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Real Salt Lake and Utah Royals FC surprised boys and girls from local youth soccer clubs with tickets to upcoming matches on Tuesday in Sandy, Utah.
The two professional clubs invited the teams, totaling over 100 local kids, to Sunday’s Utah Royals 2026 home opener and the upcoming April 22 Real Salt Lake match against Inter Miami.
Inter Miami is led by Lionel Messi, who Real defender Justen Glad described as “The G.O.A.T.” The April match will be the first time Inter Miami or Messi have played in Utah and has led to an unprecedented ticket demand.
“It’s always fun to come out and see the future generations come and play, and I feel like for them, it’s always fun to have someone here and someone who’s been in their shoes,” Glad told reporters.
In addition to Glad, Real’s Griffin Dillon and the Royals’ Madison Hammond and Aria Nagai were on hand for Tuesday’s surprise. The four professional players joined the youth teams in their training.
Real head coach Pablo Mastroeni and team president John Kimball were also in attendance.
“I remember growing up and seeing professional soccer players and being like, ‘Yeah, I really want to be there one day,’ and I feel like just to be involved in that is something that I take pride in and really enjoy,” Glad said.
Dillon, who grew up in Draper, Utah, worked his way from the Real Salt Lake Academy to the University of Maryland and back to Utah with Real Monarchs and now Real Salt Lake.
Dillon made his MLS debut for RSL against Atlanta two weeks ago and on Saturday, earned his first start when Real beat Austin FC at home. He told reporters Tuesday that it is “a dream come true” to play for his hometown club.
“I grew up going to the games all the time and just being able to chase my dreams and do it here in the state in front of all these people that I’ve met along the way, just very excited and happy to be here,” he said.
Up next, Real Salt Lake will travel to California to face San Diego FC on Sunday at 5 p.m. MDT.
Utah Royals FC plays its home opener also on Sunday at 5 p.m. MDT. Fans can sign up for the team’s newsletter to receive two free tickets to any Royals home game this season, including Sunday’s match.
