More than 1,400 participants will be in Richmond for one of the city's largest annual soccer tournaments next month.
The 44th annual Nations Cup is taking over Hugh Boyd Community Park, Minoru Park and South Arm Park from July 18 to 20, with the finals to be played at Hugh Boyd on July 20.
Eighty teams will be vying for the Nations Cup Champion title this year with one team coming from as far away as Los Angeles.
The tournament groups players based on their ethnicity and background, making up teams that represent countries such as Canada, China, India, England, Mexico and more.
New to the tournament this year, for the first time, is a women's over-30s division, and its men's over-52 division has been expanded with four more teams.
"For years, as women sort of aged out, there wasn't anywhere for them to play, and we've tried really hard for the last several years to incorporate that," explained Jeff Wilson, president of Nations Cup.
"Finally, this year, we're bringing in an over-30s women's division."
Wilson, who attended the first Nations Cup in 1979 when there were just eight teams, described the tournament as a "legacy event."
"The tournament just continues to advance with more and more teams and players each year," he said.
"This tournament has an atmosphere that just keeps bringing these people back. The quality is high, and people want to keep playing, and it's very important to the soccer community.
"You're playing for community and ethnic pride."
Players can only represent a country if they can prove direct lineage by country of birth, parentage, grand-parentage or citizenship.
Sponsorships, donations needed to "grow" Nations Cup
Wilson told the Richmond News that putting on the event year after year has been rewarding, but the cost of it "continues to go up."
"Sponsorship or corporate support from within the community is always kind of a top priority for us," said Wilson.
"We're spending a lot of time trying to identify where we can find some good corporate supporters that see the value in a cultural community event like ours and want to help us keep it going."
In a perfect world, Wilson added, a title sponsor would reach out with a financial contribution to not only "move the tournament forward" but also help it grow.
"But every little bit counts. Every small contribution helps and adds up," he said.
In return, Wilson said businesses would be spotlighted on the Nations Cup's active social media accounts, a website with half a million hits in the weeks leading up to the event; other marketing strategies are also available for sponsors.
"We recognize that we need to make it a return on investment for those sponsors or supporters if they contribute. We want to make sure that they get something back that helps their business as well."
The Nations Cup is not only an event for the soccer community, it has also grown to be a part of the Richmond community as a whole, said Wilson.
"We've recognized how important it is to the City of Richmond because people visit from all over B.C. and it's a real showcase for the city and a great economic impact."
Aside from the day-long games taking place, there will be food trucks and drinks for participants and visitors.
Food trucks and a beer garden will be set up at Hugh Boyd Community Park during the weekend event.
For community groups and businesses interested in sponsorships for the Nations Cup, email [email protected]
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