Jefferson Cup 2014 wraps up with heated action, massive economic impact

RICHMOND, Va. – The 2014 Jefferson Cup Girls Weekend concluded on Sunday, wrapping up the tournament’s main phase with a flurry of hard-fought matches across central Virginia.

The top finishers in younger age brackets battled for championship trophies, while Under-16, U-17 and U-18 divisions played their final showcase matches of a three-day weekend schedule. SoccerWire’s live Jeff Cup coverage can be found here.

[ +Jeff Cup: Tight results abound as Girls Weekend ends with a bang ]

Around 250 college coaches attended Jeff Cup Girls Weekend matches, scouting their current and future recruiting targets.

[ +Home region’s teams strut their stuff on Girls Weekend day two ]

With around 150 representatives from men’s college programs taking in Boys Weekend action March 7-9, that pushes the overall number of college coaches at the event to well over 400 in all. Programs present included elite NCAA Division I programs from the likes of the ACC, Big East, SEC and Conference USA as well as smaller Division II and Division III schools across the United States.

[ +Jeff Cup Q&A: Niagara coach Eric Barnes talks recruiting, high school vs. DA and more ]

The massive youth tournament also delivered a substantial jolt to the local economy, with thousands of hotel room-nights and spending activity across several areas of the Richmond business community.

[ +Jefferson Cup: Cleveland (FC) rocks ]

While the full extent of that impact will not be fully known for some time yet, tournament organizers expect that this year’s edition will provide a boost comparable to the past two years, each of which contributed an estimated $12-13 million to the greater Richmond economy.

There’s one more chapter left in the 2014 Jeff Cup story: 67  teams in the U-12 through U-16 girls age groups will face off in the Jefferson Cup Qualifier tournament this weekend, vying for one of 18 places in next year’s edition of the main event. See groups, schedules and scores here.