TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Information for Working Media

2. Tournament History

3. Facts and Figures

4. Special Tournament Programs

5. Famous People at USA CUP

6. About the

7. Top Story Leads

The 35th annual Target USA CUP will be held July 12-20, 2019 at the National Sports Center in Blaine, , 20 minutes north of /Saint Paul. With an economic impact of $36.4 million, Target USA CUP is Minnesota's largest annual sports tourism event. The event is also the largest youth soccer tournament in the Western Hemisphere. All Target USA CUP games are free and open to the public.

INFORMATION FOR WORKING MEDIA

WEBSITE www.usacup.org

SOCIAL MEDIA Hashtag: #usacupsoccer Facebook: facebook.com/usacup : @usacupsoccer Instagram: @usacupsoccer

MOBILE APP USA CUP, for iPhone and Android

MEDIA CENTER The Media Center is located in Centerview Elementary. Please report to the Media Center to pick up media credentials, daily game schedules and to consult on story ideas.

MEDIA CENTER HOURS July 12-20, 2019, 10 a.m.- 7 p.m.

KEY STAFF CONTACTS Barclay Kruse, Media Director 763.458.6615 (cell) [email protected] Rob Lodge, NSC Marketing Director, managing NSC Gamecast during the tournament 651.216.2860 (cell) [email protected] Carlee Hackl, Content Creator and Video Producer 920.246.5072 (cell) [email protected] Grace Tafolla, Media Intern 319.310.4576 (cell) [email protected] Aidan Berg, Media Intern 612.670.1723 (cell) [email protected]

CAMPUS ACCESS FOR MEDIA Target USA CUP is a free event and we offer an open campus. But we ask working media to wear media credentials at all times. This is a youth sports event, and wearing credentials will answer parental questions about photographers shooting photos and video, or asking for interviews.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY Sons of Norway initiated USA CUP in 1985 by inviting several Norwegian teams to play in Minnesota. The first USA CUP featured more than 1,500 players on 69 teams representing 51 local, 11 international and six out-of-state teams. The original site for the tournament was the Blaine Soccer Complex, and those fields are still used for Target USA CUP games. When the National Sports Center opened in 1990, tournament ownership was transferred to the NSC and most games were moved to the larger NSC campus.

FACTS AND FIGURES A total of 16,324 players from 1,152 teams will compete during Target USA CUP. The National Sports Center will host teams from 22 states and 20 countries. The USA CUP Weekend tournament features 496 teams, while the USA CUP features 652.

2,537 games will be played over the course of the 2019 USA CUP.

10 clubs have played all 35 years, all Minnesota clubs: Blackhawks SC, Blaine SC, Burnsville Fire SC and Valley United SC (since merged into BV United), Coon Rapids Soccer Assn., Eagan Traveling Soccer, North Suburban Soccer Assn., Northern Lights (Anoka) SC, St. Croix SC and White Bear SC.

70 foreign countries have played in Target USA CUP over the years: Albania, Argentina, Aruba, , Austria, Bangladesh, , Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, , Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, , Colombia, Costa Rica, , Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, , , Finland, , , Guatemala, Haiti, Hungary, , , , Italy, Jamaica, , Liberia, Malaysia, Morocco, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, , Panama, Peru, Philippines, , , Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia (USSR), Saudi Arabia, South Africa, , , , Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Tanzania, Taiwan, , Tunisia, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Ukraine, Venezuela, U.S. Virgin Islands, West Indies, .

50 states have sent teams to Target USA CUP over the years: Maine and Rhode Island, the final two states to play in Target USA CUP, will be represented by Seacoast United U12 boys’ team and the North Kingstown 10U girls’ team.

22 states are represented in 2019: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, , Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

5 Canadian provinces represented in 2019: Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan.

20 countries and U.S. territories are represented in 2019: Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Denmark, Ecuador, Haiti, Iceland, Jamaica, Japan, Liberia, Mexico, Nigeria, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Sweden, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago and the U.S.

Minnesotan teams from 95 different communities are represented in 2019: Albertville, Andover, Anoka, Apple Valley, Baxter, Becker, Bemidji, Big Lake, Blaine, Bloomington, Brainerd, Brooklyn Park, Buffalo, Burnsville, Byron, Cambridge, Champlin, Chanhassen, Chaska, Chisago City, Circle Pines, Cloquet, Coon Rapids, Cottage Grove, Crystal, Duluth, Eagan, Eden Prairie, Edina, Elk River, Esko, Forest Lake, Golden Valley, Hastings, Hopkins, Inver Grove Heights, Isanti, La Crescent, Lakeville, Lindstrom, Lino Lakes, Long Lake, Mahtomedi, Mankato, Maple Grove, Maplewood, Mazeppa, Minneapolis, Minnetonka, Monticello, Mound, New Prague, New Ulm, North Branch, North Oaks, Oak Grove, Oakdale, Orono, Oronoco, Otsego, Owatonna, Pine Island, Plymouth, Prior Lake, Ramsey, Richfield, Robbinsdale, Rochester, Rockford, Rogers, Rosemount, Roseville, St. Anthony, Saint Francis, Saint Michael, St. Paul, Sartell, Shakopee, Shoreview, South St. Paul, St. Cloud, St. Croix, St. Louis Park, Waconia, Watertown, West St. Paul, White Bear Lake, Winona, Woodbury and Zumbrota.

26,596 teams have played over the 35-year history of the tournament.

REFEREES A total of 482 referees from around the world and from across the U.S. will officiate games. Included in the count are 150 non-U.S. referees coming from the following countries (17): Aruba, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, England, Germany, Jamaica, Mexico, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, , Romania, Scotland, Sweden and the U.S.

VOLUNTEERS More than 1,000 volunteers help out during Target USA CUP with everything from field managing, delivering supplies to fields, shooting photos, greeting international teams at the airport and chaperoning dances.

ECONOMIC IMPACT From visitors (those staying overnight): $28.5 million Including local spending: $36.4 million Local tax revenue generated: $233,815 Source: Destinations International Event Impact Calculator

SPECIAL TOURNAMENT PROGRAMS

OPENING CEREMONIES • NSC STADIUM Target USA CUP is holding its very own Olympic-style Opening Ceremonies on Tuesday, July 16, at 7:30 p.m. in the NSC Stadium. The Opening Ceremonies will include an Olympic-style parade of teams, Target skydivers and fireworks. The special guest will be , former U.S. National Team player, 2006 FIFA veteran, and 12-year MLS veteran.

This is the only time in the tournament where all the players will be in the same place at once.

This year’s Opening Ceremonies will be followed by Rock the CUP, an on-field concert and dance party, featuring DJ Mad Mardigan, the Official DJ of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx. This event is free to the public and will be a memorable evening.

NSCtv AT USA CUP NSCtv at USA CUP will offer daily video segments of the best stories at Target USA CUP. Go to www.usacup.org.

THE DAILY KICK The Daily Kick, Target USA CUP’s online daily newspaper, will feature daily articles written by the USA CUP media team, running July 12-20. Go to https://blog.nscsports.org/index.php/category/daily-kick/

LIVE BARN GAME STREAMING Target USA CUP will offer live streaming of all the tournament games being played on the two Stadium fields (north and south) and the adjacent field 60.

KICK CANCER AT USA CUP On Wednesday, July 17, Target USA CUP will raise money and build awareness for the treatment and prevention of pediatric cancer. For every goal scored and shutout recorded, USA CUP will donate $1 to the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital. Additionally, anyone can text USACUP to 41444 to make a donation to help fight pediatric cancer. Dress up your uniforms and/or sidelines on Wednesday, July 17 with the color gold to show support for the cause. Some of the vendors on campus will be donating a portion of their proceeds from Wednesday to Kick Cancer.

MINNESOTA UNITED AT USA CUP The National Sports Center is the home of Minnesota’s MLS team, Minnesota United FC (MNUFC). The team has invested in a locker room at the east end of the Sports Hall. Additionally, fields C1 and C2 have been converted into the team’s exclusive training fields. Minnesota United plays at its new 20,000 seat stadium in Saint Paul, , but it will continue to make the NSC its training home. The team will play two home games during Target USA CUP – Saturday, July 13 vs. FC Dallas and Wednesday, July 17 vs. Aston Villa.

MNUFC will have an activity hub outside Centerview Elementary. Players will conduct autograph and meet-and-greet sessions during the week, and the MNUFC mascot, PK, will be appearing at USA CUP throughout the week.

MEDALLION HUNT, SPONSORED BY TARGET A medallion has been hidden somewhere on the NSC campus. Two clues will be posted each day, July 16-20, one in the morning one in the afternoon. The first person (or group) to find the medallion will win the grand prize, donated by Target. Clues will be posted on usacup.org and on Facebook and Twitter.

FAMOUS PEOPLE AT USA CUP FAMOUS FORMER USA CUP PLAYERS Zlatan Ibrahimovic • Swedish National Team, Manchester United and now LA Galaxy • ESPN Analyst, former MLS and U.S. National Team

Tony Sanneh • Former MLS and U.S. National Team • Current Minnesota United FC general manager, former MLS and U.S. National Team • Former U.S. Women’s National Team Brianna Scurry • Former U.S. National Team • Japanese Women’s National Team, 2011 Women’s World Cup Champion • Japanese Women’s National Team, 2011 Women’s World Cup Champion Asuna Tanaka • Japanese Women’s National Team, 2011 Women’s World Cup Champion Nana Ichise • Japanese Women’s National Team Niklas Backman • Dalian Aerbin, Chinese Super League Eric Miller • Minnesota United FC, MLS Teal Bunbury • , MLS Brent Kallman • Minnesota United FC defender, MLS

NOTABLE CELEBRITY APPEARANCES USA CUP Pelé • Most famous soccer player in history Samuel Eto’o • Cameroon International currently playing for Turkish side Konyaspor. • Former U.S. National Team mainstay; Considered among the greatest female soccer players ever. Kelley O’Hara • Current member of the U.S. Women’s National Team. World Cup and Olympic champion. Jimmy Conrad • Former member of the U.S. National Team. 2005 MLS Defender of the Year. • Former U.S. National Team and MLS star Roberto Donadoni • Former Italy National Team coach Sergio Arturo Bernal Hernandez • Former Mexican National Team Hugo Perez • Former U.S. National Team and NASL and MISL professional Michelle Akers • Former U.S. National Team • Former U.S. National Team Thori Staples • Former U.S. National Team

ABOUT THE NATIONAL SPORTS CENTER

Opened in 1990, the National Sports Center was built by the State of Minnesota. A non-profit corporation, the National Sports Center Foundation (NSCF), operates the facility on a self-supporting basis. State funds were used to build many parts of the campus, but no operating subsidy is provided. And in recent years, nearly all-new construction has been completed with a majority of non-state funds, including sponsors and partner hockey associations.

Total state investment: $40 million Total non-state investment: $40.6 million Total attendance (1990 through 2018): 83 million visitors Attendance in 2018: 4 million visitors

Included in the complete National Sports Center facility are the following components:

SUPER RINK The Super Rink has an annual attendance of 1.7 million people. The facility has eight sheets of ice. Programs include: hockey, figure skating, broomball, short-track speed skating and public skating.

The Super Rink features three unique facilities. The Herb Brooks Foundation operates the Herb Brooks Training Center, a 12,500-square-foot dry land training facility to teach young players the latest training techniques. For the figure skating community, the 6,200-square-foot training center provides a conditioning and dance studio, changing area, parents’ viewing area, and offices for coaches. Adjacent to Rink #7 is a two-locker room complex that is the home of the U.S. Women’s National Hockey team. The best female players in the U.S. visit the NSC several times a year for National Team training camps.

VICTORY LINKS The Victory Links golf course was opened in several phases. The 18-hole putting course, named Tournament Greens, opened in 2000, and the driving range and nine holes of the 18-hole Victory Links course opened in May 2004. A second nine holes opened in September 2004. The course was designed by PGA Tour Design Services Inc. Victory Links is home to the First Tee of Blaine, a chapter of The First Tee.

WELCOME CENTER The NSC Welcome Center, which opened in the spring of 2005, hosts sport-related events, conferences and trade shows as well as the NSC administrative offices and Target USA CUP headquarters. The Welcome Center includes meeting rooms of varying sizes.

A new addition to the Welcome Center, the Sport Expo Center, opened at the beginning of June 2012. The 21,000 square foot building, is the home of the NSC’s new basketball and volleyball courts, as well as a fitness and training facility.

VELODROME The NSC Velodrome is one of only three all wood, all-weather cycling tracks in the . The length is 250 meters and the turns are banked at 43 degrees. The facility hosted the 1990 Olympic Festival, the 1992 Olympic Cycling Trials, the World Championship Cycling Trials, several Masters World Cup events, and U.S. Cycling Federation Championships. Olympic medalists Marty Nothstein, Rebecca Twigg, Connie Paraskevin, Curt Hartnett, Franco Marvulli and Leon Van Bon have raced in the track. The track is used on a daily basis for training. Weekly races are held on Thursday evenings throughout the summer, including the Thursday evening of USA CUP. 2019 will be the final season for the Velodrome.

NSC STADIUM The NSC Stadium hosts Target USA CUP featured games and Opening Ceremonies. In 2018, the stadium was reconfigured with two full-size artificial turf fields.

In the past the NSC Stadium has hosted U.S. national team soccer games, MNUFC and home games, national championship rugby and lacrosse games, and even concerts and marching band festivals. The biggest event currently held in the Stadium is the annual Joyful Noise music festival, held in mid-June.

SPORTS HALL The indoor Sports Hall, measuring 100 x 60 yards (58,350 square feet,) was part of the original NSC campus when it opened in 1990. The hall features a FieldTurf Duo artificial turf field and houses indoor

training for MNUFC, NSC soccer leagues, open lacrosse, NSC development programs and training.

FIELDS NSC has 52 full size fields on campus. Due to reconfiguring fields for short-sided games for younger age groups, USA CUP teams will play on 64 fields throughout the weekend tournament and 61 fields during the weeklong tournament.

The NSC’s fields can be used for other sports such as rugby, lacrosse and ultimate disc. The NSC has been recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the largest soccer complex in the world. The recognition plaque is displayed in the NSC office.

CENTERVIEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Spring Lake Park Schools built a new K-4 elementary school on the NSC campus, on the west end of the Main Parking Lot F. The school opened in September of 2018, initially with about 500 students. Many of the Target USA CUP administrative functions have moved into the school for the first time, including HQ, Adidas Super Store, Vendor Village, pin trading, media center, scoring, referee HQ, radio operations, and the medical center.

NEW CONSTRUCTION ON THE CAMPUS A new paved road connects 105th and 109th Ave NE allowing access to parking lots B, C, and E.

New artificial turf fields are under construction on Fields 48 and 49. The fields will not be available for play during Target USA CUP this year, and are due to open in August of 2019.

Immediately after the conclusion of Target USA CUP this year, construction will start to build a seasonal inflatable dome on one full-size field in the Stadium. The dome will be open six months a year, and it is scheduled to open by November 1, 2019.

TOP STORY LEADS

The Target USA CUP media team compiles interesting story leads about the players, coaches, referees, volunteers and staff in the tournament. Below are some of the most noteworthy for Target USA CUP 2019. Contact the media staff for contact information and/or a full list of story leads. The media team will continue to gather more story leads as the tournament progresses. 1. LEAD MONROVIA ACADEMY TO BE FIRST LIBERIAN GIRLS TEAM TO PLAY IN A DIFFERENT COUNTRY The U15 LEAD Monrovia Football Academy from Monrovia, Liberia will be the first youth girls soccer team to travel outside of Liberia for a tournament. The team will be participating in this year’s USA CUP. LEAD Monrovia Football Academy is a non-profit organization that allows talented Liberian boys and girls soccer players with high-quality academics and soccer training.

2. TOKIWAGI HIGH SCHOOL AND THE JAPANESE NATIONAL TEAM Tokiwagi Gakuen High School has a long history of attending USA CUP. Tokiwagi is notable for producing Japan’s top players, including four current Japanese National Team members in Aya

Sameshima, Saki Kumagai, Nana Ichise and . Sameshima and Kumagai played together in previous World Cups, winning in 2011. Japan defeated the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) in the 2011 World Cup in a penalty shootout. Sameshima and Kumagai were also part of the 2015 Japanese National Team that lost 5-2 to the United States in the World Cup final. Kana Nishikawa, a current player for Tokiwagi, was selected as a member of the U16 Japanese National Team that played in international friendlies June 21-29 in the Netherlands.

3. MAINE, RHODE ISLAND BECOME 49TH AND 50TH STATES TO PLAY AT USA CUP Over the course of USA CUP’s 34 years, Rhode Island and Maine were only states to not send any teams to USA CUP—until this year. The Seacoast United U12 boys team from Portland, Maine and the North Kingstown U10 girls team from North Kingstown, R.I. are registered for the 2019 event.

4. 2019 WOMEN’S FIFA WORLD CUP PLAYERS WHO PLAYED AT THE NSC The features the world’s best women’s soccer players. Coincidentally, players on four different World Cup rosters also played at the National Sports Center. World Cup players Aya Sameshima (Japan), Saki Kumagai (Japan), Nana Ichise (Japan), Rikako Kobayashi (Japan), (Canada), Caroline Seger (Sweden), (Sweden) and Lisa Devanna (Australia) all played at the NSC at various times over the years.

5. MULTIPLE SOCCER PERSONALITIES IN TOWN FOR USA CUP Former USMNT defender and decorated MLS player Jimmy Conrad will be at Opening Ceremonies on Tuesday, July 16. Minnesota United players will make appearances throughout USA CUP. The team will also host Aston Villa of the British on Wednesday, July 17.

6. PANAMA CITY TEAM RETURNS TO DEFEND TITLE The Panama City U19 Boys team is looking to repeat as champions of its division. The team beat Minneapolis United 3-1 last year, and took out congratulatory billboards back home.

7. FORMER FIFA REFEREE WILL BE PART OF REFEREE ADVISORY TEAM Nami Imaizumi will be a member of the USA CUP Referee Advisory Team for the second straight year. As a former FIFA referee, and a former Women’s World Cup referee, she has insights into the controversies surrounding VAR officiating in this year’s World Cup.

8. HIGH SCHOOL OEC STUDENTS VOLUNTEER ON THE MEDICAL TEAM Each year, high school students who are part of the OEC (Opportunities in Emergency Care) programs at Spring Lake Park and Osseo High Schools volunteer their time as part of the Target USA CUP medical team. They are a key part of the tournament medical team, and the experience they gain becomes invaluable in their training.