Copa Coca-Cola Kicks Off.

Copa Coca-Cola – kicked off providing a platform for teen athletes to show off their fancy footwork and compete for local, national and international titles.

Retired professional soccer player Mauricio Cienfuegos joined a local youth soccer team at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles to reveal the ten host cities for the 2005 Copa Coca-Cola tournaments, to be held between March and May. The cities include Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Boston, New York City, Miami, Houston, Chicago, San Jose, Dallas and San Diego. Winners of local Copa Coca-Cola tournaments will compete for the prestigious national championship title in Los Angeles in (TBD) and possibly, the international title at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla. in July.

The competition is open to teen soccer players, boys and girls, ages 13-15 years old. Copa Coca-Cola is one of the only free youth tournaments in the country, giving access to kids from both organized and unorganized leagues.

“Copa Coca-Cola provides an opportunity for local Hispanic youth to showcase their athletic skills and talents in a world-class sporting event, but it’s more than just a soccer tournament,” said Santiago Blanco, director, Hispanic Marketing, Coca-Cola North America. “Copa Coca Cola is an extension of our commitment to promoting healthy and active lifestyles among youth and their families.”

Copa Coca-Cola was created in Mexico in 1998, establishing tournament play between teenage soccer teams from Mexico and South America. The tournament expanded to the United States in 2001. Since its inception, more than 10,000 teams and 600,000 teens from the Americas and Europe have participated in Copa Coca Cola.