Before the competition gets really serious, the hundreds of young soccer players visiting Irvine this week mingled on Tuesday, July 25, for a day of play that was more about getting to know each other than racking up scores.
The American Youth Soccer Organization’s Southern California Section 11 is hosting the AYSO’s 35th National Games Tournament at the Great Park – it was supposed to be played in 2021, but got delayed by the pandemic.
Starting on Wednesday and running through Sunday, more than 1,300 games are expected to be played in the tournament, which has attracted 329 teams with about 4,400 players from across the country.
But on Tuesday, the players participated in Soccerfest, an AYSO tradition in which players are mingled among teams so they play a day of games with children their own age from other communities.
On Monday night, the opening ceremonies were held at the Dignity Health Sports Parks in Carson, home of the LA Galaxy.
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