It just keeps getting bigger and better every year.
The 34th Nations Cup gets underway this Friday at the Hugh Boyd complex with more teams than ever and with a new flavour.
A record total of 54 "countries" will take to the field this year - four more than 2012 - and for the first time ever, Saudi Arabia has qualified to compete in Western Canada's premier amateur soccer tournament.
And two sections, the women's and the men's over-52s, will enjoy two more teams each in their respective groupings.
As ever, with an anticipated 1,200 players, thousands of spectators cheering on the country of their origin and glorious sunshine forecast to grace the fields at No. 1 and Francis roads, the tournament is shaping up to be one of the best for many a year.
"We've expanded every year for the last three years and we will be looking to expand again, as long as we can keep the quality high," said Nations Cup president Jeff Wilson.
"The open men's section hasn't changed much but the standard has stayed high throughout and in the over30s and over-38s, there's actually a waiting list of teams trying to get in."
Wilson is gearing up for a bumper crowd this year, given a heightened level of media attention on the back of a multi-cultural TV station's preview of the event.
"They're going to broadcast live feeds in Mandarin, Cantonese and Punjabi I think, so that can only be good," added Wilson.
An interesting and colourful addition to this year's Nations Cup will be Saudi Arabia who, at the third time of asking, managed to qualify ahead of Turkey, Japan and First Nations.
"They'll bring crowds and a very colourful kit as well, so we're looking forward to having them," said Wilson.
"Saudi will add yet another new cultural component to the Nations after the arrival of Iran a couple of years ago, who actually got to the final last year."
As for the teams to watch this year, Wilson said the first names that almost always reel off his tongue are the
perrenially strong India and Ireland, who will be bidding to wrest the Nations Cup crown in the open men's from Germany.
"Africa is getting better every year and I heard they had 90 players to select from for this," said Wilson.
"The beauty of this tournament is that, apart from a few friendlies beforehand, there's no real measuring stick.
"Players are pulled together from all over the place and it's always a little bit of a mystery."
Scotland and Ireland have traditionally fared well in the 30s, 38s and 45s in recent years and both countries will be aiming to extend that run in 2013.
Teams representing Germany, Fiji, Caribbean, Saudi, Canada, Portugal, India, China, Iran, England, Scotland, Africa, Italy, Chile, Ireland, Croatia, Romania, First Nations and Serbia will compete fiercely for titles in the men's open, over30s, over-38s, over-45s and over-52s and in the women's open sections.
For the full Nations Cup schedule for play Friday, Saturday and Sunday, go to www.thenationscup.com.
