Sports Realm

The United State’s oldest international soccer tournament is the Dallas Cup, which is played at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. Many youth soccer coaches believe it to be the highest caliber youth tournament in the world. The 17 regulation soccer fields at the $80 million soccer facility allow for all tournament games to be played at a single location, with finals in each division played at the 21,000 seat stadium there, which also serves as the home of the MLS team FC Dallas.

The tournament was first hosted in 1980 by the Texas Longhorns Soccer Club who used it as a way to repay the hospitality shown to its traveling teams over the years by host clubs all over Europe. The event, however, soon became larger than the club and today it exists as a stand-alone tournament in its own right. It now attracts about 184 teams each year, so it is by no means the largest tournament in the country, but the caliber of play makes it one of the toughest to get into, and the hardest to actually win.

Games are played in the week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, which means the dates are not the same each year. This inconsistent timing, though does carry with it one significant advantage. Easter has always been a big week for youth soccer tournaments throughout Europe so the Dallas Cup has been able to do a great job of attracting top youth soccer clubs from across the pond.

Almost half the tournaments participants are visiting teams from abroad, including the youth teams of some of the top European clubs like FC Barcelona of Spain, Arsenal of England, and Ajax of the Netherlands. And Europe is not the only source of top-level teams. Boca Juniors from Argentina, Sao Paulo of Brazil, and Tahuichi of Bolivia have also sent their youth teams to compete.

Some of the more famous players who have competed in the tournament include David Beckham of England, American forward Landon Donovan, legendary Spanish striker Raul, and rising Mexican star Giovanni Dos Santos. The Dallas Cup has, therefore, become a magnet for soccer scouts from around the world looking to uncover the next big soccer star.

So it’s certainly fair to say that the Dallas Cup is a very important youth soccer tournament. If your team is good enough to compete, and fortunate enough to be accepted, a good showing here might just be a stepping-stone to bigger and better things.

Looking to find more information about the Dallas Cup? Then visit www.soccer-tournament-guide.com to find the best advice on the finding the right soccer tournament for your team.