National Soccer Festival kicks its way into Fort Wayne
By: Kristin Mazur
Updated: August 27, 2009
The 10th annual national soccer festival kicks into high gear, bringing top notch players and fans from around the country to Fort Wayne’s backyard.
“Youve got the youth piece of it"
“You get to see great soccer…and it brings money to the area” says Matt Chura, father of a player on the Evansville Men’s Soccer team.
Indiana, Michigan State, IPFW, and Lousiville, to name a few will go head-to-head at IPFW’s Hefner Soccer Complex this weekend. The festival also features youth and high school soccer games. The complex is one of the few facilities big enough to host the festival.
The National Soccer Festival gives local kids a chance to view high quality soccer.
“It’s a great mecca of soccer to have these young kids see the Indianas the Michigans” says says John Trask, Head Coach of Men’s Soccer at the University of Illinois in Chicago.
The festival contributes a big chunk of the nearly 15-million dollars brought into Fort Wayne each year from sports tourism.
“Its comparable to the NIT or the preseason basketball tournaments” says Bronn Pfeiffer, Assistant Coach of Men’s Soccer at IPFW.
“For a city the size of Fort Wayne to host an event like this I mean, were blessed by it” adds Chura.
IPFW Men’s Soccer will take on the Michigan State Spartans this Saturday at 6PM at the Hefner Soccer Complex.
