Torino
03-28-2006, 08:59 PM
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Dallas Cup will have Iraqi team
After years of planning, under-14 team headed for Pizza Hut Park
08:41 PM CST on Tuesday, March 28, 2006
http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/img/standing/sports/columnists/mugs/mug_stevedavis.jpg (http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/spt/columnists/stevedavis/vitindex.html)After two years of starts, stops and tricky maneuvering around significant obstacles, efforts to include an Iraqi youth team in the Dallas Cup have finally paid off.
The 2006 tournament will include an under-14 team from the embattled region.
"And this is a national team, not just a collection from one region," tournament executive director Gordon Jago said. "So I expect it to be a good team."
But similar to the combined Palestinian/Israeli Peace Team that visited the Dallas Cup in 2004 and 2005, the endeavor's success is more about involvement than wins and losses.
Soccer (http://www.investorsiraq.com/) Davis: Dallas Cup will have Iraqi team (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/columnists/sdavis/stories/032906dnsposdavis.11ec83ff.html)
World Cup Focus (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/soccer/stories/032906dnsposoccupfocus.11ecbf5c.html)
More Soccer (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/soccer/vitindex.html)
The tournament, based at Frisco's Pizza Hut Park this year, is April 9-16.
Jago, tournament director Randy Jones and other Dallas Cup officials began developing relationships within Iraq and dreaming of pulling together the effort almost three years ago.
But the project proved difficult, given security issues, visa hurdles and the obvious difficulty of assembling sports programs in a land still sorting out far more important matters.
The team, 18 players plus six coaches and escorts, will arrive April 7 after spending a few days in Amman, Jordan. They'll see a Mavericks game April 8 and visit Dallas City Hall a few days later.
Special funding is being provided by Dallas-based Hyperion Resources.
The Iraqi youngsters will be part of the tournament's signature home-stay program; the players lodge at the homes of players from the Dallas Texans' organization.
The team's first match is April 10 against the Chicago Magic at one of the Pizza Hut Park fields.
...
SATURDAY, APRIL 1 – FC Dallas season opener, vs. Chicago, 3 p.m. (ABC).
SUNDAY, APRIL 9-SUNDAY, APRIL 16 – Dr Pepper Dallas Cup XXVII, Pizza Hut Park and Richland College.
TUESDAY, APRIL 11 – International exhibition: U.S. vs. Jamaica, 6 p.m, Cary, N.C. (ESPN2).
SUNDAY, MAY 23 – International exhibition: U.S. vs. Morocco, 6 p.m, Nashville, Tenn. (ESPN2).
WEDNESDAY, MAY 26 – International exhibition: U.S. vs. Venezuela, 6 p.m, Cleveland (ESPN2).
FRIDAY, MAY 28 – International exhibition: U.S. vs. Latvia, 6 p.m, E. Hartford, Conn. (ESPN2).
Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/032906dnsposdavis.11ec83ff.html (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/032906dnsposdavis.11ec83ff.html)
Dallas Cup will have Iraqi team
After years of planning, under-14 team headed for Pizza Hut Park
08:41 PM CST on Tuesday, March 28, 2006
http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/img/standing/sports/columnists/mugs/mug_stevedavis.jpg (http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/spt/columnists/stevedavis/vitindex.html)After two years of starts, stops and tricky maneuvering around significant obstacles, efforts to include an Iraqi youth team in the Dallas Cup have finally paid off.
The 2006 tournament will include an under-14 team from the embattled region.
"And this is a national team, not just a collection from one region," tournament executive director Gordon Jago said. "So I expect it to be a good team."
But similar to the combined Palestinian/Israeli Peace Team that visited the Dallas Cup in 2004 and 2005, the endeavor's success is more about involvement than wins and losses.
Soccer (http://www.investorsiraq.com/) Davis: Dallas Cup will have Iraqi team (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/columnists/sdavis/stories/032906dnsposdavis.11ec83ff.html)
World Cup Focus (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/soccer/stories/032906dnsposoccupfocus.11ecbf5c.html)
More Soccer (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/soccer/vitindex.html)
The tournament, based at Frisco's Pizza Hut Park this year, is April 9-16.
Jago, tournament director Randy Jones and other Dallas Cup officials began developing relationships within Iraq and dreaming of pulling together the effort almost three years ago.
But the project proved difficult, given security issues, visa hurdles and the obvious difficulty of assembling sports programs in a land still sorting out far more important matters.
The team, 18 players plus six coaches and escorts, will arrive April 7 after spending a few days in Amman, Jordan. They'll see a Mavericks game April 8 and visit Dallas City Hall a few days later.
Special funding is being provided by Dallas-based Hyperion Resources.
The Iraqi youngsters will be part of the tournament's signature home-stay program; the players lodge at the homes of players from the Dallas Texans' organization.
The team's first match is April 10 against the Chicago Magic at one of the Pizza Hut Park fields.
...
SATURDAY, APRIL 1 – FC Dallas season opener, vs. Chicago, 3 p.m. (ABC).
SUNDAY, APRIL 9-SUNDAY, APRIL 16 – Dr Pepper Dallas Cup XXVII, Pizza Hut Park and Richland College.
TUESDAY, APRIL 11 – International exhibition: U.S. vs. Jamaica, 6 p.m, Cary, N.C. (ESPN2).
SUNDAY, MAY 23 – International exhibition: U.S. vs. Morocco, 6 p.m, Nashville, Tenn. (ESPN2).
WEDNESDAY, MAY 26 – International exhibition: U.S. vs. Venezuela, 6 p.m, Cleveland (ESPN2).
FRIDAY, MAY 28 – International exhibition: U.S. vs. Latvia, 6 p.m, E. Hartford, Conn. (ESPN2).
Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/032906dnsposdavis.11ec83ff.html (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/032906dnsposdavis.11ec83ff.html)