USA Cup
The USA Cup is the largest international youth soccer tournament in the Western hemisphere. It was founded by Ivar Sorensen and Ingeborg Sorensen in cooperation with the Sons of Norway in 1985.
The first year there were 78 teams, and in the most recent years it draws almost 1200 teams with more than 16,000 athletes from many American states and countries around the world. In 2016, the tournament had teams from five continents. A swarm of referees also comes from all over the world to help officiate thousands of games.
The tournament is held in July every year in Blaine, Minnesota, at the National Sports Center. The tournament has grown over the years and now it includes a Weekend Cup tournament prior to the weeklong tournament along with vendor booths, food trucks and a huge soccer expo inside the Sports Hall.
The facility has more than 50 football fields, as well as softball fields, indoor ice hockey rinks, and a cycling velodrome.
The main stadium on the campus holds almost 10,000 spectators and was the home of the Minnesota United FC franchise until the team moved from a minor division to Major League Soccer in 2017.
