When 3,400 athletes march into John Carroll University's Don Shula Stadium this evening for the opening ceremony of the International Youth Sports Festival, the youth will represent more than just their countries.
View full sizeVishva Patel, 12, front center, and teammates for team FC Seven from India, arrive at John Carroll University for The Continental CupThe competitors from 20 countries are a product of the five years spent by the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission attracting a diverse group of participants through brainstorming, gathering international contacts and the recruitment of teams and sponsors for the annual Continental Cup competitions. This year alone, commission members went to Washington, D.C. twice to visit 13 different foreign embassies in hunt for teams.
Play in soccer, baseball and basketball begins at 8 a.m. today at four sites sprinkled around the eastern suburbs. Championship games in all sports are Sunday. The main attraction though may be the athlete parade at Shula Stadium tonight at 7, preceded by an outdoor fair.
When the festival began in 2006, soccer was the only sport with 155 athletes from two countries besides the United States.
The increasing size is due to the efforts of the sports commission and its partners. The building of the international bridge began in 2004 when Cleveland hosted the Children's Games, said David Gilbert, CEO and president of the sports commission.
"We made some really great international contacts," he said. "We learned the value of using internationalism for an event, and creating a well-rounded experience."
The commission searches for teams year round. Employees also have written letters and sent e-mails, and called international teams and organizations to lure more athletes from abroad, said Carol Payto, vice president of marketing and sales.
Corporate sponsors such as AC Milan, one of the world's largest professional soccer clubs, and Adidas have been key in adding to the international field.
AC Milan alone has drawn between 500 and 700 athletes to Cleveland this year, said Eddie Marles, AC Milan's youth coordinator for North and Latin America. When you add in parents and other spectators, the Milan connection is expected to account for 1,000 people this weekend.
"And the thing is, next year, those numbers will double," Marles said.
He said AC Milan's role is more of a partner than a sponsor. The organization focuses on raising the quality of the tournament and the quality of play, he said. It also adds content through coaching clinics.
Between 5,000 and 6,000 people are expected for the opening ceremony, said Jenny Popis, the tournament communication manager. In all, 10,000 people are expected to be attracted to at least one part of the long weekend. The commission figures the economic impact to the area will be $4 million.
"We have teams coming from different countries along with from all over the U.S. staying in local hotels, eating at local restaurants, going to attractions and spending their dollars here," Popis said.
Soccer is by far the largest draw, with more than 130 teams, 55 of which are international. Participants will have the widest age range -- from nine to 19 years old.
Baseball is in its second year of play with 25 teams from four countries. One of the age group's title games is at Progressive Field downtown at 5:30 p.m. Sunday.
This is the first year for basketball. The addition seems to be popular. Sixteen teams from seven countries will play.
New sports could be added next year.
The festival lost money in its earlier years, but the commission expects to make a profit this year.
"We're really excited," Gilbert said. "We're becoming a major international youth sports festival, not just a tournament."