FC Europa Turf Cup continues growth entering year six
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As the application period winds down for the sixth annual FC Europa Turf Cup, the spring kickoff event held in Eastern Pennsylvania remains on a steady track to becoming one of the Mid-Atlantic region’s go-to early season tournaments for a variety of skill levels.
From its inception in 2011, the Turf Cup has provided the soccer-rich area of Eastern Pennsylvania with a local option for the vitally important first two weekends in March that precedes so many major tournament showcases and spring State Cups.
After 14 Southeastern Pennsylvania clubs kicked off the debut Turf Cup in 2011, the event has seen steady growth every year as its geographic reach has spread to surrounding states. It has more than doubled in size since, spiking to over 350 accepted teams in 2015 after starting with 140 squads in year one.
The Turf Cup is hosted by FC Europa and Tredyffrin-Easttown Youth Soccer Association (TEYSA) in partnership with APL Tournaments, a full-service youth soccer tournament management company which also operates two of the largest state-of-the-art sports facilities in Eastern Pennsylvania.
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“Our goal for the Turf Cup is to have an opportunity for every level of play,” said APL Tournaments Co-Director John Hatt, who along with Joe Levan also manages widely renowned events such as the FC DELCO Players Cup and Columbus Day Explorers Cup, among others. “Local teams have really enjoyed not having to travel as far for their preseason tournaments, and we serve as a central location for a lot of teams in New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Maryland and beyond.”
APL Tournaments provides United Sports in Downingtown, PA. and the YSC Sports facility in Wayne, PA. as two of the primary field locations for the Turf Cup, which hosts games at 19 of the area’s top artificial turf venues.
United Sports, which features 11 outdoor fields including two lighted turf fields, has played host to U.S. Women’s National Team and a variety of professional matches over the years. The YSC Sports facility is primary venue for the Atlantic Premier League, one of the region’s most competitive youth soccer leagues.
Along with access to some of the premier fields in Pennsylvania and beyond, attending teams have the benefit of fully insured and fully refundable registration fees to go with the confidence of all turf fields maximizing the chances their games will be played in the event of poor weather.
“Being an all-turf event, most Turf Cup matches are able to go on as scheduled in the event of inclement weather, and even there are cancellations our teams have peace of mind knowing they will not have to pay for games they don’t play,” said Levan.
The insurance policy was beneficial for Turf Cup attendees last year after a late winter storm snowed out the 2015 Girls Weekend and part of the Boys Weekend along with a host of other tournaments throughout the East Coast.
With 2016 Turf Cup applications set to close on January 21, boys and girls teams in the Under-9 through U-17 age groups representing five states – Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and the host state Pennsylvania – have already registered to attend.
The 2016 Turf Cup kicks off March 5-6 with the Boys Weekend and continues March 12-13 with the Girls Weekend.
