La Alianza de Fútbol Hispano & Lowes partner for 3rd. year.

La Alianza de Fútbol Hispano announced that for the third straight year, Lowe’s will be its official and exclusive home improvement retail partner. As part of the agreement, Lowe’s will become the title sponsor of the national championship event, Copa Lowe’s Nacional, as well as title sponsor of all local and regional tournaments. La Alianza de Fútbol Hispano’s national tournament series, the most prestigious national Hispanic amateur soccer tournament in the United States, will expand from ten to eleven markets in 2006, and will add three regional qualifiers to the general tournament format.

“In only two short years, Copa Lowe’s has established itself as the premier amateur Hispanic soccer tournament in the country, and we are especially grateful for the way in which the Latino community has embraced and supported us,” said Richard Copeland, Alianza’s President and CEO. “In addition, we are thrilled that Lowe’s has elected to continue its commitment to Alianza, and we look forward to continued growth and success.”

Local tournaments, known as Campeón de Campeones (Champion of Champions), will once again take place in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, Phoenix, San Diego, and San Francisco, while El Paso will host a local qualifier for the first time. The local tournaments will be played from July through November, and will showcase the top teams from the Hispanic amateur men’s soccer leagues in each market. The local Alianza champions will in turn advance to compete in one of three regional tournaments – the Copa Lowe’s East Regional, the Copa Lowe’s Central Regional, and the Copa Lowe’s West Regional. Each regional champion will earn a berth in the national finals to be held in January 2007, the Copa Lowe’s Nacional III, where they will join two professional under-21 teams from Mexico. The top finishing U.S. team will be crowned as the top Hispanic amateur team in the country and will also earn an automatic berth in the following year’s tournament. Mo! re than $90,000 in prize money and awards will be offered in 2006 throughout the series of tournaments.

“This is just one more way that we are communicating to our growing Hispanic customer base by supporting a cause they are passionate about,” said Bob Gfeller, Lowe’s senior vice president of marketing. “In addition, we are proud to support this forum which helps the talent of these aspiring athletes.”

La Alianza de Fútbol Hispano, now in its third year, held ten local qualifying tournaments in 2005. The ten local champions, along with the Under-21 professional sides of Club Deportivo Guadalajara (Chivas), Club America, and Pachuca competed in the Copa Lowe’s Nacional II, held in Los Angeles in January of 2006. Pachuca beat Chivas 1-0 in the championship game to take first place honors, while Toros FC of Dallas finished third and took home the title as the best U.S. Hispanic amateur team. The 2005 edition of the Alianza tournaments had a cumulative attendance of more than 70,000.