Dallas Cup, Generation adidas Cup headline Soccer Week in North Texas

DALLAS, Texas (Via Dallas Cup) – The Dr Pepper Dallas Cup is set to headline Soccer Week in North Texas. Starting this week, North Texas will host several high-profile, international soccer events, bringing in players, scouts, fans, coaches, and referees from all corners of the world.

The Dr Pepper Dallas Cup will join with adidas, Major League Soccer, and FC Dallas to create Soccer Week in North Texas. Next week, the eyes of college coaches, professional scouts, fans of youth soccer, and soccer fans in general, all looking to spot the rising stars in youth soccer, will turn their attention to North Texas.

North Texas has long been considered one of the leading regions of youth soccer in the United States, and that reputation continues to grow with the addition of Soccer Week in North Texas. Here is a list of all the soccer happenings taking place this week in the area.

Dr Pepper Dallas Cup XXXVIII

April 9 – April 16

200 teams will compete in eight age groups for the iconic “Boot and Ball” championship trophy. Highlighting this year’s Dr Pepper Dallas Cup will be the return of the world-renowned Manchester United to the Gordon Jago Super Group. They will take on Mexico’s most popular team C.D. Guadalajara “Chivas” at the historic Cotton Bowl Stadium on Opening Day, immediately following the Dallas Cup Parade of Nations. Between the competing teams and participating referees, 40 countries in total will be represented.

For Dr Pepper Dallas Cup XXXVIII, adidas will select an 18 player all-star team made up of US-based players from teams participating in the U16 bracket. The Dallas Cup All-Star team will travel to Spain and Portugal this summer, where they will receive elite level training with Real Madrid Foundation coaches at the club’s state of the art facility in Madrid, as well as with S.L. Benfica Academy coaches in Lisbon. The all-expenses paid trip will also include friendly matches, stadium and city tours, and the opportunity to attend a professional match.

Major League Soccer

April 8

Western conference power FC Dallas looks to remain undefeated in MLS play as they host Minnesota United FC on Saturday at Toyota Stadium in Frisco. Several Dallas Cup alumni figure to participate in the game including FC Dallas players Kellyn Acosta and Walker Zimmerman.

Generation adidas Cup

April 7 – April 15

The Dr Pepper Dallas Cup will co-host, along with FC Dallas, Major League Soccer’s Generation adidas Cup, the annual U17 MLS Developmental Academy tournament. All games will be played at the Toyota Soccer Complex in Frisco, and will feature 19 MLS academy teams and 13 international teams competing in two different brackets – the Champions Bracket and the Premier Bracket.

Generation adidas Cup – 7v7

April 13 – April 15

18 MLS pre-academy teams will join two international teams to compete in the U12 Generation adidas Tournament. Taking place at Toyota Soccer Complex, MLS, adidas, FC Dallas, and the Dallas Cup have joined to present this unique 7v7 tournament.

CONCACAF Referee Symposium

April 13

CONCACAF, soccer’s governing body for North America, Central America and the Caribbean, will once again partner with the Dr Pepper Dallas Cup to host an international referee symposium during Dallas Cup. Tournament officials will have the opportunity to receive elite referee training from current FIFA referee instructors through the highest level presentations in the confederation.

From its humble beginnings in 1980, when 32 teams from four nations gathered for the inaugural tournament, the Dr Pepper Dallas Cup has since become recognized as one of the premier international youth soccer tournaments in the world. The Dallas Cup has been a key development platform for the best youth players of soccer’s elite clubs from all corners of the United States and around the world.

General Dallas Cup Facts

• This year will be the 38^th consecutive Dallas Cup tournament, making it one of the oldest youth soccer tournaments in the United States. In the 38 year history of the tournament, Dallas Cup has hosted teams and referees from across 47 states, six continents and more than 100 countries.

• The Dr Pepper Dallas Cup is one of the city’s most international annual events. This year, the tournament will host participants, including players, referees, scouts, and officials, from six different continents.

• The regional economic impact of the annual tournament is over $17 million making it one of the largest annual sporting events held in Dallas.

• The list of Dallas Cup alumni is a virtual Who’s Who of world soccer and includes soccer icons like David Beckham, Landon Donovan, and Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, among many, many others. Dallas Cup alumni have gone on to play in over 430 FIFA World Cup games and score over 38 goals in sport’s most popular tournament.

Dr Pepper Dallas Cup XXXVIII Quick Kicks

• Thanks to a partnership with Dallas ISD and the Dr Pepper Dallas Cup, every student in the Dallas Independent School District received a ticket voucher for the opening day games at the historic Cotton Bowl.

• Mauro Diaz, an Argentinian rising star for FC Dallas and a Dallas Cup alumnus, will be the guest of honor during the tournament’s Opening Ceremonies and will complete the ceremonial “first kick”.

• The tournament will open with games at the Historic Cotton Bowl at Fair Park and finish with the championship games at Toyota Stadium in Frisco. Additional games will be played throughout the week, free of charge, at MoneyGram Soccer Park in Northwest Dallas and the Classic League Soccer Complex at Richland College.

• This year’s U19 Gordon Jago Super Group participants include top academies from seven countries and four continents. The world-renowned Manchester United academy headlines the groups as 2017’s elite bracket is set to be one of the strongest to date. Defending Super Group champions Everton FC, the current U-18 U.S. Development academy champions FC Dallas, two-time Super Group champion Coritiba, and the club with the most Dallas Cup championships, Monterrey Rayados, all return to Dallas, among others.