New Jersey's PDA Pele Youth Soccer Team Wins the Inaugural Volkswagen Junior Masters U.S. Finals
Soccer Champs Will Represent United States At the Volkswagen Junior Masters World Finals in South Africa, May 2010 Fox Soccer Channel to Highlight Thrills from U.S. Finals with Special Documentary
HERNDON, Va., Oct. 19 -- After a weekend full of tough matches, cold winds, and heavy rains, New Jersey's PDA Pele U12 boys soccer team (Zarephath, NJ) has been crowned the U.S. Champions of the Volkswagen Junior Masters Tournament (www.vwjrmasters.com). Following the team's 2-0 win over the Lower Merion Magic (Lower Merion, PA) at RFK Stadium in Washington D.C., the next stop for the PDA Pele will be Cape Town, South Africa in May 2010 - just prior to the FIFA World Cup - where they will battle to become World Champions. The team's once-in- a-lifetime trip will be provided by Volkswagen of America, the presenting sponsor of the Junior Masters in the U.S. and the official automotive partner of Major League Soccer (www.mlsnet.com). The Volkswagen Junior Masters is a 20-country, international youth soccer tournament created by Volkswagen AG, and is the first competition of its kind for teams here in the United States.
Below are the full results from this weekend's inaugural U.S. Finals matches:
Final Rank / Team Name City / State: ----------------------------------------------------- 1. PDA Pele Zarephath, NJ 2. Lower Merion SC Magic Lower Merion, PA 3. TAP FC Milan Alexandria, VA 4. Arlington Impact Red Arlington, VA 5. Baltimore Bays Hurricanes Baltimore, MD 6. Lee Mt. Vernon Soccer Patriots Alexandria, VA 7. Lehigh Valley United 97 Whitehall, PA 8. Penn Legacy 97 Black Landisville, PA 9. PA Classic Panther Revolution Lititz, PA 10. Lake Norman 97 LNSC Black Mooresville, NC 11. FCCA Huntersville 97 Highlanders Huntersville, NC 12. Soccer Domain Royals Montclair, NJ
"The team has shown amazing character and perseverance throughout the entire Volkswagen Junior Masters tournament," said Samuel C. Nellins, head coach of the PDA Pele. "All of the other teams were nothing short of fantastic, and each player should be proud for what he has been able to do. But the Pele were able to stick it out and play some phenomenal soccer, despite the difficult weather, to move on to the World Championships. This kind of opportunity is something I couldn't even imagine when I first played."
"The Volkswagen Junior Masters has offered youth soccer teams both in the U.S., and the world, a challenge unlike any they could have ever experienced before," said Tim Ellis, Vice President of Marketing for Volkswagen of America, Inc. "Volkswagen is proud of the PDA Pele's teamwork and determination, which not only brought them to the U.S. Finals, but will now place them into the world spotlight as they head to South Africa for the World Championships. This team represents the nation's best, and the soccer stars of tomorrow."
Fox Soccer Channel captured all of the action and spotlight moments from the U.S. Finals weekend, and will premiere a special documentary on the Volkswagen Junior Masters Tournament at www.vwjrmasters.com, starting later this month. A special five part series highlighting the Tournament will also be televised nationally on Fox Soccer Channel, beginning in early November.
The Volkswagen Junior Masters Tournament began in the U.S. back in July, with a series of six preliminary regional tournaments that qualified twelve teams (the winner and runner-up from each tournament) for this weekend's inaugural U.S. Finals. All of the participating teams had to meet the specified U12 age requirements in order to compete in the Volkswagen Junior Masters. The U.S. Finals team matchups for Saturday's quarterfinal round were determined via a special, random drawing. The semi-final match occurred today, and was followed by the final match between the PDA Pele and the Lower Merion Magic.
Globally, Volkswagen has been a long time supporter of soccer. The brand is the title sponsor of Volkswagen arena in Wolfsburg and owns the VFL Wolfsburg football club at its global headquarters. In the U.S., Volkswagen of America is the official automotive partner of Major League sponsor and is a sponsor of D.C. United. The brand also launched this year the Footballers' Clubhaus, presented by Volkswagen and MLS: A 19-city mobile marketing tour showcasing Volkswagen's product family at local youth soccer tournaments.
For more information on Volkswagen, visit media.vw.com. For more information on the Volkswagen Junior Masters, visit http://www.vwjrmasters.com/.
Volkswagen of America, Inc.
Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc. is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. Volkswagen is one of the world's largest producers of passenger cars and Europe's largest automaker. Volkswagen sells the New Beetle, New Beetle convertible, Golf, GTI, Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, Eos, Passat, Passat Wagon, CC, Tiguan, Touareg 2 and Routan through approximately 600 independent U.S. dealers. All 2010 Volkswagens come standard-equipped with Electronic Stabilization Program. This is important because the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has called ESC the most effective new vehicle safety technology since the safety belt. Visit Volkswagen of America online at www.vw.com or media.vw.com to learn more.
About Fox Soccer Channel
Fox Soccer Channel offers the most comprehensive coverage of world-class soccer available in the United States, including Major League Soccer, England's Barclays Premier League, Italy's Serie A, Women's Professional Soccer, the Argentine First Division and the Australian Hyundai A-League, as well as such global tournaments as the English FA Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, CONCACAF Champions League (TM), 2010 FIFA World Cup (TM) qualifiers and the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup (TM). The Official Broadcast Partner of the United States Youth Soccer Association, Fox Soccer Channel also televises the United Soccer Leagues and NCAA Division I college men's and women's soccer. The Nielsen-rated channel reaches more than 34 million cable and satellite households nationwide. For more information, visit America's most visited online soccer destination at foxsoccer.com.
About Major League Soccer
Headquartered in New York City, Major League Soccer is the top-flight professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. MLS features many stars from the U.S., Canada, and around the world. MLS kicked off its 14th season on March 19, and will feature 15 teams each playing 30 regular season matches. They include Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, Chivas USA, Columbus Crew, D.C. United, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, Kansas City Wizards, Los Angeles Galaxy, New York Red Bulls, New England Revolution, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes, Toronto FC and, in its inaugural season, Seattle Sounders FC. The Philadelphia Union will debut in 2010, while expansion teams in Vancouver and Portland will debut in 2011. For more information about MLS, log on to the League's official website at www.mlsnet.com.
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