memorial Bridge. We could hear the bang of the drum and the rally of voices. We could see the jerseys and the smoke. There was even talk that a supporter had crafted a proper Atleti shield. It meant the world to us.

Check out the player’s arriving in this video…