Phoenix Compete In Sea Of Soccer

The Golden Valley Phoenix youth soccer team is competing in the massive Schwan’s USA Cup weekend tournament Friday through Sunday at Blaine’s National Sports Center.

The USA Cup weekend tournament hosts boys and girls teams both nationally and internationally from ages U9 to U19. There will be 450 teams competing in Blaine over the course of the weekend, including squads from Minnesota, Illinois, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Texas, Iowa, New York, Missouri, Utah, California and Alaska. The Phoenix is competing in the 12-and-under division.

The tournament also features 55 international teams from Canada, Costa Rica, Sweden, Puerto Rico, Uganda, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Mexico.

The USA Cup originated in 1985 by the Sons of Norway and was modeled after the Norway Cup, and has grown from 62 teams in the first year. Combined with the week-long tournament that runs from July 19-23, 936 teams will compete in Blaine during the event.

According to the usacup.org, 917 teams and 13,300 players competed last year. It has an out-of-state impact of $18 million per year and is the largest youth soccer tournament in the Western Hemisphere, according to the official website.

All games will be played at the National Sports Center, a 600-acre multi-sport facility that includes 52 soccer fields.