Four Previous Champions Comprise The Twelve Team Super Group
The Dr Pepper Dallas Cup, the most prestigious international youth soccer tournament in the United States, announced Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao FC from China, and Japanese club, Ryutsu-Keizai University FC, have been accepted to the elite Gordon Jago Super Group. This will be the first time the top flight of the tournament will include two Asian teams from different countries in the same year. Dr Pepper Dallas Cup XXXVI will take place from March 29 through April 5, 2015.
Based in Guangzhou, the largest city of Guangdong province in South China, Guangzhou Evergrande will be the first Chinese team to compete in the Dr Pepper Dallas Cup Super Group. Guangzhou Evergrande trains at the Evergrande International Football School, which is touted as the largest soccer academy in the world, with over 50 fields and 2,400 students. The club’s professional side has won the last four Chinese Super League championships, and finished fourth in the 2013 FIFA World Club Championships.
After a one year hiatus, the recent Dallas Cup tradition of Japanese teams participating in the Gordon Jago Super Group is being rekindled, with the addition of Ryutsu-Keizai University. Based in the Tokyo suburb of Ryūgasaki, Ryutsu-Keizai University will look to become the first Asian team to win the Gordon Jago Super Group.
The additions of Guangzhou Evergrande and Ryutsu-Keizai University complete the twelve team Gordon Jago Super Group. This year the Super Group features four former Super Group Champions (River Plate, Corinthians, Coritiba, and Tigres), the club with the most Dallas Cup championships (Monterrey), and the current U-18 Barclays Premier League Champion (Everton). The twelve clubs, representing eight different countries, are:
Argentina
CA River Plate
Brazil
SC Corinthians
Coritiba FC
China
Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao FC
England
Everton FC
Japan
Ryutsu-Keizai University FC
Mexico
CF Monterrey
Tigres UANL
Spain
Valencia CF
United States
FC Dallas Academy
LA Galaxy Academy
Real Salt Lake Academy
