With the mission of promoting community, hope and respect while inspiring young people, Racing Louisville FC and the nonprofit Muhammad Ali Center have partnered to put on Ali Night for Racing’s June 11 match against Angel City FC at Lynn Family Stadium.
The outing will celebrate the life and legacy of Louisville native, international icon, world champion boxer and humanitarian Muhammad Ali in the anniversary month of his passing six years ago. It will highlight The Greatest’s lifelong dedication to advocacy and giving and the importance of world-class athletes using their platforms to speak up for just causes.
The main event of Ali Night will be the 8 p.m. kickoff between Racing and Angel City FC, the Los Angeles-based expansion club that joined the National Women’s Soccer League this year. Both teams hold playoff positions on the NWSL table near the season’s one-third mark.
Tickets to the game are available now at RacingLouFC.com/Ali or by calling (502) LOU-CITY.
As part of the pregame warmups, Racing’s players will wear Muhammad Ali-themed T-shirts to be signed and auctioned after the game, with proceeds going to the Ali Center. Ali Night will also include video of Racing’s recent team tour of the Ali Center; scenes from wife Lonnie Ali’s visit to the Lynn Family Sports Vision & Training Center; and special message from the Ali Center.
The Ali Center’s leadership and staff, along with partner organizations, will attend the game to celebrate the successful completion of the Center’s annual Ali Festival, which runs from Friday through June in Louisville. As part of the partnership with Racing, the Ali Center will provide a special prize for the winner of a halftime competition between fans randomly selected from the crowd.
Racing, the first-ever professional women’s sports team in the Louisville region, is in its second year of existence. The team’s first uniforms were designed with Ali in mind – the midnight violet home jersey is speckled with butterflies and bees, an ode to the Louisville native known for not only his great boxing feats but for the social change he fostered.
The club’s parent company, Soccer Holdings LLC, also owns Louisville City FC, the men’s USL Championship club that started play in 2015.
The Muhammad Ali Center, a 501(c)3 corporation, was co-founded by Muhammad Ali and his wife, Lonnie, in their hometown of Louisville. The international cultural center promotes the Six Core Principles of Muhammad Ali (Confidence, Conviction, Dedication, Giving, Respect and Spirituality) in ways that inspire personal and global greatness and provides programming and events around the focus areas of education, racial and gender equity and global citizenship. The Ali Center is formally associated with the United Nations Department of Global Communications and is one of the newest stops on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail. The Center’s headquarters also contains an award-winning museum experience. For more information, please visit www.alicenter.org
