Wednesday, Orlando City and Major League Soccer’s (MLS) Sporting Kansas City announced a groundbreaking partnership, with the Lions becoming the official USL PRO affiliate of Sporting. A two-year deal, City will be benefitting both on and off the field thanks to the partnership, including guidance on the club’s journey to securing a MLS franchise.

OrlandoCitySoccer.com sat down with Orlando City President Phil Rawlins, asking how the agreement came about, what this means for City’s MLS hopes and how partnering with one of MLS’ strongest brands strengthens Orlando’s place in the soccer world in the United States.

OrlandoCitySoccer.com: Does this agreement at all affect the timeline Orlando City currently has for Major League Soccer in 2015?

Rawlins: Not at all. Nothing whatsoever. Our goal is still 2015.

OrlandoCitySoccer.com: How did this all come about and what will it be like to partner with one of the biggest brands in Major League Soccer?

Rawlins: The contact was initiated by Sporting KC back around Christmas time when the talks about the two leagues really started. The ownership group at Sporting KC reached out to us and said if this were to happen, the one club they wanted to partner with would be Orlando City because they were impressed with our organization. They had a lot of good things to say about us and the potential relationship.

From our standpoint, there’s only a small amount of clubs that we would’ve wanted to do this with that are in the MLS- Sporting KC is right up there. I consider Sporting as one of, if not the, best run MLS club, both on and off the field.

OrlandoCitySoccer.com: How does the players Sporting sends over during the season benefit Orlando on the field?

Rawlins: It benefits us in several ways. It’s not just a player relationship. One of the benefits is we get to closely work with one of the most respected clubs in MLS. We can learn from them, and we can better prepare ourselves for MLS. They’ve done a lot of things right in the front office and have great people like (Sporting Head Coach) Peter Vermes. Adrian (Heath) can learn from them, we can learn from them and eventually that’ll help us with our goal of becoming a MLS franchise.

On the field- we will get a minimum of four players. Our staff will help determine who those players are, helping some of the gaps on our roster. Those Sporting players then get o develop under Heath’s tutelage and guidance, have a chance to play a full season in a competitive atmosphere in the USL PRO, etc. The quality of our squad rises because of this. It allows us to bring in better players along with the Kansas City players while they develop on the field themselves.

OrlandoCitySoccer.com: What does this say about the Orlando City brand? The average person may not know what partnering with a club like Sporting Kansas City means, so what does it mean for them?

Rawlins: I think it speaks very highly for our brand. One of the top brands in the MLS reached out to us to create this relationship, which speaks very highly for City. Not just the club, but Orlando as a marketplace as well. From our standpoint, it’s also a big deal to be partnered with a club like Sporting KC. The opportunities to work together and collaborate is an exciting venture.

OrlandoCitySoccer.com: How does the agreement effect the American soccer pyramid?

Rawlins: It’s a huge step in the right direction. Looking at the MLS side of things, it gives their (reserve) players an opportunity to play right under tier-one level, and more importantly the ability to have a full season of play. One of the biggest problems they (MLS) had was if you weren’t in the starting XI, how were you going to get playing time in your career? This is a great answer for that.

It’s also big for the USL PRO, establishing themselves right there with the MLS. It will develop our footprint across the United States, help connect teams to major brands like Sporting, etc. It’s a win-win for the American soccer pyramid.