5th Annual Tournament A Success
The Dallas International Girls Cup, along with its organizers, Premier International Tours and the Dallas Texans, once again have partnered to support the Nothing But Nets campaign.
Nothing But Nets is a global, grassroots campaign to save lives by preventing malaria, a leading killer of children in sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria is a critical problem impacting many unfortunate children, who in other parts of the world, might be youthfully playing soccer. Realizing the importance of giving back, the Dallas International Girls Cup is helping to support this worthy cause. One dollar is donated for every goal that is scored during the tournament, which sends mosquito nets to those in need. This makes a big contribution since one mosquito net costs $10.
The 2015 Dallas International Girls Cup has been the biggest edition yet, including more than 80 of the best girls teams from around the world. The 5th edition of the tournament welcomed 8 nations including, Colombia, Mexico, Sweden, Denmark, England, Canada, and the United States. There were over 80 college coaches in attendance during the tournament scouting and recruiting high level athletes competing.
Kicking off the tournament on Tuesday, March 31st was the international opening ceremony. This year thr featured guest was Becky Burleigh, the head coach for the University of Florida women’s team since 1995, who has coached players such as Abby Wambach, Heather Mitts, and Danielle Fotopoulous.
The level of competition that was showcased during the tournament was very impressive; each nation took the fields each day ready to compete to the best of their ability. The weather was somewhat cooperative during the tournament, excluding a slight thunderstorm delay on the first day and a little bit of rain on Sunday for the Championships resulting in the U14 and U15 games being postponed.
Wednesday, April 1st included a reception for all of the international teams was held. During this event international teams were recognized by the Mayor of Farmers Branch, Mayor Phelps, and given a gift for participating. Local hosting families from the international teams were in attendance as well, and were given recognition for volunteering their homes to athletes from other country and providing a true Southern Hospitality experience.
Thursday, April 2nd all participating teams were invited to attend an international dance party held at the Omni Hotel. Players from each team met on the dance floor in great spirits and displayed how their country likes to break it down on the dance floor.
Semi-Finals took place on Saturday, April 4th followed by Championship matches on Sunday, April 5th.
Dallas International Girls Cup Results:
Finalist vs Champion
U12: Solar Chelsea 03G (Prev. FC Dallas Gold) vs Solar Chelsea Red 03G
U13: Challenge 02 vs Solar Chelsea 02G Red
Winners to be determined later this month:
U14: Dallas Texans ECNL vs D’Feeters 01 ECNL
U15: Dallas Texans ECNL vs D’Feeters Soccer Club ECNL
U16: Dallas Texans ECNL vs Ballerup-Skovlunde Fodbold
U17: Dallas Texans ECNL vs Texas Spirit North ’98
Helping to make these events possible are sponsors such as NIKE, the City of Farmers Branch, Gatorade and many others. What makes the Dallas International Girls Cup a once in a lifetime experience and not just a great soccer tournament, are the events that take place off the field.
Dates for next year’s cup have also been announced. For more detailed information please visit the tournament’s website.
