July 14, 2017 — Welcome players and families!Starting today, thousands of soccer enthusiasts from around the world will make their way to Blaine, Minnesota, for the largest youth soccer tournament in the western hemisphere — the Schwan’s USA CUP® tournament. This year, the Schwan’s Company-sponsored tournament is drawing approximately 1,168 teams from 17 states, five Canadian provinces and 15 countries, as well as referees from 18 countries.
The nine-day tournament, which starts today, is held at the National Sports Center in Blaine. The tournament is expected to attract media outlets and sports news outlets from around the country. There is a weekend tournament that runs until Sunday, July 16, followed by the week-long Schwan’s USA CUP® tournament that runs from July 18-22.
As part of our sponsorship for the tournament, Schwan’s Home Service donates thousands of Schwan’s® novelties to the event. The novelties are handed out during events like the Olympic-style opening ceremony, which takes place on July 18.
Additional activities include a “Schwan’s Fan Village” where our company will give out samples of Edwards® pie, Red Baron® pizza, Pagoda® egg rolls and a variety of Schwan’s® ice cream novelties.
This is also the fourth-consecutive year our Schwan’s Cares™ fundraising program will facilitate a contest for the participants to raise money for their teams. The team campaigns that raise $500 or more will be entered into a drawing where one randomly selected team will have its team- and player-tournament fees reimbursed courtesy of Schwan’s. Additionally, the winning team of the Schwan’s Cares™ campaign competition will be recognized at the opening ceremony of the tournament.
This is the 33rd anniversary of the soccer tournament and the 19th consecutive year Schwan’s Company has sponsored the event. Deemed as “America’s greatest youth soccer event,” the Schwan’s USA CUP® tournament also brings significant tourism revenue to the state of Minnesota.
The 600-acre National Sports Center and Blaine Soccer Complex make up the largest contiguous soccer complex in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, with 64 fields at one site. The Sports Center also includes a soccer stadium, the Schwan’s Super Rink ice arena, a cycling velodrome, an indoor sports hall, a dormitory with a cafeteria and a PGA-designed National Youth Golf Center and golf course.
For more information about the Schwan’s USA CUP® tournament, visit www.usacup.org, or click here for an article about this year’s event.
