International Soccer Teams Compete in the Inaugural Chicago Trophy Tournament at Solider Field
Challengers Take on World's Top Ranked Club July 27 & 29
Release Date: 07/13/07
Top international soccer teams from Europe and Mexico compete for the first-ever Chicago Trophy Friday and Sunday, July 27 and 29, at Soldier Field, 1410 S. Museum Campus Dr. Both dates feature doubleheaders with the July 27 game time at 6 p.m. and July 29 at 3 p.m. Each day, fans can see both games for the price of one. The tournament is organized by PLATINUM ONE.
The inaugural edition of the tournament will feature the world’s No. 1-ranked club, 2006 and 2007 Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Cup winners and reigning UEFA Super Cup Champions Sevilla FC of Spain; Mexico’s Club Deportivo Toluca, the 2005 Mexican champions; Wisla Krakow, winner of four Polish championships since 2000; and Reggina Calcio from Italy’s top league, the Serie A.
Each team will play two matches and will be awarded three points for a win and one for a drawn game. In a novel feature of the event, teams will earn bonus points for scoring goals.
The organizers want to offer soccer and general sports fans exceptional value and have set prices for a daily ticket within the range normally charged for one match. Fans will purchase daily tickets that will allow them see a doubleheader each day. Ticket prices have been set at a level to make it accessible to all sports fans from Chicago and across the Midwest, with three categories of $45, $65 and $80. Tickets can be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at (312) 559-1212 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.
The organizers intend to build the Chicago Trophy into the premier club soccer event in North America. Each team has contractually committed to lining up its best available squad and top players, ensuring a high level of competitiveness for the tournament.
“Chicago soccer fans are very knowledgeable about the game. We had to bring clubs that would appeal to the different communities in Chicago and across the Midwest, and the lineup for the first staging of the Trophy is very exciting,” said Fintan Drury, chairman of PLATINUM ONE, the tournament organizer. “This year’s talent-rich tournament is only the first step toward our vision of a yearly soccer festival that becomes a must-play in the international summer season.”
Chicago was chosen to host these teams because of its solid soccer tradition, strong ethnic communities and social ties with cities and nations throughout the world. Its central location and its strong track record as host city for major sporting events were also factors in making Chicago the home for this new international tournament.
“We’re proud to be able to help bring this world-class sporting event to Chicago, which we believe will help pave the way for the Olympics and Paralympics to come to Chicago in 2016,” said Garrett Kelleher, executive chairman of Shelbourne Development, the lead sponsor of The Chicago Trophy and developer of the new Chicago Spire. “Our ambition is to cement Chicago’s status as a beacon in the two areas for which it is best known around the world, architecture and sports.”
Sevilla FC, which is the headline team for the inaugural staging of the Trophy, has the prospect of completing an unprecedented achievement in world football this season. It has already won the European Super Cup and the UEFA Cup, and with just two series of games left, is in a final run-in with FC Barcelona and Real Madrid to win the Spanish League title. The team also won the final of the Spanish Cup this year.
The organizers consider it a major endorsement of the Chicago Trophy that Sevilla FC would choose to play this event ahead of the many other opportunities that it had for its summer program. The President of Sevilla FC, Jose Maria del Nido, is proud that his team has been invited to take part in the first Chicago Trophy "because it demonstrates that our club has become a big name in the panorama of international football, thanks to our victories in Europe and in the Spanish competitions."
PLATINUM ONE researched the optimum mix of teams over the past few months. For the huge Polish community in Chicago, the stand out name in club football is Wisla Krakow, the most successful club in Poland over the last decade.
“After Warsaw, Chicago has the largest Polish population of any city in the world,” said Wisla Krakow President, Mariusz Heler. “We are looking forward to competing in front of our own people and soccer fans from across the Chicago region. It will be very important for the club that we compete well against high quality opposition, and we want the Polish community to get behind us for our two matches.”
The Mexican community is used to seeing its top clubs coming to Chicago to play matches but Club Deportivo Toluca, with its exceptionally strong squad and new manager, Jose Peckerman, believes the competitive nature of the event makes it more valuable for the team and more interesting for the fans.
“This major tournament allows us to pit Mexican soccer against top European sides in a competitive environment. That’s something new for us and for Mexican football fans in the U.S. We look forward to them supporting us over the weekend of the Championship,” said Rafael Lebrija, president of Club Deportivo Toluca.
The championship organizers, PLATINUM ONE, is a sports management and conference business headquartered in Ireland, which has reached an agreement with the City of Chicago to run the event for a minimum of three years.
PLATINUM ONE is a significant business in professional soccer in Europe with offices in England, Scotland and Spain as well as Dublin, Ireland. This summer, as well as managing the inaugural Chicago Trophy, the company is managing the preseason tour of FC Barcelona to Scotland. In September 2006, PLATINUM ONE completed an eight-year engagement as event, commercial and marketing consultants to the Ryder Cup in Ireland.
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