The dreams for a group of young Mission female soccer players continue to draw closer, and Saturday night is another opportunity for the community to make them become a reality.
The 11 local girls are hoping to fundraise for the trip of a lifetime to compete at the Gothia Cup in Sweden in 2019.
Known unofficially as “The World Youth Cup,” the event has been held annually in Gothenburg, Sweden since 1975 and regularly hosts thousands of soccer players aged U11 to U18 every year. This past summer the event saw 1,730 players from 82 different countries hit the pitch.
The Mission Golf and Country Club is hosting the fundraiser on Saturday, which will feature local business people and community leaders discussing the importance of youth sports and being part of a global community, which is what the Gothia Cup represents.
Team officials stated that both MP Jati Sidhu and Mission Mayor Randy Hawes are confirmed to be attending the event and will speak.
The girls will be giving presentations themselves about what they expect from the trip and tournament and also why they want to go. There will also be a silent auction.
The Mission team will compete in the U12 division at the event in 2019, and will play a guaranteed four games but it could be as many as nine depending on how successful the team is. The format for the event is seven-on-seven, with a similar playoff structure to the FIFA World Cup.
The team will be made up of girls from three different MSC teams, and fundraising efforts for the team have ramped up since January.
Regular bottle drives, a Polar Bear Swim fundraiser and many other events are planned to help send the team to Sweden.
For more information about the team and their fundraising efforts, visit facebook.com/girlsgothiacup.