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International Soccer Returning To RJS

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By BILL WARD, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 7, 2007

TAMPA - International soccer returns to Tampa next spring when the U.S. men's under-23 national team hosts three matches at Raymond James Stadium in the final round of qualifying for the Beijing Olympic Games.

The games at RJS are part of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association of Football (CONCACAF) under-23 championships. The top two squads from this eight-team tournament earn a berth in the Olympic finals, Aug. 6-23 in Beijing.

The U.S. team will be based in Tampa, and its three matches at RJS will be part of doubleheaders March 11, 13 and 15. The tournament's other group matches will be played at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., while the semifinals, third-place match and title match will be played at LP Field in Nashville, Tenn.

The semifinals are March 20, and the championship match and third-place games are March 23. Ticket information for the tournament will be announced at a later date, U.S. soccer officials said.

The games in Tampa will come a little less than one year after 31,547 fans watched the U.S. men's national squad defeat Ecuador 3-1 in a friendly at RJS. U.S. soccer officials said that surprising crowd played a major role in Tampa landing part of this CONCACAF tournament.

"Clearly, the success of our national team in Tampa that day was a big factor in the decision to return," said Jim Moorhouse, director of communications for U.S. soccer. "The atmosphere, the pro-American crowd, the stadium - all of it was a very positive experience for us."

So far, only five teams - the United States, Mexico, Canada; Cuba and Haiti - have earned spots in the tournament. Central American teams from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and El Salvador are competing for the final three slots. The U.S. team will not know its opponents until the teams are confirmed and the draw takes place in December.

U.S. coach Peter Nowak is expected to gather his team for the first time Dec. 2 for a week-long camp before heading to China for a nine-day, two-match tour Dec. 9-17. Among Nowak's current player pool is 18-year-old Freddy Adu, who in July joined the Portugese club Benfica, and Floridians Josmer Altidore (Boca Raton) and Nathan Sturgis (St. Augustine).

Reporter Bill Ward can be reached at (813) 259-7456

or wward@tampatrib.com.

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