The trip spanned nearly 3,000 miles from airport to airport, and by the time Sporting Kansas City arrived in Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday, the club was fewer than 24 hours removed from its last MLS match but only two days from embarking on a new competition.
Sporting KC will open its CONCACAF Champions League schedule Tuesday against Central FC in Couva, Trinidad and Tobago — a trip that will require heightened awareness. The Caribbean twin-island nation is one of 55 countries with confirmed cases of Zika virus transmission.
The eyes of the sports world have converged on Brazil in recent weeks as the country serves as the host for the Olympics, and the health concerns surrounding Zika has received prominent attention there.