Dallas International Girls Cup & IberCup USA Concludes
Youth soccer took over Texas last week as Dallas International Girls Cup and IberCup USA 2017 concluded on Sunday. Players from around the world had a chance to showcase their talent in front of college recruits as well as top international academies competing in the tournament.
Youth Soccer News: Last week, Dallas, Texas was the thriving center of youth soccer in the USA. The heartbeat of this soccer metropolis in north Texas — known as the place where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated — had all eyes on the pitch as tens of thousands of youth soccer players poured in from around the world to compete.
While the Dr. Pepper Dallas Cup – the highly competitive international soccer tournament held every spring took place in part of the city, other soccer fields were alive with action with the 2017 Dallas International Girls Cup (DIGC) and IberCup USA. Both events welcomed 10,500 people for a week of soccer action.
The Dallas International Girls Cup (DIGC) — now known as one of the strongest, if not the best international girls youth soccer tournament in the country — came to a close on Sunday with final matches that lived up to the excitement of the tournament held all week.
The DIGC and IBC welcomed participants from 17 nations including Guatemala, Mexico, Sweden, Denmark, England, Finland, Australia, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Colombia, Panama, Chile, South Korea, Canada and the United States. Just under 100 college coaches were in attendance during the DIGC tournament scouting and recruiting domestic and international players.
The tournament kicked off on April 11th in a packed Alfred J. Loos Arena with more than 7,000 spectators.
The opening ceremony included a parade of nations, a country western dance group, a show band and guest speakers.
This event featured guest Jane Campbell, who was the youngest goalkeeper to ever be called up to the United States Women’s National Team at age 17. Campbell commented on her experience playing at Stanford and recently being drafted to the Houston Dash, as well as her time spent with the Women’s National Team.
On Wednesday, matches kicked off and a reception for all of the international team coaches and managers was held in the evening. During this event, international and out-of-state teams were recognized by the Mayor of Farmers Branch, Mayor Phelps and Ahmed Ashmawy, Director of Coaching of the Dallas Texans, the tournament host club.
On Sunday, the tournament concluded with the finals for each age group.
Champions for each age category:
- U12 Dallas Texans South 05 Girls.
- U13 NTH Top Hat 04 ECNL (GA)
- U14 Solar Chelsea 03 ECNL
- U15 Solar Chelsea 02 ECNL
- U16 Dallas Texans 01 ECNL
- U17 Dallas Texans 00 ECNL
- U18 Solar 99 Composite
Dallas International Girls Cup Finalists:
- U12: Dallas Texans South 05 Girls and Solar Chelsea 05 Pulpaneck.
- U13: Dallas Texans South 04 Girls and NTH Top Hat 04 ECNL.
- U14: FC Dallas 03 ECNL and Solar Chelsea 03 ECNL.
- U15: Lonestar 02 ECNL and Solar Chelsea 02 ECNL.
- U16: Dallas Texans 01 ECNL and Solar Chelsea 01 Wells.
- U17: Dallas Texans 00 Fort Worth and Dallas Texans 00 ECNL.
- U18: IF Lyseng (Denmark) and Solar Chelsea 99 Composite.
The Dallas Texan’s girls’ teams defended their home turf by winning four of the seven age categories. Solar Chelsea, another local Texas team, also fared well winning two age groups. NTH Top Hat from Georgia won a tightly contested championship match against a strong Dallas Texans South team.
IberCup USA Finalists were:
The IberCup — one of the largest and most international youth soccer tournaments around the World — is held in every year in Estoril, Portugal and is a magical event for elite youth.
The recent IberCup USA, also held in Dallas last week, attracted soccer teams from all over the world for a fantastic week of high level competition. Teams from Liverpool FC (Eng), Manchester City (Eng), Atletico Madrid (Spa), Anderlecht (Bel), Continental FC (PA) and Orlando City (USA) descended in Dallas to compete and test their skills.
- U9: PSG (TX) and Continental FC (PA).
- U10: EFF Bagoso (Panama) and Manchester City FC (England).
- U11: Dallas Texans 06 Dallas and RSC Anderlecht (Belgium).
- U12: FC Dallas and Atletico Madrid (Spain).
- U13: Club Menedy (Guatemala) and Liverpool FC (England).
The teams from pro-clubs Manchester City, RSC Anderlecht, Atletico Madrid, and Liverpool FC dominated the tournament and all won the championships in their age categories. U9 Continental FC was the lone U.S. team to hoist a title.
However, the top USA teams in the IberCup did not leave empty handed, as the best U.S. team in the U9-U12 age groups won a free travel package to an international IberCup tournament in Portugal, Spain, Denmark and Japan!
The top U.S. teams included:
- U9: Continental FC – won a travel package for IberCup Estoril in Portugal.
- U10: PST Attack – won a travel package for the IberCup Scandinavia in Denmark.
- U11: Dallas Texans – won a travel package to the IberCup Japan.
- U12: FC Dallas – won a travel package to IberCup Costa Del Sol in Spain.
