Massive Alligator Crashes Toronto Soccer Team’s Football Practice In Florida [Watch]

The Toronto FC soccer team visiting Florida for a match received a welcome Monday from a massive alligator that casually slithered its way around the playground.

The guest soccer team was holding a closed match at the ChampionsGate Resort south of Orlando when the marauding reptile wandered out onto the grass leaving the players screaming in shock.

The team posted a video on YouTube which showed the alligator’s visit dispersing the players. The team members were seen on the video giving it a wide berth before a staffer came to their rescue.

At one point in the video, a ChampionsGate staffer is then seen arriving in a golf cart to handle the situation. The staffer appears to try to chase the reptile away. Toronto FC coach Chris Armas said the players ran closer to the gator for a better view of it while he went in the opposite direction.

"All I can tell you is this — there was an alligator, a massive alligator," Adams told the Toronto Star.

"And my players are running towards the alligator as I went the other way. Listen we talk about fearless and aggressive round here, but I thought we would not think about that at that moment. It’s maybe par for the course here in Florida, when you’re by the water, but I think it was cool for the guys to see really up-close and personal. It was kind of a cool way to start training."

The TFC is set to face Mexico's Cruz Azul Tuesday in the quarterfinal match of the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League. The coronavirus pandemic forced the team to hunker down in Florida for the entire Major League Soccer season (MLS), according to Orlando Sentinel.

TFC defender Chris Mavinga told Orlando Sentinel that he was thrilled to encounter the gator. "This is the first time I’ve seen an alligator in real life," said Mavinga. "But it’s good to be in Florida, you know? You see this. You never see this in Toronto."

The exact size of the alligator wasn’t known.

April marks the beginning of the rainy season, the mating season for gators when the reptiles frequently head toward urban dwellings in search of a partner. Earlier this month, authorities from the Hillsborough County sheriff’s office were called to tackle a 10-feet gator hiding under a parked car in Tampa.