The top U14 soccer players in the United States and Europe converged on ESPN illide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort, July 16-22, for the inaugural International Champions Cup Futures Tournament, presented by Rakuten.
The tournament featured 24 teams – 16 from the United States and eight from Europe. There are eight teams from Major League Soccer (MLS) Development Academy teams, eight USA all-star teams and eight of Europe’s top club teams that are competing in the week-long event at Walt Disney World Resort.
The eight teams from MLS Development Academies include the Seattle Sounders, Real Salt Lake, New York Red Bulls, Philadelphia Union, Houston Dynamo, LA Galaxy, DC United and New York City F.C. The eight USA all-star teams were selected from eight states: Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The eight European club teams include F.C. Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Celtic F.C., Liverpool F.C., Chelsea F.C., Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Arsenal F.C. and Atlético Madrid.
The tournament quarterfinals will be televised on ESPNU July 20, the semifinals on ESPNEWS July 21 and the final match will be shown on ESPN2 July 22.
The ICC Futures Tournament is held in conjunction with the Disney Cup International Tournament (July 16-22), which annually attracts nearly 190 teams and 2,700 players from around the globe. This year’s field includes teams from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Colombia, Panama and Venezuela.
The ICC Futures event highlights ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex’s expanding portfolio of domestic and international youth soccer events, which include the Disney Memorial Day Soccer Tournament (May 25-28), the Challenge 3v3 National Championship (Aug. 3-5), the Disney Soccer Showcase Series (Nov. 22-25 and Dec. 27-31) and the Disney Presidents’ Day Soccer Festival (Feb. 15-18, 2019) in addition to the Disney Cup International.
Media interested in covering the ICC Futures Tournament should contact Reggie Roberts, Disney Sports Public Relations, at 770-833-9817 or Reginald.D.Roberts@disney.com.