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                                                                                         Panda Cup USA 2007 Returns to Wylie

On April 20-21, international soccer will return to Wylie.

Panda Cup USA, organized by the Zen Sports Group, has selected Wylie as one of its game venues for 2007. In addition to serving as a game site, Wylie will host the Opening Ceremonies for the two-week event.

Panda Cup features top women’s national, professional, college and club teams from across the world, U.S. and State of Texas who will play at various venues throughout Texas and Oklahoma.

“I am excited for us to have the opportunity to again serve as a venue for Panda Cup as it provides our soccer enthusiasts and youth with the opportunity to experience world-class soccer,” Wylie Mayor John Mondy said.

This year’s event will be a true “community” enterprise as the City of Wylie, Wylie Independent School District, Wylie Youth Soccer Association, Wylie Chamber of Commerce and Wylie Economic Development Corporation are working together to make the games and opening ceremony festivities a success.

“We are grateful for Wylie's participation,” Panda Cup Founder Alex Schindler said. “Wylie has demonstrated to be a city on the rise with a vision to embrace the world.”

“Panda Cup is on the leading edge of sports competitions promoting the platforms of education, arts and cultural openness through soccer. This unusual support of compassion, foresight, and fostering international competition is a unique quality unparalleled in cities today.”

The main draw of the event will be four games to be played on Saturday, April 21, at Pirate Stadium. The marquee game will feature the Jamaica National Team against Notre Dame University, the 2005 NCAA Champions. As of early February, other teams that have showed an interest of playing in Wylie include Shanghai Professional Team (China), Southwest United Soccer Club (Canada), Nike IMG (Florida), Southern Methodist University and FC Dallas Youth Teams.

Along with the games scheduled in Pirate Stadium, Panda Cup officials are organizing a soccer clinic for the Texas Special Olympics and Wylie Youth Soccer Association that will feature instruction from the visiting coaches and players. The clinic will take place in Founders Park as teams from the Youth Soccer Association play their regular season games.

With players of all ages and skills of all levels on display, Wylie will be home to a true soccer festival. As part of the day’s festivities, there will also be a procession of flags and post-event fireworks show.

“We welcome everyone to ‘come play soccer with us and we will bring you the world,’” Schindler added.

On Friday, April 20, Wylie will host a special dinner for foreign dignitaries, team officials, event sponsors and other special guests. As a welcome to Wylie, the dinner provides community leaders the opportunity to open channels of communication on a cultural, political and economic level.

“By hosting Panda Cup, we have the opportunity to develop relationships that many cities our size do not have;” Mayor Mondy stated. “And, as we continue to grow, the doors that these relationships could open are immeasurable.”

In 2006, Wylie served as a venue site for the inaugural Panda Cup, which featured a Chinese National Select Team. Vice Consul Fang Li of the Chinese General Consulate in Houston attended the event. In September 2006, Vice Consul Fang Li invited Mayor Mondy to attend the International Symposium on Development of Small and Medium-Sized Cities, which was held in China. 


Panda Cup Game & Ticket Informationwww.wylietexas.gov

Article by The Connection.  Published March/April 2007
www.wyliechamber.org/connections.php