April 19 2012

The 2011 Scripps United U14* team traveled to The Netherlands and England for a series of international friendlies. The trip was an amazing homecoming for coach Cees Molenaar, as he brought his team to play against a youth team from the club his family owned for 18 years: AZ Alkmaar. Read the full article at http://www.soccernation.com/scripps-united-coach-cees-molenaar-returns-from-youth-soccer-trip-to-netherlands--cms-2651

April 16 2012

The second annual Dallas International Girls Cup organized by Premier International Tours and the Dallas Texans has officially concluded. Despite battles with “Mother Nature” the tournament was a great success. Over 75 teams representing 6 different countries competed in five different age groups over the span the tournament. The tournament attracted over 100 college coaches as well as scouts from the U.S. national team.

The finals took place on Sunday and in the U14/13 age bracket the Eagles SC girls from Southern California faced off against Solar Chelsea 99 from Texas. The Eagles were the favorite in this match up after cruising through group play and scoring 27 goals in the tournament. The Solar Chelsea 99 girls gave the Eagles all they could handle, but came up just short with the Eagles taking the title, with a 1-0 result.

 In the U15/14 age group Liverpool 98 G Elite matched up against Sting ECNL 98. Since both teams are from Texas, the game was not only a battle for the championship, but for bragging rights to prove who the top U15/14 team in Texas. The Sting ECNL 98 girls captured the championship in highly contested 1 – 0 match.

 

In the U16/15 group the Dallas Sting ECNL U15 girls from Texas and Eclipse Select ECNL U15 girls from Illinois faced off in the finals. The U16/15 bracket was one of the most competitive and diverse groups with over 20 teams, including teams from Norway, Australia, Canada, Louisiana and Florida. Both teams proved to be very strong as they maneuvered through group play to face each other in the finals. The Dallas Sting ECNL U15 girls proved to be the strongest with their impressive 5 – 0 performance against a very talented Eclipse team.

In the U17/16 age bracket the Eclipse Select ECNL U16 girls played against Ballerup-Skovlunde Fodbold representing Denmark. Ballerup-Skovlunde solidified their place in tournament history being the first international team to ever reach the finals of the Dallas International Girls Cup! Unfortunately, due to inclement weather this game had to be called at halftime. The half ended in a 1-1 tie, the tournament deemed both team’s co-champions.

 

 In the U18/17 age group the D’Feeters ECNL U17 girls from Texas were set to face off against the Eclipse Select SC ECNL U17 girls from Illinois. The Eclipse Select SC ECNL U17 girls made it through their group play unbeaten, finishing group play as the top team entering the playoff rounds. The D’Feeters had to battle their way through group play finishing with two wins, one loss and a tie, but managed to fight their way into the final match. Inclement weather derailed the meeting between these two teams before the game could begin. Again, both teams were deemed co-champions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both Premier International Tours and the Dallas Texans congratulate all of the 2012 Dallas International Girls Cup Champions, along with all the participating teams, and the parents, coaches, and team managers that make this such an elite event. For pictures and videos visit tournament organizer’s, Premier International Tours’, Facebook page and click “Like”. For scores and standings and all other pertinent information regarding the tournament you can check out the tournament website at www.dallasinternationalgirlscup.com.

 

 

April 08 2012

The Dallas International Girls Cup finals will take place today! After a week filled with excitement and highly contested matches ten teams remain.

In the U18/17 age group the D’Feeters ECNL U17 team from Texas will play against the Eclipse Select SC ECNL U17 from Illinois. The Eclipse Select SC ECNL U17 girls made it through their group play unbeaten. They won all three of their games before wining both the quarter-final and semi-final matches. The D’Feeters had to battle their way through group play finishing with two wins, one loss and a tie, but the D’Feeters hit their stride when it counted most, winning their last two games in a dramatic fashion on their way to the finals.

In the U17/16 age bracket we have the Eclipse Select ECNL U16 team facing off against the Ballerup-Skovlunde Fodbold representing Denmark. This is the first time in the history of the Dallas International Girls Cup that an international team has made it to the final! The girls of Ballerup have proven that they compete with some of the best clubs from across the U.S.

In the U16/15 group the Dallas Sting ECNL U15 is a familiar name by now, Eclipse Select ECNL U15 girls will play in the finals. The U16/15 bracket was one of the most competitive and diverse groups with over 20 teams, including teams from Norway, Australia, Canada, Louisiana and Florida. Both teams proved to be very strong as they maneuvered through group play to face each other in the finals.

In the U15/14 age group Liverpool 98 G Elite will play against Sting ECNL 98. Since both teams are from Texas they will have to battle for bragging rights to prove who is the top U15/14 team in Texas.

Finally in the U14/13 group we have Eagles SC from Southern California facing off against Solar Chelsea 99 from Texas. The Eagles are the favorite in this match up after cruising through group play and scoring 27 goals in the tournament. The Solar Chelsea girls are looking to keep their winning momentum moving forward into the finals.

For pictures and videos, scores and standings, and all other pertinent information regarding the tournament visit our Facebook page by clicking here.

April 05 2012

April 6, 2012

The Dallas International Girls Cup continues to live up to its already sterling reputation. The competition is fierce, but the camaraderie between nations has been great! Yesterday, Ballerup-Skovlunde Fodbold of Denmark played a closely contested match against Texas Spirit North and came out on top with a final score of 2-0. Ballerup-Skovlunde is on pace to advance to be the first international team to advance to the Quarter-Finals of the tournament.  

The competitive matches have attracted over 100 college coaches from top programs (see our list of colleges attending the tournament by clicking here). The college coaches along with the coaches and team managers had the opportunity to attend a reception held by the city of Farmers. The attendees enjoyed food and beverages as well as a fun mariachi band.  

Tonight the girls will have the opportunity to watch the semi-finals of the Dallas Cup Super Group at Pizza Hut Park. The Dallas Cup was gracious enough to provide tickets for our girls free of charge!  

Tomorrow the quarter finals and semi finals begin, and the team’s search for a championship continues. For more information, scores, pictures and videos please visit our Facebook page by clicking here.

April 4, 2012

The second annual Dallas International Girls Cup, organized by the Dallas Texans and Premier International Tours, has started off with a bang! Last night the international style opening ceremonies set the stage for a great event with special guest speaker, Duke University Women’s Soccer Head Coach, Robbie Church, a special presentation from Nike and the Dallas Quintet Symphony Orchestra honored each of the 6 nations participating in the tournament by playing their national anthem.

Today the games began, and the participating teams showcased why the Dallas International Girls Cup is regarded as the most competitive international girls tournament in the U.S. Teams from all over the globe competed throughout the day and gave an inspired effort. A great example of the competition level and diversity of the tournament was displayed in the game between the Central Florida Kraze 95 from Orlando, Florida and Fortuna Hjørring from Hjørring, Denmark where both battled in a highly contested match ending in a 1-1 tie.

Later in the evening the girls enjoyed a well deserved break from their hard work on the field and were able to enjoy a fun filled night of music provided by a professional DJ and even some Texas style line dancing. This truly unique social event provides the perfect opportunities for girls from around the globe to interact and learn from each other’s cultures.

Premier International Tours and the Dallas Texans are proud to be able to put this event together, and are looking forward to some more fantastic play as the week continues!

For more news updates, photos and videos from the tournament please visit the tournament website by clicking here.

April 04 2012

Just want to let you know that River City Seely has arrived safe and sound. Everybody very much enjoyed the Ajax game (won 6 nil, and the Heracles keeper had a pretty good game, just overpowered).  European soccer is so superior to that in the US, I am sure the boys learned a lot just by watching.  The accommodation is amazing! Lovely rooms, food wonderful, just amazing!! Remko (guide) and Ceic (driver) are great and are already starting to bond with the players and parents. Just wanted to let you know that our trip is off to a great start -- thank you so much!

April 04 2012

DAY 1

We did many interesting things today. We left our hotel at 10:00 A.M. after having a delicious buffet breakfast. We took our bus to the Ajax experience to only find out how much better they are than we are. There were many fun activities inside such as a dribbling, shot, and speed challenges to do. After that we went into the gift shop and bought whatever we wanted. I myself bought a beanie. After the experience was over we drove to the stadium to watch Ajax destroy Hercules. The final score was 6-0. The stadium is very different from American ones because theirs is much cleaner. The soccer fans are a lot more insane than football or baseball fans in America. When the game was over we drove to the city and walked through the red light district. The roads in Amsterdam are very narrow and made of small bricks.

We finally came back to the hotel at around 7:00 P.M. and had dinner. We were served French fries, apple sauce, salad, colossal cheeseburgers and strawberry sorbet. When dinner was over the majority of the team hit the pool and sauna to relax before we went to bed.

This is Sunday's blog. We had a fabulous day today meeting with Jozy Altidore, watching an AZ practice and meeting Jozy and Earnie Stewart, they were so great, talking to us for quite awhile and signing tons of jerseys and taking pictures, it was a fabulous experience. My son Tyler will write about this in tomorrow's blog. We were hanging tight with AZ for the first half and we were down 2-1, but I think we got really tired with the busy days and jet lag... We ended up losing 5-1. AZ under 13 is the 3rd best team in the country though so we knew it would be hard. SEE BELOW for the blog.

~Allison

We woke up and had a big buffet breakfast. After that we drove to Amsterdam and went on the canal cruise. We went by the Anne Frank house. We walked over to a sports store and I bought a derby star soccer ball and jersey. Then my mom, grandma and I went to the Rijks museum. I got to see the Night Watchman painting by Rembrandt. Then we went through the town of Laren where Coach Cees grew up and played soccer. After that we played our game at SDO. We lost 6 to 0. They were good sports and let us try their food. Then we came back to the hotel, ate dinner and went to bed.

-Alex Poirier

Tuesday, April 3
We woke up and I ate breakfast and had yummy eggs and chicken nuggets. Then we took the bus to tour AZ stadium. The guide showed us around and it was an amazing stadium. He also told us the super cool fact that they only special needs people to clean the stadium. We then went to the gift shop and bought balls and shirts and jerseys to have the players sign after they finished their practice. They had a walk through before their trip to Valencia for the quarter finals of the Europa league. We got a lot of autographs from the players as they left the field. They were doing some great drills like hitting the crossbar then heading it in.
After that we got to meet Jozy Altidore who plays for the AZ pro team as well as the U.S. National team. He was really super nice and spent lots of time talking to us and signing autographs and taking pictures with us. It was awesome. earnie Stewart who played for the U.S. National team and played in 3 world cups and even scored  talked with us for a long time too. He is in charge at AZ now. We were so lucky and he gave us a lot of great advice.

After a long day of lots of soccer it was time to go back to the hotel at 9:00 to eat and go in the steam room. It was a great day.

-Tyler

Today we got to see the city of London. We took an hour bus ride which felt like forever. Once we got there I got to see london eye, Big Ben, house of parliament, then west minister Abby. After seeing a couple of London touring sights, we went to a pub and I had a cheese and bacon burger with French fries or chips which is what they say for big French fries in London. Some ordered fish and chips and when it came it came in a 14 inch wooden cutting board. I tried it even though I really don't like fish. It actually tasted really good.

Then we went to Buckingham palace and saw a few guards. We saw them move and then went back to the bus. When we were heading back I saw that most of the statues were showing the butts of the statues. We went to our games. I got out because I think I might have pulled my hamstring and I sat out for most of the game. We had a good first half because we didn't let a lot of goals in the first half and we had a lot of chances too. In the second half we lost Alex Barr too because the goalie slide tackled him. We then had a struggle in the second half and we sorta gave in and let them score the five goals and then Evan scored!!!! After the game my aunt came but missed the game. We picked up pizza and I enjoyed it. When I went to sleep I slept really good because I went to sleep on a Swiss bed.

-Alex Bernabe

Today was the last day that we would be in europe. We woke up around 8:00 because we had a morning game. The game was at 10:00 in the morning.  We had a nice breakfast and were ready to play our next team called Kodak FC.  The game game started and it went great. Our team scored two consecutive goals. The first was a header off the post by our keeper, Alex Poirier. I scored the second goal off of a PK.  The second half started and we got off to a wrong start and Kodak FC scored on us. To put ourselves back in the game, we scored two more goals...one by Scotty Earle and the other by Liam King. It was our first win against a Eruropean team! The final score was 4-1 which led to a happy celebration after the game. 

We then raced to the Chelsea vs Wigan game. The first thing we did when we got to the stadium was hit the Chelsea store. we all bought jerseys.  I bought a #11 Didier Drogba jersey.We then headed into the game.  The game was awesome! Chelsea barely escaped with a 2-1 win. Chelsea scored the winning goal in extra time. 

After the game, we went back to the hotel, had dinner and packed. Unfortunately, we are leaving Europe tomorrow.  :(

April 03 2012

Flight to Espana and 1st Day Activities

Our trip to Spain began on Saturday March 31, 2012 with our extremely long flight that was approximately 9 hours non stop from the Atlanta Airport right into Barcelona. The flight itself was gruelling and consisted of terrible candid photos, close quarters and even closer seating, and awkward sleeping positions as we all tried to get some sort of sleep before arriving, which of course, we did not. We arrived in Barcelona around 2 o clock in the morning Georgia time, and 8 o clock in the morning in Spain on Sunday the 1st of April. We gathered all of our luggage and exchanged our money with the help of our charming tour guide, Donnie and met up with our bus driver to head towards the Olympic Stadium! It took us about 40 minutes to get from the airport to the Stadium and when we got there we had about 15 minutes to walk around and take pictures of the stadium. I enjoyed reflecting on the history of the Olympic Stadium and taking pictures and making new memories regarding past history. We took a couple of cool pictures and all loaded back on the bus to go to a park that had a lovely overview of the city, including the docks for cruise ships in the bay. At this park, there was this " real life" statue man that we took a couple of pictures with and we took a picture as a group that overlooked the city. There was also an actual statue of people holding hands that we took a picture with and we hiked up a huge hill to get back to our bus and headed to the next stop, the Camp Nou Stadium, where the Barcelona club sports teams play. These sports teams include field hockey, futbol (soccer), basketball, and rugby, but most importantly for us, the futbol team :]. We had the chance to go into the museam at the stadium and saw all of the trophies that have been won by these sports teams in the past as well as the futbol field, where all of the magic happens ;]. We sat in the stadium seats for a little while, trying not to fall asleep, and reflected on the amaxing games that have been played there as well as the once in a lifetime game that we have the opportunity to see on Tuesday. We have been given the wonderful opportunity of watching the Barcelona club team play FC Milan and we are all so stoked to be going to this game!
 
After our reflection/nap time, we were slightly rushed out of the stadium because everything closes early on Sundays, as in around 2 o clock in the afternoon. We hurried along back onto the bus and went to find somewhere to eat for lunch. Afterwards, we all passed out on the bus, tour guide included, as we drove about an hour to get to our hotel. We all checked in and had some free time to explore until dinner, and so my group, consisting of Mendi, Kaylan, and myself (Turner), went over to the beach that our hotel overlooks. This beach was unlike any other that I have ever been to because the water was extremely clear, the cliffs around the edges of the beach were absolutely beautiful, and then sand was like thick broken rocks rather than sand, which was different from any other sand I have encountered. We soaked up some rays, people watched, and snapped some photos on the beach as we waited around for dinner to be served. At dinner, there were more awkward candid photos, lots of laughing, and tears shed, happy ones, as we all cut up with one another. Donnie, the tour guide, sat at our table and kept us laughing with his reactions and comments on our jokes and cutting up. As we all finished up dinner, we had a little more free time to explore and so groups of four and five went out to survey the small city in which our hotel resides, which brings us to present time, and my blogging :].
 
Tomorrow we will be going to visit a winery and playing in our first soccer match again the La Roca women's team, and we are all excited and nervous to see the outcome. However, someone else will have to fill you in on the day's events tomorrow.
 
Until then,
 
Turner Davis, #19

Cava en Espana

Today began bright and early. We all were dressed nicely and enjoyed our first breakfast in Spain. The buffet included a variety of pasties and breads, fried eggs, bacon, and sausage. Some people mistakenly bit into what they thought were going to be French toast, but to their surprise it was fish sticks. Yeah, a strange breakfast item. Then we headed off to the bodega. It was a long bus trip and obviously jet lag had hit us all hard, because every time we got on the bus we slept. I almost fell out of my seat at one time from drifting off. The closer we got to the vineyards the landscape slowly changed. Fields of grape vines began popping up until they could be seen for miles. Finally we reached the bodega were Montse (I think that's how you spell it). She spoke Spanish and Donnie translated for us. We learned about how Montse and her two brothers began the business of making cava five years ago. Cava isn't a wine, nor a champagne, but a sparkling wine. The labor intensive process of grape picking begins in August and lasts until late September. They transport the grapes to a friend's bodega where they smash the grapes and then let them ferment into wine. They then bring it back to their bodega when they place it in a giant metal bin and combine yeast and sugar with it. She then explained to us the entire process (which I won't go into complete detail about, because I could write for days about it). I just loved how you could see how truly passionate she was about her work and how they literally put their heart and soul into making each bottle of cava. Then the good part came where we got to actually taste the cava. We began with a sweeter wine, Amor. She taught us how to properly smell a wine so that we can experience how the different aromas can stimulate different emotions within an individual. Then we got to taste it and she showed us how to breathe in through our mouths while the wine was there. This allowed our palates to really experience each and every taste the cava had to offer. Then we got to taste a second cava, Gran Reserva which was my favorite.

Next we went on another long bus ride to Monserrat, which mean serrated mountain. It is called this because of how jagged it looks. Thankfully we survived the scary bus ride up the side of the mountain. We reached the monastery which was absolutely breath taking, from the views to the architecture. We were able to snap some really amazing photos today. The church we got to go into was grandiose. The high arching ceiling combined with the old gothic type design was beyond words. We even got to touch the black virgin because she is considered very sacred among the people of Spain.

Finally we played our first soccer game against La Roca women's club. Things got a little hostile. I almost knocked this girl out when we both went up to head a ball. We definitely didn't play like we know how to, and I'm just going to leave it at that. Once everything was said and done though, we were able to snap a few pictures with the other team and even laugh a little with them, despite the language barrier.

As this trip progresses, Spain is beginning to have its own little place in my heart. The people, culture, and environment are so unique. The language is beautiful, and now I have the ambition to learn it. Tomorrow will be our first free day and in Spain, and I cannot wait to enjoy it on the beach and shopping.

Buena noche

 –Mendi #16

 Cava! Cava! Cava!

Today was incredibly captivating. I've never ever flown on a plane or let's be honest, I've never really been outside of LaGrange so this whole traveling experience has been quite eye opening and interesting. We started out the day by receiving an unusual breakfast that wasn't that terrible and maybe terrible isn't the best word to describe but it is definitely different than the typical American breakfast. We began our second day in Barcelona by visiting Berdie to learn more about the wine process. I've never seen such a beautiful vineyard in my life (or it's because I've never seen one in my life). We were introduced to Cava which is a very popular wine that is made here and you can normally find it in weddings and special occasions. The lady, Montse, who owns the bodega along with her two brothers, showed us the entire process of wine making. She informed us that only her and her other brothers make the wine. The establishment has only been open for cinco anos (five years—look at me using my Spanish) and it is now one of the top rated Cava's in Spain. The whole process of fermentation and learning about the wine was interesting. Ask any of the soccer players what the 3 main ingredients that are used to make cava and everyone will reply (or yell) SUGAR, YEAST, AND WINE!! After Montse showed us the process, we were allowed to try the cava. The first one we tried was called Amor which was okay. There is a story behind the reason the sister and brothers chose to name the cava Amor and it's because amor means love, but their fathers second sur name is mor. So A mor was translated to have two different meanings combined into one name. After visiting the winery, we traveled to a huge mountain to visit the monastery. The monastery was HUGE and the view on top of the mountain was breathtaking. Here, we walked around through different shops and different monastery's. Once we had finished visiting the monastery, we headed to grab some dinner and get ready for our game. I ordered a ham sandwich and it was definitely an acquired taste. Our tour guide told me that when people order sandwiches or different tapas (small foods/finger foods) that they use a tomato sauce, which completely through me off because I was expecting just ham. After we ate we headed to our game. Regardless of the score it was so much fun because just being able to play with a different team from a different country was an awesome opportunity. It's the experience that counts and I met some new amigos!! They're awesome. I love Spain and I am thankful for this opportunity. That's all for now! See you guys when we return!!

-Courtney
 
Today was a good day. We went to Berdiè to watch the sparkling wine process.  Cava, which is a very popular type of wine here, is used for special occasions like weddings and parties. Montse showed us the whole process that herself and her two brothers due all by themselves. This winery is a new establishment and has only been open for five years. In those five years they have gone from a simple winery starting off to one of the top rated cava's in Spain. After the tour we got to taste the cava. The Cava that Montse chose for us was named Amor. This is a play on words, since Amor means love, but their fathers' second sur name is mor. So A mor means for mor in Spanish. After the winery we went to the monastery. This is really cool because of the immense size of it all. It spanned over the whole hill side of the mountain and had cable cars and tram to go up the mountain. We went into the monastery and touched the black virgin. Then we went to where our soccer game was being held. We ate here and got ready to play.

-Robin

THE BIG GAME!!

Today we started with shopping. We took a walk down the block to local shops mainly in search for some Barca jerseys. Some of the places had some good deals, but we also had to be careful because others would try to rip you off.  Rachael can tell you all about it. Just about everyone got a jersey and other Barca gear for the game and haggled a good price for it too.
 
Later we went took the bus into the city for yet again... more shopping! What do you expect with a group of girls? We went to a mall that was built in an old bull ring. This place was huge! There were five floors and oddly numbered from -3 to 4 without a 3rd floor.  The mall had some similar stores as we do back in the U.S. but mainly different ones. One interesting thing that I have never seen in a mall that this one had was a super market. It was a full blown grocery store thrown into a mall. It was hard to speak to people in the mall though with not many knowing English. Usually when I reply in a confused tone in English they give up speaking to me. I was relieved when I had dinner in the mall the guy spoke good English.
 
After the mall, we headed to the stadium for the Barcelona versus AC Milan quarterfinal game! We were on of the first at the gate ready to squeeze through when they opened. We had seats right at the half line. However, next to our section was the caged in fan section for the AC Milan fans. They were ridiculous! They would throw things over the high net onto the fans below and guards stood guard on the fence separating Barcelona and Milan fans. The game itself was absolutely amazing! We got there early enough to take great pictures with the stadium. We got to witness in person Messi taking on Milan as well as scoring penalty shots to secure a 3-1 win. It was such a rush when a goal was scored and a packed stadium cheered and blew horns wildly. It was such an amazing experience that could never be forgotten.
 
Taylor Baldwin

March 12 2012

The U13 Boys Scripps United team from San Diego, CA will be traveling to Amsterdam and London with Premier International Tours from March 30-April 8. While in Europe they will play matches with four different club teams, including the AZ Alkmaar youth academy team while in The Netherlands. They will also tour the major sights while in Amsterdam and London as well as attend a professional game of AFC Ajax in Amsterdam, including a tour of Ajax’s home stadium The Arena.

The coach of the team, Cees Molenaar, was born, and grew up, in The Netherlands and his family previously owned the pro club AZ Alkmaar, so the trip has special meaning for him as he admits - “It is going to be a very special trip for me on many levels. I care tremendously about this Scripps United team, and have wanted to take the players and parents to Europe since they were U-9. Now it's finally happening; we are going to the birthplace of soccer (England) and to the Netherlands, where I was born and raised.”

This  trip is featured on the Soccer Nation website, one of the top website for soccer in the California region. Click here to read this article now.

March 07 2012

DAY 1 - We made it from Boston to Barcelona after a long flight with some exciting turbulence. Once we arrived at the airport, we were greeted by our tour guide named Clive. He hails from London but has lived in Barcelona since 1975. From the airport we didn't waste anytime as we boarded our bus and headed to catch our first glimpse of the city. We saw Montjuic which is translated to "jewish mountain" and is known to be the largest burial ground in the area. From there we headed to view the Olympic Stadium. The stadium was built for the 1932 Olympic games but due to the civil war, the games had to be relocated to Berlin. The 1992 Olympic games were held there. From the stadium we headed the National Art Museum and then to the Port of Barcelona for some lunch. The team split up into small groups and walked through the shops and cafes. Of course we had a coffee from Starbucks!! This evening we checked in to our hotel in Lloret de Mar and enjoyed our first team dinner in Spain! It is off to bed for the team to catch up on some sleep and prepare for a morning training session and our first match.

DAY 2 - This morning we boarded the bus for our first training session. We arrived at the stadium called, Esport Club Granollers located in Girona. The pitch is situated right in the middle of a busy city (much like our field at home!). It was surrounded by tall buildings and apartments. At the stadium we met our coach for the day, Pere Garcia. We had a 2 hour training session and focused on the "spanish style" of soccer. Coach Garcia reminded us that we need to create width and depth when we are in possession and to play and think quickly. We wrapped up the training session with a fun contest to see who could hit the crossbar and for those that missed it was 20 pushups! Let's just say in round one everyone had to do pushups! Round two was a success with several people ringing it off the bar! From the stadium we headed back to the hotel for lunch and we are leaving in 20 minutes for some sightseeing before our match tonight at 8:30pm! GO SHARKS!

After lunch we headed to a castle in Hostalrich where the villagers used to take refuge when being attacked. From the lookout, someone would ring a warning bell that would alert the villagers to head toward the castle at the top of the hill for safety.

From the castle we boarded the bus and headed toward an outlet shopping mall! We spent an hour walking around the shops, getting coffee and spending EUROS! Finally it was time to travel to the stadium.

We kicked off at 8:30pm against La Roca Women. We looked strong and confident as we came out with speed and aggressiveness. We headed into the halftime with an even score at 0-0. Simmons would strike first as Justine Beauchamp collected the ball just outside of the penalty area. She cut to her left and finished the ball in the lower left corner to put the Sharks up 1-0. Goalkeeper, Ashley Wheeler had two game changing saves to keep the Sharks alive. La Roca answered back with 20 minutes to go in the match to tie the score at 1-1 and this is how the match would end.

We are off to bed to rest up for another early start. Hasta Mañana!

DAY 3 - After spending a half day touring Barcelona, we had a few hours off to rest before our second match. We played at Lloret Stadium this evening against El Lloret Women. Our team dominated the first half with multiple shots hitting the crossbar. At halftime it was 0-0. Wellie Antonellis put the Lloret women under bought pressure and forced them to give us a throw in deep in our attacking third. Wellie there the ball in to Justine Beauchamp. Justine pulled a move on the opponent's defender and served a driven ball across the face of the goal where Ally Ayotte came streaking in to shove the ball in the back of the net! The Sharks maintained a 1-0 until about 10 minutes left when the Lloret women served a ball diagonally over our backline to a speedy front runner who took on Ashley Wheeler one on one. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. Following the match, we walked to a local pizzeria for dinner and we watched some Champions League soccer on tv with the locals.

DAY 4 - We headed north of Lloret to a coastal town known as Tossa de Mar. The bus winded its way up another hill where we then walked through the shops and eventually landed at the beach below a castle and a lighthouse. The views were breathtaking and the team used the scenery for MANY photo opportunities. I think we may have a few aspiring models/photographers in the group. At the top of the hill there is a statue of Ava Gardner, who was a famous actress and girlfriend of Frank Sinatra. She also had a reputation for her infidelity and eventually her and Sinatra called it quicks. We winded our way back through the town before enjoying a cold drink beachside. Some of the girls stopped by the local pastry shop for something sweet. On our way back to Lloret, we stopped at the botanical gardens and took in more incredible views from the top of the hill. There were statues, greenery and water fountains which made for some more photo opportunities.

Tonight we headed to Barcelona to watch the FC Barcelona take on Bayer Leverkusen. This was a quarterfinal match in the UEFA Champions League and possibly a once in a lifetime opportunity as our seats were 5 rows from the pitch! Messi (#10), currently known as the best player in the world, scored 5 goals including 3 in the goals right in front of us!! Tello added 2 goals on our end which put Barca up 7-0. Our tour guide, Clive, told us this was the most goals he has ever seen in a Champions League match in his 30 years of watching Barcelona play. For all the astonishing feats in his young career, Lionel Messi had never scored five goals in a professional game. And no one had ever scored five times in a Champions League match. Our team witnessed history at Camp Nou.

DAY 5 - This morning we headed to the vineyard of Codorniu, where cava was first produced. Cava is the Spanish word for champagne that came about when France started suing everyone that was producing the beverage and calling it by the French name. Cava is produced by the same methods as in France. We toured the cellars and saw how they first made cava in 1782. It was all a manual process back then and they produced it bottle by bottle. Nowadays the machinery and technology allows them to work with 840 bottles per pallet. they produce 50 million bottles a season! We rode an electric car through the cellar and tasted two types of cava. one was made with chardonnay and the other with pinot noir.

After visiting the vineyard, our group headed to Montserrat (translated asserrated mountain). This mountain is made of limestone and sandstone and is known for housing the Benedictine monks. After the civil war, it was the only place that the Catalan language was allowed to be spoken. The monks have taken a vow of poverty and work printing books and religious papers. they have no worldly possessions.

DAY 7 - This morning we started our day with a tour of Camp Nou, home of FC Barcelona. We were able to walk through the museum, read about the history of the club and get a closer look inside the team's operations. We had access to the dressing room (or locker room as we call it at home) and the media room. We saw all of the trophies won by the club including the World Cup trophy from South Africa in 2010. A fun fact we learned was that all of Spain's 8 goals in the World Cup tournament were scored by players from FC Barcelona. Of course we ended up in the gift shop and then boarded the bus to head into the city.

Once in the city, the bus left us in front of the Hard Rock Cafe and we all split up into smaller groups to walk around and sightsee. A few of us took the metro system back to the Sagrada Familia for a chance to tour the inside. The cathedral was even more stunning than when we saw it from the outside. The team strolled up and down Las Ramblas and stopped at the fresh market for a look into where the locals might buy their produce, meats and fish. There were some interesting options to say the least. The street vendors and local shops were very happy to see all the tourists ready to spend money!

Tonight's match was a well fought battle between our teamand the prestigious, Espanyol. We played in Mataro and had a big crowd of the local club teams watching us. The children were cheering "Go Simmons" and the
manager of Espanyol was very gracious towards our team. We had three officials from the Spanish Federation controlling the match. The opponent had 2 players that were very fast and play for the Catalan semi-professional team. Kerianne Acheson served a nice ball across the field from left to right that found Carolyn Berndt waiting inside the penalty area. Berndt stayed composed and scored a great goal to get us on the board. While we dropped the match to
Espanyol, it was surely an experience that our team will never forget.

After the match, the locals cooked us an "authentic barbecue" and served us a buffet style dinner right at the field.

 

March 05 2012

Last weekend Premier International Tours brought a group of soccer coaches from the USA and Canada to The Netherlands to attend the 1st Ajax Coaches Symposium. The program included various classroom sessions about the Ajax way of playing the game, visits to training sessions and games from both the first team and the various youth teams. We have included some pictures from this event. We are planning another Ajax Coaches Symposium the last weekend of February or the first weekend of March 2013. Visit the “International Coaches Education” section of our website for more information.

March 05 2012

Last weekend Premier International Tours took a group of coaches and managers to Amsterdam. This trip included visit to the Ajax Youth Academy, the Amsterdam Arena, the Dutch Soccer Federation, a pro youth game with Ajax U19 and AZ Alkmaar U19 as well as two pro games between AZ Alkmaar vs. Heracles and Ajax vs. Roda JC. Premier International Tours offers this trip each year to the coach or manager from teams who book an international tour with Premier International Tours.

March 01 2012

The US Club Soccer U13 Boys National id2 Selection team has returned home from their 10 day incredible soccer adventure to Spain, organized by Premier International Tours, official International Tour Partner of US Club Soccer. The team made stops in Barcelona and Madrid and played 5 games against top Spanish teams, highlighted by a monumental victory over FC Barcelona by a score of 3-1!! The team also played a great match against Atletico Madrid while in Madrid and put up a battle in a 1-2 loss to Atletico Madrid.

Highlights of the tour, outside of playing great competition, included visits to 2 pro games featuring FC Barcelona, touring FC Barcelona’s Nou Camp stadium as well as visiting major sights while in Barcelona and Madrid. Premier International Tours is proud to have been a part of the organization of this tour, and is particularly proud to help in the development of youth soccer in the U.S. as this tour consisted of top players in the U13 age group from the U.S. who are all aspiring professional soccer players. We hope their experiences on this tour, both on and off the field, will be used as a launching pad for future professional careers for some of these players and we hope it helped them grow as individuals as well.

Click here to see a video recap of the tour.

February 27 2012

Premier International Tours is proud to announce a partnership with the legendary European club AFC Ajax. Our goal is to bring coaches from the U.S. and Canada to the 2012 Ajax International Coaches Convention which will take place February 29 through March 5, 2012. Coaches from all over the world will gather to learn from the historic AFC Ajax club. The Ajax soccer style is: dominant, fast, technical, attacking, and exciting, preferably on the opponent’s half. Many stars from the Ajax Youth Academy like Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten, Frank Rijkaard, and Dennis Bergkamp have had an impact on Dutch soccer, not only as a player but also as trainer/coach. Coaches attending the convention will have the opportunity to see the first team as well as youth teams from Ajax train and play at the Ajax facilities. The course will include classroom sessions where coaches will be able to closely interact with the official Ajax coaching staff. This convention will allow for a truly educational soccer experience that will give these coaches an inside look at Ajax coaching philosophies and player development techniques..

For more information, and how you can register for one of these clinics check out the “International Coaches Education” section of our website where you can find clinics for not only AFC Ajax, but for Celtic FC and the Royal Netherlands Soccer Federation (KNVB).

February 23 2012

The 2012 Celtic International Coaches Convention will take place February 23-26, 2012. Premier International Tours is proud to facilitate the travel, accommodation and participation in this convention of coaches from the U.S. and Canada. Coaches from all over the world will gather to learn from the historic Celtic FC, established in 1887.

 Coaches will have the opportunity to see the first team as well as youth teams from Celtic train and play at the Celtic facilities and the course will include classroom sessions as well where coaches will be able to closely interact with the official Celtic FC coaching staff. The convention will allow for a truly educational soccer experience that will give these coaches an inside look at Celtic FC coaching philosophies and player developmental techniques.

For more information, and how you can register for one of these clinics check out our soccer clinics section of the website where you can find clinics for not only Celtic FC, but for AJAX Youth Academy and the Royal Netherlands Soccer Federation (KNVB) Soccer Clinic.

February 10 2012

Premier International Tours, official International Tour Partner of US Club Soccer, is organizing the US Club Soccer 1998 id2 National Selection team’s trip to Spain February 17-27, 2012. While in Spain the team will face FC Barcelona and Atlético Madrid, as well as a combined match against RCD Espanyol and UE Cornellà. The squad will face four opponents while overseas in addition to conducting training sessions and experiencing the day-to-day culture of some of the world’s most well-known professional clubs. The players will have the opportunity to see some of Spain’s largest cities, including Barcelona and Madrid. Premier International Tours is proud to be the organizing travel partner of US Club Soccer for this amazing trip! For updates on the trip and to see results from their matches against these top well-known Spanish clubs, follow Premier International Tours by “Liking” us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Premier-International-Tours/90708059231

February 10 2012

We just drew the winner of our first ever FB giveaway!! check out the video to see if YOU won a free pair of Nike shoes!! Remember we will do another free nike shoe giveaway in 3 months, GOOD LUCK!! The winner of our first ever contest is Jeanne Thomas. We will contact Jeanne within the next few days to get her size and color preference and send her new Nikes out ASAP!!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTJTig-6rDo

February 09 2012

Premier international Tours is proud to announce a partnership between the Dallas Texans organizer of the Dallas International Girls Cup and the Dana Cup-Fortuna Hjørring. Both organizations are partners of Premier International Tours and we are proud that we have been able to help in arranging this relationship. More information click here.

February 02 2012

PIT IS GIVING AWAY A FREE PAIR OF NIKES FOR OUR FIRST EVER FACEBOOK COMPETITION!!!

On February 10th, 2012 Premier International Tours will be giving away a free pair of NIKE running shoes. We will put together a lottery which consists of all the people who "LIKE US" on FACEBOOK. That's it!!! No strings attached!!! We will draw a random ticket out of a soccer ball that will be filled with the names of all the people who follow us on FACEBOOK. We will make sure to post a live video of the drawing that day so you can find out if you're the lucky winner! We will contact the winner by email or phone and send that person his or her new pair of NIKES. LIKE US on FACEBOOK to enter your name in our exciting competitions. Tell your friends, family and team mates to LIKE US on FACEBOOK to make sure they're included in the next exciting competition. PIT will have 4 competitions each year where we will be giving away free NIKE stuff to those who LIKE US on FACEBOOK, so GOOD LUCK!!

 

January 23 2012

Day 7 - Today we had a free day in Amsterdam where we had most of the day to explore and visit museums, while later that night both the boys and girls team had games against local Dutch teams. A few of us went to the Heineken Museum where we learned all about how Heineken beers are made and processed and how each beer is bottled to perfection. Next we caught the tram back to airport then a bus to head back to the hotel. We got ready to leave for the games at about 4:30 pm. We bundled up while watching the boys play, who unfortunately lost, but not to worry, the girls made up for it when we played, winning 4-2. It was a cold but great night and our first experience as teams against European teams. Looking forward for more great days to come. -Dana Sprague
 

Day 11 - The morning began with a late wake-up! Professor Foss graced everyone with an extra hour of sleep. After breakfast, we jumped on the bus and traveled to Speyer. A quaint little city, with lots of shops for everyone to stop in. The highlight was seeing a church that had survived since around 1061. The cool thing, aside from being 951 years old, was that there was a crypt in the basement that was the burial place for numerous Kings and Emperors. The night was full of excitement as everyone traveled to watch the Kaiserslautern vs. Verder Bremen, teams in the top division of the Bundesliga. Although it was a nil-nil draw, there were plenty of excitement with numerous scoring chances and big time saves by the goalkeepers. What an awesome experience! Good Vibes -Stephen Buchholz
 
Day 12 - Today we visited Heidelberg. We had some free time earlier on in the day to explore the town where many of us took the opportunity to see some of the very old, and some not so old cathedrals. At the center of the town was a large clock tower which used to be a part of the city walls. Also we had lunch in town and we were able to try some more of the great local food. A group of us ate at Youffa's. Our small group that went ended up eating a wrap filled with lamb, lettuce, red cabbage, onions, tomatoes, and a special sauce. The main event of the day was the time we spent at the castle of Heidelberg. The castle was home of one of the biggest political powers in all of Germany for a long period of time. We began our journey to the castle by traveling up the mountain by gondola. From there we were given a guided tour through the castle ruins. We learned exactly how unsanitary places like the castle really were during the middle ages. To give an idea of just how unsanitary the castle was in a corner of one of the rooms there was a place to through up just so one could keep eating. As well as eating, the German inhabitants really liked to drink as well. They liked to drink so much that the castle is home to the largest barrel of wine in the world. The barrel can hold 60,000 gallons of wine! they also had another barrel that can hold 12,000 gallons. Another great day in Germany. -Andrew Cripe

Day 13 - Today we visited the German Football Headquarters and learned a bit of history about German soccer: when it began, and the advances the Germans have made in the world's most popular sport. We toured the building with its walls lined with pictures and trophies of past world cups. We also went to the Myzeil shopping center and meandered through the stores. We finished the day watching the boys play SV Sandhausen, a team in the second division. The boys played a great game and it as a fun way to end the trip. -Emily White

January 18 2012

Day 5 - Today we went to downtown Amsterdamto tour for the morning. We went our own ways and most of us started out at museums. About half the group left at noon to travel to Rotterdam to watch a
soccer game, Sparta Rotterdam vs FC Zwolle. It was a great game to watch. There were a lot of cards given, the goalie was red carded for touching the ball out of the box and sent off, and the first goal by Sparta was a penalty kick in the box. The home team ended up winning 2-0. It was a great experience! - Lindsay Thomas

Day 6 - Today we had a free day in Amsterdam to explore the city. We walked around the city and learned how to ride the trams, a form of public transportation. We visited the flower market and the Heineken Experience. It was an awesome tour and a highlight of the trip! -Andi

 

January 16 2012

Saturday, January 14, Paul Payne, President of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), conducted the draw for the 2011 Premier International Tours Raffle, which was held at the 2012 NSCAA Convention in Kansas City. Julie from Guelph Ontario, Canada was the lucky winner (the first ever winner of the draw from Canada), and Julie won 2 airline tickets to either London or Paris! Julie bought raffle tickets for the Warriors S.C. who traveled with Premier International Tours to Brazil.

Premier International Tours offers this raffle to all soccer travel teams traveling on a Premier International Tours organized international soccer tour. In 2011 approx. 60,000 raffle tickets were printed generating $300,000 in sales, of which 100% of these proceeds goes to the teams who participate in our International tournaments and/or international travel.

For pictures and more information, please visit our Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Premier-International-Tours/90708059231 

 

 

January 15 2012

December 02 2011

Premier International Tours is proud to announce an unprecedented new partnership with the AVB – Arubaanse Voetbal Bond (Aruban Soccer Federation) in Aruba offering teams this unique Caribbean experience.

Shawnna Relke – Premier International Tours Canadian Representative - recently returned from an inspection of the AVB facilities, stadium, island-sightseeing and hotel options. Aruba’s perfect weather, hospitable people, world-renowned beaches and sights were the most compelling factors to draw visitors to this island ... now add soccer in cooperation with the AVB to that list.

Must – sees of this Caribbean gem is the Natural Pool, Baby Beach and the private Palm Island where snorkeling is incredible in its peaceful waters. Your choices are varied as the island itself – not to be missed is the Arikok National Park with its hidden treasures, California Lighthouse, Alto Vista Chapel, Ayo Rock Formations and Bushiribana Ruins.

The soccer location is truly ideal. The stadium, field and sleeping quarters are all in one location, at the Aruban Soccer Federation Headquaters - the ultimate way to prepare your team for the next season. One week tours will be available for approx. $ 1,300.00 all inclusive.

Premier International Tours is excited to offer this NEW destination.

 

 

October 18 2011

 

Wayne Rooney became the highest English scorer in the Champions League today, as Manchester United won  2-0 against Romanian Group C minnows Otelul Galati.

Want to learn to play like Wayne Rooney and Manchester United? Premier International Tours has a long standing relationship with Manchester United Soccer Schools, which enables teams from the U.S. and Canada to train with Manchester United Soccer Schools coaches. Check out this exciting NEW video, and contact our staff now to begin your premium soccer adventure that promises to exceed your expectations!

Make sure to "like" us on facebook by clicking here to view more videos and pictures of all the soccer adventures  Premier International Tours has to offer.

October 10 2011

Premier International Tours has partnered with the top youth soccer club in the U.S., the Dallas Texans, to once again organize the Dallas International Girls Cup youth soccer tournament during Easter of 2012. The Dallas International Girls Cup is the top international girls youth soccer tournament in the U.S. and will feature 100 teams from over 10 different countries for 2012. Check out the promotional video of the tournament by clicking here now.

For more information about the tournament please click here to visit tournament website

 

September 06 2011

This past July Premier International Tours organized a tour for the Empire United S.A. U17 girls team from the Rochester, New York area to the Barcelona area in Spain. While in Spain the team played friendly games against local high level Spanish girls clubs from the Barcelona area. The Spanish teams hosted a social the girls after the games so the Empire United girls were able to socialize with the Spanish girls and learn more about their culture. Next to the games, the team also had the opportunity to take in the sights of Barcelona including Las Ramblas, La Sagrada Familia and the Nou Camp stadium, home to FC Barcelona, which was a highlight of the tour. Upon returning from the trip, Judy Zornow, the team manager said “The group returned early this morning and I wanted to let you know that everyone had an incredible time! They adored Clive and he did a great job.  All comments were extremely positive, including one of the adults saying the trip was ‘flawless’.  Thank you for putting together such a great trip and great experience for the girls!”

To visit us on facebook click here.

August 29 2011

After booking their trip with Premier International Tours Bryst kicked off their first game in Holland on Tuesday, August 23 with a 3-3 tie with FC Ijsselstein.

Bryst went up 3-0 in the first half on two goals by Alex Dacosta and a single goal by captain, Luca DiGiuseppantonio. In the second half, the hosts came on to score 3 goals in the second half, with the tying goal scored in the final minute of play. A great start for the Bryst team.

Bryst FA played their third and final game on Saturday against FC Schoten (Haarlem). The first half was played to a 0-0 tie. Alex DaCosta and Luca DiGiuseppantonio had several opportunities to score.The second half saw a goal by Geoff Borda to put Bryst up 1-0 on a close in shot. Schoten came back with a goal from a penalty kick and then went ahead with the winning goal near the end of game with a hard shot and rebound to finish. Bryst had a penalty kick by Luca DiGiuseppantonio saved by the Schoten goalkeeper. Bryst dominated most of the game but could not come away with a final win.

Visit us on facebook by clicking here.

August 24 2011

"The quality in this tournament is amazing. Exciting, tense, elated and proud!” just a few words that the BC Force boys team out of Boulder Colorado used to describe their experience at both the Copa Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain and the Gothia Cup in Gothenburg, Sweden. At the Copa Catalunya tournament the boys competed against some world class talent defeating teams from Sweden and Germany and coming up just short in some highly contested matches against French and Hungarian teams. Next the team ventured to Sweden to participate in the Olympic style opening ceremonies of the Gothia Cup. The boys continued their success winning their first three matches before ultimately losing to Tyresö FF, a talented Swedish club. The group did a lot o sightseeing at both locations as well highlighted by a visit to the Nou Camp stadium, home of FC Barcelona. The team returned home with confidence after a once in a lifetime experience filled with some newfound friendships, and a now, firmly cemented bond between teammates. Micheal Center, manager of the team summarized this sentiment by concluding “They have made many friends, from the German boy’s team that taught them a very slick warm-up, to the American and French teams at the hotel. It is amazing how fast they form friendships and connect to these other kids, even when they don't speak the language.”

To see photos, videos and BC Force player and parent comments click here.

 To visit our Facebook page click here.

August 23 2011

The Bryst Football Academy boys' team from Ontario, Canada is in Amsterdam, Holland from August 21-29 to compete against Dutch Club Youth Academy Teams in the Amsterdam area. Three games are planned against Dutch opposition over the eight days. The team will also have an opportunity to see a professional game in the Amsterdam Arena between Ajax FC and Vitesse Arnheim FC. The team and staff will also have an opportunity to observe the first team and youth teams of Ajax FC training at their practice facility at De Toekomst (picture). The rest of the trip will include cultural tours in and around the Amsterdam area. Good luck to the team.

For more information on Bryst Football Academy click here.

Visit our facebook page by clicking here.

August 18 2011

The University of Rochester Women’s Soccer team has partnered with Premier International Tours to organize their recent tour to Greece. The team initially flew into Athens where, in between training sessions, they took in the exciting sights and sounds of the Athens flea market of as well as the cultural marvel that is the Acropolis. The team also had the unique experience of taking in an international professional soccer game between Greece's AEK and Spain's Getafe in the 2004 Olympic Stadium! The team was even able to secure VIP tickets to visit the locker rooms, take pictures with the pro teams, and even be shown on the stadium’s jumbotron. After getting an in-depth look at two professional teams the Yellow Jackets took to the field for two matches against the Greek Women’s National Team!! Both matches were highly contested back and forth battles, but unfortunately the team camp up just short losing both matches by a score of 0 -1. After the match the President of the Hellenic (Greek) Women's Football Federation addressed the team, conveying his appreciation for travelling to their country, playing two strong matches, and wishing the team continued success in their academic and athletic pursuits.

 For more information on our college tours visit the college soccer section of our website by clicking here.

 For a detailed diary of the U. of Rochester women’s tour click here:

View photos, videos and much more on our facebook page by clicking here.

August 17 2011

 The RSF Attack U17 Girls team from Southern California, proudly represented the USA, attending the Gothia Cup’s Olympic style opening ceremony enthusiastically waving American flags. It was an awe inspiring event which primed the girls for the upcoming matches.  

The following days of group play brought some tough competition from a draw of three Swedish teams hailing from Hällby/Kvicksund, Ljungby and Stockholm. Under the superb coaching of Nate Heatherington, the girls focused and played well, ending the initial round with a record of 1-1-1, posting a 3-0 win against Hallby and a 0-0 tie with Ljungby. Their only loss (1-3) was a valiant effort against the very strong Hammerby IF DFF team out of Stockholm. Their record earned a second place spot within the group and an opportunity to move into the top bracket for the playoffs.

During the playoffs versus a fourth Swedish opponent (Vadstena GoIF), the Attack team displayed a “never give up” attitude, fighting back from a halftime 0-3 deficit to bring the score to 2-3 within minutes of the second half ending. Despite the disappointment of their loss, the girls were very proud of their accomplishments, and were appreciative to have learned so much. They made friends both on and off the field, and took with them an experience that will last a lifetime.

For more information on the Gothia Cup and Premier International Tours' services please click here.

Visit our facebook page by clicking here.

August 16 2011

The FC Fredrick U18 boys team, from the Frederick, Maryland area, have returned from their trip to London. From Welsh Castles to the Westminster Abbey, the team took full advantage of all the sightseeing opportunities available to them. The group was also afforded the unforgettable experience of visiting Emirates Stadium – where they watched two matches. Paris Saint-Germain defeated BOCA Juniors 3 to 0 and the New York Red Bulls tied Arsenal to win the Emirates Cup. A sellout crowd of 60,011 turned out to see the some of the world’s best soccer players.

The team also had the unique opportunity to test their skills against some elite competition in the greater London area. FC Fredrick faced off against a team from Watford and by all accounts the match was fast paced, highly contested and hard fought. The game ended in a tie after the FC Fredrick boys came back twice from a one goal deficit. The boys continued to improve throughout each of their matches and can now return to the U.S. with some enhanced skills and a newfound confidence.

For more detailed information and pictures click here.

August 11 2011

After partnering with Premier International Tours ECNL’s international tour against some of London’s top competition will be covered by ESPN RISE!

The girls of ECNL’s U19 and U17 teams have shown consistently stellar performances that have caught the attention of the world largest sports network, ESPN. This week, 17 of the top girls' soccer players in the country represent the ECNL and the United States in the 2011 ECNL/id2 International Tour in London, where they'll compete against three English clubs. The team of all-stars departed for England on Monday, and will spend the week in London training, competing, and learning in the British culture. The ECNL squad will compete in three matches:
Wednesday, August 10: ECNL vs. Bristol U17
Thursday, August 11: ECNL vs. Chelsea U19
Sunday, August 14: ECNL vs. Aston Villa U17

To read ESPN RISE’s breakdown of the upcoming matchups click here.

August 09 2011

Premier International Tours partnered with Team Elmhurst Soccer Club to organize a Dutch Soccer Federation (KNVB) team camp for the club’s U12/13 boys and girls teams at the club’s facilities in Elmhurst, Illinois July 25-29, 2011.

Premier International Tours, representative of the KNVB Academy in North America, flew in KNVB Coach Hans Schrijner from The Netherlands to coach at the camp. Hans is licensed at the highest level within the KNVB and Hans worked with the Team Elmurst SC players and coaches during the week-long camp in sharing the “Dutch Vision” of player and team development.

Karsten Roy, Director of Coaching for Team Elmhurst Soccer Club, said “.  As TESC coaches who were able to watch and participate during the week we all were extremely pleased with Coach Hans and the KVNB (Dutch Way) curriculum.  The players and coaches had a chance to really learn alot from the sessions and coming from the curriculum of the # 2 ranked soccer country in the world.  It was lots of soccer throughout the week with many sessions, discussions and learning the DUTCH Way in small sided games/activities.”

To view pictures from this KNVB camp please visit the Premier International Tours Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Premier-International-Tours/90708059231.

For more information on brining a KNVB coach to your club for a camp, visit the KNVB section of our website at: http://www.premierinternationaltours.com/soccer/knvb-programs.

August 03 2011

The Brampton East Red Devils under-14 boys’ team recently returned home from Spain where they competed in the Copa Catalunya tournament in Blanes, Spain (about 35 miles outside of Barcelona). After completing a seven game undefeated streak the Brampton Red Devils found themselves in the finals set to face Sportowa Akademia of Poland. The two teams were very familiar with one another having faced off earlier in the tournament with the result being a 1 – 1 draw. It was no surprise then that the championship game was closely contested as well, and the game had to be decided by penalty kicks. Unfortunately, the team came up just shy of winning the match as they were outscored 4-2. However, the team took a giant leap forward and they certainly made their mark on the Copa Catalunya tournament.

Head coach Jose Palomina initially set the goal for the team to get out of its preliminary pool. Not only did the Devils do that, but they nearly took home a championship. “Everyone was impressed with the team, with their professionalism,” he said. Palomina also shared that the team’s focus has not solely been placed on winning but on the development of the team’s skills and cohesiveness. “Our goal has always been the development of the players, to teach them how to play the game properly,” he said, a lesson that has been firmly proven worthwhile during their trip to Spain. Palomina said the team decided to enter the tournament in Spain because Spain won the last World Cup and many of the players are fans of FC Barcelona and Messi. During the team’s leisure time away from the tournament the team took a trip to Barcelona, where the players had the unique opportunity to tour the city and even visit the Nou Camp, FC Barcelona’s stadium.

Please click on the following link for an article that was written and published in the local paper about the team’s trip:

http://www.bramptonguardian.com/sports/article/1048959--under-14-devils-impress-in-spain

 

July 28 2011

The U15 Girls Carmel Valley Manchester Academy team from Southern California has returned home from the Gothia Cup where they made it to the Quarter Finals of the tournament. The Carmel Valley Manchester Academy teams was the  Champion of the Nike Manchester United Premier Cup U.S. Finals and earned an all-expense paid trip to the Gothia Cup where they competed against the top girls teams from around the world. After going undefeated in group play with a goal differential of 19 goals for and 0 against, the team advanced to the Quarter Finals of the tournament where they lost a heart breaking match by one goal.

Following are comments from the head coach, Felicia Kappes, while at the Gothia Cup:

"It is amazing to be traveling with fellow "futbol" teams and the local people. We are playing at the "Heden Center" which is located by where the Opening Ceremonies were located.  This is where everything happens and all the thousands of teams come to congregate and interact.  The game themselves are being televised in 12 different countries!  Along the way we have picked up many fans who are now traveling to watch my girls play.  One fan from England told me people are talking about us, and made my stomach go into knots.  He said 'but don't tell your girls' and I said 'I would never, I am having a hard time from keeping them talking to all the boys who are now showing up at our games!'.   

 

July 19 2011

The American Soccer Academy, a U16 boys team from Maryland and Virginia, recently returned from a tour to Italy, June 30-July 9 where they went to the Florence area first and then competed in the Italy Cup tournament in Cesenatico, Italy. After doing some sightseeing in the Florence and Montecatini areas in Italy, the team participated in the Italy Cup tournament where they had an overall record of 4-2 and finished 4th overall in the tournament!

For more information about team team's trip, including pictures, check out their website/blog here:

http://2011italycupunited.blogspot.com/

 

July 07 2011

Premier International Tours has partnered with the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) to organize the 2011 ECNL/id2 International Tour, August 8-15, 2011 in London, England. The 2011 ECNL/id2 International Tour will include games against top European Clubs, including Arsenal and Fulham, and training sessions at some of the top youth academies in the world.

The ECNL is the top youth soccer league in the nation for elite girls clubs across the U.S. Premier International Tours is proud and honored to a partner with the ECNL and we look forward to hearing about their trip!

For more information on the tour and ECNL, click on the following link:

http://www.eliteclubsnationalleague.com/home/538004.html

 

June 16 2011

Premier International Tours is happy to announce that we have added a new team member to our staff at the headquarter office in Colorado. Premier International Tours would like to welcome Tyler Joyce to the team! Tyler started working out of the main office June 7, 2011.

Tyler attended the University of Montana where he was a college football standout and received his bachelor's degree in journalism. He is currently pursuing his master's in business with an emphasis in sports and entertainment management. Tyler has vast experience in athletics as a player, coach, promoter and journalist and is looking to apply those skills to add to Premier International Tours continued success. We are extremely excited to have Tyler as part of the team and will look for big things from Tyler in the future!

 

June 09 2011

Premier International Tours, in partnership with Nike, organized the 2011 Manchester United Premier Cup U.S. Finals which took place at Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, OR May 26-30, 2011. The Manchester United Premier Cup is the most prestigious tournament in the U.S. in the U14/15 age group.

The top 20 U14/15 girls and boys teams from all over the U.S. (20 teams per gender selected out of over 100 applicants) competed in the tournament. On the boy's side, Cosmos Academy West from Southern California defeated PDA from New Jersey in the final. On the girl's side, the final featured two Southern California teams where Carmel Valley Manchester Academy defeated Arsenal FC. Both the girls and boys finals were decided by penalty kicks in two highly competitive and entertaining games.

Cosmos Academy West will advance to the Manchester United Premier Cup World Finals which will take place in early August at the home of Manchester United in England! There they will compete against top teams from all over the world including Manchester United, Chelsea FC, Valencia CF (Spain), Hannover 96 (Germany), Fenerbache (Turkey) and other teams, for the title of Manchester United Premier Cup World Champion!

The Carmel Valley Manchester Academy team will go on to play in the Gothia Cup in Gothenburg, Sweden July 17-23, 2011. There, they will compete against top girl's teams from all over the world in the U15 division of the Gothia Cup. The Gothia Cup is the most competitive girl's tournament in the world, attracting over 1,500 teams from all over the globe!

Nike will sponsor the trips for both teams overseas and will outfit the winning teams as well. Congratulations to both teams on this achievement, and we wish both teams the best of luck at the World Finals and at the Gothia Cup!

Thanks to Nike for all their hard work on the tournament and for involving us in the organization of such a prestigious event!

For more information about the tournament including results/scores, please visit the tournament website at:

http://www.premierinternationaltours.com/soccer/manchester-united-premier-cup

May 03 2011

The Gothia Cup app is now available for iPhone and Android. With the Gothia Cup app you can keep yourself updated by viewing the latest news and clips from the tournament. You will also have access to the entire match schedule on the palm of your hand, live scores, results, fixtures and tables and much more.
Download the iPhone app here.
Download the Android app here.

April 28 2011

Premier International Tours partnered with the Dallas Texans Soccer Club to organize the first edition of the Dallas International Girls Cup, which took place April 19-24, 2011 in Texas in the Farmers Branch area in Dallas.

 The tournament is the best international girl's tournament in the U.S. featuring top teams in the U14-U19 age categories from 6 different countries from around the world, including countries like Denmark, Norway, Spain, England, Canada and the U.S. Teams played a minimum of 4 games over 4 days, concluding with the final matches on Sunday, April 24, with some very closely contested and exciting final matches which were a fitting end to a spectacular tournament. Eclipse Select Soccer Club from Chicago, IL had 4 teams in the finals and went on to win 3 of the 5 age divisions. The host club, Dallas Texans Soccer Club had 3 teams in the final matches. Other top level clubs that had a team in the final included Solar Soccer Club from Dallas, TX, FC Dallas Premier from Dallas, TX and Colorado Rush from Lakewood, CO. Ballerup-Skovelund Fodbold from Denmark finished the best of all the foreign teams by reaching the semi-finals in the U16 division.

• An international opening ceremony on April 19 which included pictures of all the teams, national anthems of all nations represented in the tournament players from each country represented gave an "oath of fair play" in their own language.
• All tournament participants visited the women's college soccer match between SMU and Oklahoma University on April 21, where SMU won an exciting match on a last minute goal!
• On April 22 during the tournament the participants were treated to a visit by a real Texan longhorn!
• All the coaches and team managers of the teams were invited to a reception especially for them on the evening of April 22 with drinks, food and a live mariachi band!
• On Saturday, April 22 we had a live country band perform at the fields and participating teams learned how to line dance and showed off their line dancing skills dancing to the band!
• Our tournament sponsors, including Nike, The Soccer Corner, Marshall's BBQ, Jimmy Johns, Farmers Branch CVB and CaptainU all shared their information and products at the tournament fields throughout the week.

 We'd like to thank our sponsors for being a part of and supporting this event and sharing their information and services with all participants.

 And last, but certainly not least, we'd especially like to give a HUGE thanks to the Dallas Texans Soccer Club and its staff and team managers for all of their help and hospitality during the tournament, and making this an experience the teams won't soon forget!

 To view photo's from this event as well as a detailed report please visit the Premier International Tours Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Premier-International-Tours/90708059231  and click "Like" to add this page to your "Liked" pages.

For more information on the tournament, including results and participating teams, please visit the tournament website at http://www.premierinternationaltours.com/soccer/dallas-international-girls-cup.

April 08 2011

Kick off of the 1st ever Dallas International Girls Cup April 19-24 is right around the corner! Premier International Tours has partnered with the Dallas Texans Soccer Club to organize this tournament.

Here are some facts to illustrate the success of the first edition of this unique event:
-       60+ teams will participate– all teams consist of girls 14-19 years old
-       Teams from Spain, Canada, the USA, Denmark, Norway and England will participate at this tournament
-       50+ college coaches will attend to scout players
-       More than 100 referees will referee the games. The U.S. and international referees will be of the highest level
-       The tournament has partnered with Farmers Branch Convention and Visitors Bureau, NIKE, Jimmy John's, Advocare, CaptainU, Marshall's and the Soccer Corner
 
Dallas International Girls Cup Tournament Program:
April 19   Opening Ceremony at SMU McFarlin Auditorium for all teams and guests - 8:00PM. Special guest is Lori Walker, head coach of Ohio State (College Cup Final Four in 2010).
April 20   First round tournament games at Ross Stewart Soccer Complex.
April 21   Continuation of the tournament. Evening visit women's college soccer game between SMU and Oklahoma University at SMU Stadium - kick off 8:00PM.
April 22   Continuation of the tournament as well as vendor fair at Ross Stewart Soccer Complex with surprise guest. Evening Coaches and Team Managers reception at the Holiday Inn Select North Dallas by invite only - 8:30PM.
April 23   Continuation of the tournament as well as vendor fair at Ross Stewart Soccer Complex. Social Lunch Hour at Noon with music for all participants at Ross Stewart.
April 24   Finals and friendly games and vendor fair.
 
For more information, please check out our website at: http://www.premierinternationaltours.com/soccer/dallas-international-girls-cup

March 21 2011

Thursday March 24 Premier International Tours will be moving its offices to the Cherry Creek North District. This district is a charming 16 block outdoor shopping and dining neighborhood that is home to galleries, offices, boutiques, restaurants and more. Cherry Creek North is located only five minutes from downtown Denver.

Our new address will be 288 Clayton Street - Suite 305 - Denver, CO 80206

If you would like to check out the outside of our offices, please visit Google Maps at http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=nl  and enter the following address ” 2710 East 3rd Avenue, Denver, CO”. Our offices will be on the 3^rd floor above Super Cuts. Feel free to stop by whenever you are in our area. Lunch, dinner or a Starbucks coffee is only minutes away.

March 14 2011

The Northern State University Wolves women's soccer team returned home Sunday, March 13. A delegation of 25 people participated in this international soccer tour to England, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. They tied their game in England but lost vs. their Dutch opponent. In England they visited the Fulham FC vs. Blackburn Rovers game, and in Germany Premier International Tours included a visit to the pro game of FC Köln vs. Hannover 96 (4-0 win for the home team). The group has been planning this international soccer tour for more than a year and worked hard to make this wonderful soccer tour happen. In addition to all the soccer, Premier International Tours included a lot of sightseeing in London, Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Maastricht, Cologne and Antwerp. Of course shopping was one of the priorities as well. One of the players on the team commented “everyone was lucky enough to help support the local economies”!

For a day by day update about this international soccer tour you can visit the tour blog at http://nsusoccer.blogspot.com. For group tour pictures please visit our facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Premier-International-Tours/90708059231#!/album.php?aid=293739&id=90708059231.

We would like to thank coach Steve Kehm for putting this tour together.

 

 

March 11 2011

The Dana Cup shipped a container filled with sporting equipment to Haiti. In Port-au-Prince at the L’Athletique d’Haiti Sports School, the secretary Stephanie Pereira and leader Bobby Duval have started the preparations to hand out the much needed sports clothes. Check out the entire story at http://www.danacup.com/SportsclotheshavearrivedinHaiti/tabid/732/language/da-DK/Default.aspx

March 08 2011

The Northern State University Wolves women's soccer team is en route to the Netherlands after completing the first leg of their international soccer tour in London. In London they earned a 0-0 tie in their first game vs. Uxbridge FC. In addition to the game, they visited the Fulham FC vs. Blackburn Rovers game as well as all major London sights such as Wembley Stadium, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the Parliament, Westminster Abbey, etc. For a day by day update about this international soccer tour you can visit the tour blog at http://nsusoccer.blogspot.com/ 

March 06 2011

After claiming victories over teams from both the Celtic F.C. and Manchester City F.C. Academies, the 2011 id2 National Selection International Tour of Scotland and England came to a close Sunday as the squad of 18 male players born in 1997 and 1998 returned to the United States. The team finished the tour with a record of two wins and one loss, including a 3-1 victory over Celtic Academy on Feb. 21 and a 4-1 win over Manchester City Academy on Feb. 25. Premier International Tours I proud organizer of the annual international soccer tour of US Club Soccer’s id2 program. Check out the video clip of this tour at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sdYu13VR0k

March 06 2011

From February 24-28, 2011 the annual Premier International Tours FAM trip took place to Amsterdam. Coaches and team managers making an international soccer tour this year participated. Receptions at the KNVB and Ajax as well as 3 pro games were included. More information and pictures can be found at our Facebook page www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Premier-International-Tours/90708059231

March 06 2011

Last month the University of Alberta Panda's soccer team had a very successfull tour to Brazil. The tour included 3 games as well as training with official coaches of the CBF (Brazilian Soccer Federation). For a report of this international soccer tour visit the Panda's website at http://www.bears.ualberta.ca/en/Teams/PandasSoccer/Pandas%20Soccer%20News/2011/02/SoccerPandasrockininRio.aspx

February 23 2011

A former player who traveled shares her experience of the impact of an International Soccer Tour through Premier International Tours

One of the things we enjoy the most  as an international soccer tour operator, is to hear the stories of teams and players that have traveled, and how the tour had an impact on the players both on the soccer pitch as well as in the arena of personal development and growth. From time to time we like to share these experiences. Following is a personal story from Lisa Gebhard, a former player for IUPUI, and now assistant coach at IUPUI. Lisa and IUPUI traveled to England and Germany in 2008, and Lisa shares her experience from that tour and how that tour forever transformed her life. We thank Lisa for sharing her experience with us and allowing us to share her experience as well. Enjoy! 

"In May 2008, the end of my Senior year in college, IUPUI women's soccer team travelled through Premier International Tours. We went to both England and Germany and not only did some sightseeing and learned about and experienced different cultures, but we also played in several friendly matches. Although the athletic experiences and team bonding moments on these international tours are irreplaceable, I personally gained much more.

Before going on the trip I knew the experience would change my life in some small ways, but I never realized how much. I finally had the chance to travel to Europe (which I always wanted to do), experience the amazing atmosphere of an EPL game in the countries where my favorite sport is the most beloved sport, improve on my high school German, and of course have great memories.

In each country we travelled, we had a tour guide assigned to us who was native to the area. Near the end of the trip, after playing against FC Brauweiler in Germany, our tour guide asked me if I ever thought about playing overseas or had interest in playing competitively after college. My life has revolved around soccer since I was 5 years old. The idea of being done forever (I had already used all my eligibility in college) was really weighing on me, so I was intrigued by the idea of playing overseas and kept in contact with our tour guide for several weeks after the trip. He helped make the initial contact with several clubs. He set up try-outs for me with some of the top teams in the 1st Bundesliga and also found some teams in the 2nd Bundesliga that I could play for without trying out.

 After a lot of planning and debating, I ended up flying back to Germany 2 months after my initial trip (July 2008). I played semi-professionally for 2 seasons (2008-2010) in the 2nd Bundesliga (FC Guetersloh 2000/FSV Guetersloh 2009). It was a tough transition (culture/language/playing style) in the beginning but in the end it was the best and most personally enriching experience of my life. Because of our trip and Premier International Tours, I had this amazing and unforgettable opportunity. I just moved back to the States this past summer, and now I am assistant coaching for IUPUI women's soccer team. I am really looking forward to our next trip in 2012! My eyes were opened to a whole new world after living abroad for two years, but even just 2 weeks of travel in a different country provides an experience unlike anything we can teach our players/youth/students in the classroom or in their homeland. International travel leads to understanding and brings a team closer together like nothing else can because of the memories they share."

 -          Lisa Gebhard, Assistant Coach IUPUI

February 21 2011

 

The Dana Cup has a special section at the website for touristic information. .

The Dana Cup in Hjørring is found in the middle of Denmarks finest area for summer tourism. Only a few kilometers from the soccer fields in Hjørring are some of the most beautiful beaches and in the coastal areas there are many different attractions and tourist activities. Please visit: http://www.danacup.com/TouristatDanaCup/tabid/703/language/da-DK/Default.aspx

 

February 20 2011

We did finalize our program for the 2011 Dallas International Girls Cup:

April 18	All day: Arrival and check in international teams.
April 19	All day: Arrival and check in U.S. and Canadian teams. Evening: Opening Ceremony at SMU McFarlin Auditorium for all players, staff and parents - 8:00PM.
April 20	All day: First round tournament games (group matches).
April 21	All day: Continuation of group matches. Evening: Visit college women soccer game between SMU and Oklahoma University at SMU Stadium - kick off 8:00PM
April 22	All day: Continuation of the tournament as well as vendor fair at Ross Stewart Soccer Complex with surprise guest. Evening: Coaches and team managers reception at the Holiday Inn Select North Dallas by invite only - 8:30PM.
April 23	All day: Continuation of the tournament as well as vendor fair at Ross Stewart Soccer Complex. Noon: Social lunch hour with music for all participants.
April 24	All day: Finals, placement matches and friendly games and vendor fair. Evening: Departure for some of the teams.
April 25	All day: Departure of remaining teams.

February 19 2011

Last Thursday the University of Alberta Women Soccer team left for a 9 days international soccer tour to Brazil. Today we received the first update from coach Jepsen "The weather here is great, the soccer even better and the people top if off the best. Loving every minute".

For more information and pictures check out our Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Premier-International-Tours/90708059231

February 19 2011

 

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND. US Club Soccer's id2 National Selection has arrived in Scotland. The team gathered at Newark Airport throughout the day on Thurs., Feb. 17, in advance of the overnight flight to Glasgow. Upon arrival in Scotland, the team kicked off the tour with a visit to storied Celtic Park.
Premier International Tours is proud organizer of the International Soccer Tour of US Club Soccer's id2 program.

January 26 2011

Premier International Tours once again took part of the 2011 National Soccer Coaches Association (NSCAA) Convention which took place in Baltimore January 14-16, 2011. The NSCAA Convention is the largest soccer coaches convention in the world with over 5,000 coaches in attendance. Premier International Tours has been attending the NSCAA Convention for the last 25 years.
This convention provides a great opportunity to promote our organization and tours to coaches from around North America, and it also provides us with a great opportunity to meet with many of the coaches who are traveling with us or have traveled with us in the past, and whom we consider great friends. Next to this, we were able to meet and socialize with many of the tour operators and tournament organizers of the tournaments we work with to continue to build on the great relationships we have with them. We also held our annual Premier International Tours meeting where all our agents were able to gather to discuss ideas on how to continue to improve on our services and tours in the future.
One of the highlights of the convention for Premier International Tours was the fact that we were able to bring in Earnie Stewart, former U.S. Men’s National Team start and current Technical Director at Dutch pro club AZ Alkmaar. Earnie conducted a couple of coaching session for the coaches in attendance and he also conducted the Premier International Tours 2010 raffle draw where the winter of the raffle received 2 round trip air tickets to London or Paris.
We’d sincerely like to thank those that stopped by our booth during the convention to say hello. We are already looking forward to the 2012 NSCAA Convention to be held in Kansas City – see you there! For a picture of our Premier International Tours staff at the convention, please check out our Premier International Tours facebook page.

January 19 2011

SUNY New Paltz had a great time traveling to the UK just after Christmas. Their first highlight was a visit to the pro game Wigan vs. Arsenal! It was a 2-2 draw so they they saw a lot of goals, and it was a great tie for the home team. After that they spent a day walking and shopping in Chester which is a beautiful little town in northern England. From there they headed towards London with a stop in at Windsor Castle. They played 2 games vs. Reading Athletic (win for the Hawks) and Watford Ladies (Hawks lost in a great battle). They then spent the rest of the time shopping and sightseeing all over London.

For pictures and more information, please visit our Facebook page -
http://www.facebook.com/pages/edit/?id=90708059231&sk=basic#!/pages/Premier-International-Tours/90708059231

January 17 2011

Draw 2010 Premier International Tours Raffle

Saturday, January 15 Ernie Stewart, former U.S. Men’s National Team Star (he played 101 times for the U.S. National team and played for the U.S .in the 1994, 1998 and 2002 World Cups) conducted the draw for the 2010 Premier International Tours Raffle. Mrs. Fran Whited was the lucky winner. She bought the raffle ticket from one of the players of Empire United, a youth soccer travel team from the state of New York traveling in August to Spain. Fran won 2 airline tickets to either London or Paris.

Premier International Tours offers this raffle to all soccer travel teams traveling on a Premier International Tours organized international soccer tour. In 2010 approx. 40,000 raffle tickets were printed generating $ 200,000 in sales which is 100% available for teams who participate in our International tournaments and/or international travel.

For pictures and more information, please visit our Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Premier-International-Tours/90708059231

 

January 07 2011

The 2011 Lisboa Cup is the leading international soccer tournament for youth teams in Portugal. For 2011 well known international teams have signed up already such as Liverpool FC, Sporting Lisbon, Valencia, Vasco da Gama, FC Porto, CD Guadalajara and Olympique Marseille.

Please contact Premier International Tours, your specialist in international soccer travel for more information about this international soccer tournament.

January 06 2011

The first Dallas International Girls is almost fully booked. We can accept another 1 team in the U14, U15 and U19 category. For more information please click on Dallas International Girls Cup - left bottom.

December 29 2010

We would like to inform you that we have almost finalized the program for our February 24-28 trip to Amsterdam/the Netherlands.

First of all some great news:

We have been invited to visit the Ajax Youth Academy on the afternoon of Friday, February 25. The program will include a visit to a training session of some of Ajax' top youth teams, a visit to the Amsterdam Arena (Ajax home stadium) and the Ajax Museum, a lecture about the Ajax Youth Academy followed by a dinner at Jinso, a restaurant next to the stadium. We are extremely excited about this additional program item!

The program will be as follows:

2/24 Thursday
Late afternoon or evening departure.
Overnight flight to Amsterdam.

2/25 Friday
Arrival Amsterdam airport. Transfer to your accommodation.
Late afternoon visit to Ajax Youth Academy and Ajax Amsterdam Arena.

2/26 Saturday
AM visit Royal Dutch Soccer Federation (KNVB) in Zeist, Holland, including a meeting with a top KNVB coach.
Afternoon visit pro youth game (TBA). Evening visit pro game NAC Breda vs. ADO Den Haag.

2/27 Sunday
Morning visit Amsterdam.
Afternoon visit pro game of PSV Eindhoven-Ajax.

2/28 Monday
Return flight to the USA or Canada.

December 29 2010

The draw of the 2010 Premier International Tours Raffle will take place Saturday January 15, at the NSCAA Convention in Baltimore, MD. We are excited to announce that former U.S. Men's National Team player Earnie Stewart will conduct the draw! We will post the winner's information on our website after the draw

Some facts:

• 30 teams sold raffle tickets in 2010
• 35,000 raffle tickets have been printed
• Total $ 175,000 might have been raised if all tickets are sold
• The winner will get 2 airline tickets to either Paris or London

Right after the draw teams can start selling tickets for the 2011 raffle.

December 23 2010

Loek van Zijl (Premier International Tours President) and Shawnna Relke (Premier International Tours Canada Representative) visited Costa Rica last month to meet with our new partner and check out all hotels, fields, sights, etc. for future groups. Premier International Tours is now very excited to offer this amazing new international destination for our youth and college teams in North America. For pictures and a report of their trip, visit our Facebook page. For more information about the Costa Rica tours, visit the Destinations section of our website.

November 10 2010

Premier International Tours President, Loek van Zijl, recently visited the tournament staff and facilities of the youth international soccer tournament, the Lisboa Cup, located in Lisbon, Portugal .  He was very impressed by the facility at the Jambor Complex, the national sports center of Portugal, as well as the high level of competition, which includes some youth professional academy teams such as Sporting, Atletico de Madrid, Benfica and FC Porto. Premier International Tours is very excited to offer this amazing new international tournament for our youth teams in North America.  For pictures and a report of Loek’s trip, visit our Facebook page.  For more information about the Lisboa Cup, visit the Tournament section of our website.

October 25 2010

Premier International Tours President, Loek van Zijl, and representative, Mike Stebbins, visited the Euro-Sportring 50 year jubilee celebration in Bonn, Germany October 22-24. Euro-Sportring is the partner organization of Premier International Tours based in Europe and organizes many of the tournaments that Premier International Tours offers to teams from North America. “One Goal. One Dream” was the theme of the jubilee, and  Euro-Sportring has been operating for 50 years now since 1960 and has been instrumental in helping Premier International Tours and North American teams realize their dreams of traveling abroad to play soccer and make friends from different cultures and countries. Premier International Tours would like to extend it’s sincerest thanks to Euro-Sportring for inviting us to attend this milestone celebration and for being a key partner for over 25 years now.

In this picture are Loek van Zijl and Mike Stebbins from Premier International Tours along with managing director of Euro-Sportring, Mr. Frank Oudt and his wife Boukje.

October 20 2010

Gary Ludwig, a soccer coach in Northern Indiana, has found a great way to use his backyard: he designed a first class soccer field - see picture. The field is regulation size (240x360) and Gary maintains it himself and donates it's use to 8 private elementary schools, 2 travel teams, and 1 local college. This is what we call commitment. Gary will be traveling with one of his teams to the 2011 Italy Cup.

October 20 2010

Premier International Tours representative Mike Stebbins visited the 2010 Great Wall Cup youth soccer tournament in Beijing, China July 24-31, 2010. Premier International Tours has partnered with the Great Wall Cup tournament to bring teams from North America to this wonderful youth tournament starting in 2011.

For more information about our visit to China and the Great Wall Cup please visit our Facebook page. Click on the “Discussions” tab to view the full report of this visit. To view pictures from the visit please click on the “Photos” page.

For more information on the Great Wall Cup and other tournaments and tours we offer visit our website at www.premierinternationaltours.com/soccer.

September 26 2010

Premier International Tours is now partners with the Lisboa Cup tournament in Lisbon, Portugal, and can now take teams to Portugal. The 2011 edition of the Lisboa Cup will take place June 26-July 2, 2011. This new tournament started in 2010 and has already grown to over 70 teams. The tournament takes place at a soccer complex with 6 fields located 15 minutes from the Lisbon city center and just a couple of minutes away from the beach. For more information on this tournament and tour options, click on “Tournaments” and then click on “Lisboa Cup”.

September 22 2010

Part of the partnership between Premier International Tours (PIT) and the National Soccer Coaches Associationa of America (NSCAA) is that each year PIT hosts or brings in a well-known coach from Holland to arrange a coaching clinic and classroom session at the NSCAA. This year, PIT is proud to announce that we will bring in former U.S. Men’s National Team stalwart Earnie Stewart. Earnie Stewart is currently the Technical Director at rising Dutch First Division pro club AZ Alkmaar. Stewart, who is of Dutch descent, was a main fixture and key player on the U.S. Men’s National Team during the 1994 World Cup run. Stewart spent several years playing professionally in Holland, and had brief stint in the MLS with DC United in 2003-2004, before retiring and becoming the Technical Director at Dutch pro club’s VVV Venlo and NAC Breda. For more information on Earnie Stewart click here.

September 21 2010

The US Club Soccer id2 97 National Selection team is traveling to Scotland and England with Premier International Tours in February, and we are excited to announce that games have been confirmed against Celtic and Everton youth academy teams! We are excited that they will have the opportunity to play against the youth teams of these two storied pro clubs. Check back in March to get the results of the matches of the US Club Soccer id2 team’s soccer tour.

September 04 2010

The 2010 Galway Cup in Galway City, Ireland completed another successful tournament. The tournament took place August 4th to 7th at the incredible Drom Soccer Park, home of Salthill Devon FC in Galway City (see photos). The tournament was highlighted by  four exciting days of football and included 51 teams from all over Europe playing 126 games with over 1000 talented football players involved. For more information about the tournament results from 2010 visit the Galway Cup website.

For more information on the 2011 Galway Cup please click "Tournaments" and select "Galway Cup" on the left menu "Tour Information".

August 25 2010

The Morrisville Soccer Club U16 Boys team from Morrisville, VT traveled to Spain July 2-10 where they participated in the Copa Catalunya youth soccer tournament in Blanes, Spain (just outside of Barcelona).

For a detailed day-by-day trip diary and pictures visit our Facebook.

We’d like to thank Jim Morrison for his hard work on coordinating the trip for the team!

August 23 2010

Premier International Tours is excited and proud to announce our new partnership with US Club Soccer! Premier International Tours is the official international tour partner of US Club Soccer, and we will be organizing the 2011 US Club Soccer id2 National Selection international soccer tour to Europe in February of 2011 (exact location TBD). We consider this a great honor to be working with a partner like US Club Soccer on their id2 National Selection soccer tour, which is considered a cornerstone in the US Club Soccer program to developing the future soccer stars of tomorrow in the U.S.

August 22 2010

The U18 Boys Glens Falls High School team traveled on a soccer tour to Chester and London England, August 6-16 where they played friendly games against local English clubs and enjoyed the sights each city has to offer. Next to some very competitive games, some other soccer highlights of the tour included visits to Old Trafford, home of Manchester United as well as Anfield Road, home of Liverpool FC!

Glens Falls H.S. team coach Michael Shaver commented on the trip:
“I wanted to take a minute to extend my thanks on behalf of our players, coaches and families for your work in helping to make our team tour of England a reality. The tour went off without a hitch and we all had a wonderful experience.

The staff from Esselle tours, and our tour guide Brian Wakefield in particular, were superb! Brian was a wealth of information regarding not only the sites we were visiting, but also in discussing soccer (football). Brian's assistance was invaluable in arranging game time accommodations, solving minor problems and suggesting sites to visit. In addition, our coach driver from Jeff's Coaches, David Bick, was an excellent driver, tour guide and assistant coach!

Our number one goal in participating in this trip was for every one of our coaches and players to learn something new about the game. We all came away from this experience with new insight and a renewed love of the sport. Visiting the sites, interacting with the people, and immersing ourselves in the football culture has provided a lifelong experience that each one of us will carry with us for a lifetime. I'm certain they're all mentally planning their next trip already!

Thanks again for your assistance and thank you to all of your staff who helped along the way."

To view photos from Glens Falls Soccer Tour please visit our Facebook page.

August 18 2010

The U17 Girls Lake Hills United team from Bellevue, Washington, recently returned from a trip to Italy where they first traveled to the Florence are to do some sightseeing and play a friendly game, and after that they traveled to Cesenatico, Italy to participate in the Italy Cup. The team took 4th place at the Italy Cup and produced the following results:

Lake Hills United Bellevue, WA USA  1  HAUGER FK Oslo NORWAY 0
Lake Hills United Bellevue, WA USA  3   POLISPORTIVA VILLAMARINA Cesenatico Italy 0
Lake Hills United Bellevue, WA USA  8  FUGLEBJERG IF Fuglebjerg DENMARK 1
Lake Hills United Bellevue, WA USA  1 HARLEV IK Harlev DENMARK 0
Lake Hills United Bellevue, WA USA  0 NÆSBY BOLDKLUB Odense DENMARK 1
Lake Hills United Bellevue, WA USA  1 SØRUMSAND IF Sørundsand NORWEY 2

Coach John Dulude commented on the trip by adding:
“My United GU17 team from Bellevue, Washington had an epic trip to Italy combining  sightseeing, soccer, beaches and shopping.  Pisa, Lucca, Florence, San Marino and Venice provided great cultural and shopping destinations  for the girls and the Adriatic coast around Cesenatico was perfect for soccer and beaches.  Everyone at the tournament was extremely friendly and welcoming. The recently remodeled Aris Hotel in Bellaria was perfect with a great staff catering to our every request.  They made arrangements to have a  cake at dinner one night complete with sparklers for one of the girls 16th birthday and didn’t charge us!  I really liked the fact that little English was spoken on the Adriatic coast which made for a richer cultural experience for the players and the locals in Bellaria who do not see many Americans and always had huge welcoming smiles for us Americans. The only complaint from the female staff at the hotel was that  I didn’t bring my American boys U18 team as well. Great job Premier International Tours!”

To view photos from Lake Hills International Soccer Tour please visit our Facebook page and select the photo album "2010 Soccer Travel Groups".

May 25 2010

During the University of Wyoming's International Soccer Tour they competed in friendlies and visited the infamous Wembley Stadium. The ladies faced strong competition and learned many subtle nuiances of international cultures. Follow their soccer tour on our Facebook.

April 21 2010

We are excited to announce our new Premier Fundraising Program that is available for all teams traveling internationally through us. By utilizing our fundraising activities, participants could earn $1,000 or more toward their soccer tour. Combine this with a few other fundraisers and each participant could potentially earn a free spot.

Visit our website and see the "Fundraising Tools" menu on the left or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

April 07 2010

Dixie United is back from their UK Soccer Travel Trip, what a great experience they had! The boys completed 6 days of MUSS training in 3 days, won three of three friendlies with a goal ratio of 22-0 and took second place at the Blackpool Cup! To read more about their internaitonal soccer travel journey visit Facebook or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

April 01 2010

"This trip gave the entire team a soccer fever and, more importantly, a sense of how blessed we are to play the game." Lakeland Sophomore Danny Spatchek. Follow the team's soccer tour through the eyes of the players on our Facebook.

April 01 2010

The Women's Soccer Team of Adrian College traveled to The Netherland and England on their soccer tour and represent USA Soccer with pride. Read more about their tour and get a recap from the coach by clicking here or visiting our Facebook.

February 23 2010

We are excited to share our new YouTube soccer travel video that outlines our international soccer travel destinations, tournaments, soccer clinics and more. Please check it out!