News release from the Shindigz National Soccer Festival:
New Indianapolis pro soccer team at Shindigz National Soccer Festival
Hopes Fort Wayne Will Also Take a Keen Interest
(August 19, 2013) – The Shindigz National Soccer Festival will once again return to the Hefner Soccer Complex on the campus of IPFW Thursday, August 22nd through Saturday, August 24th. Schedules are now available online at https://www.nationalsoccerfestival.com/. Advance discount tickets can now be purchased at Fort Wayne-area Walgreen’s, 800 Degrees Restaurants and Connolly’s Do It Best Hardware locations. Tickets can also be purchased on the days of the event at the gate as in years past.
Once again, several top-notch high school and collegiate teams will participate in the Shindigz National Soccer Festival. Also, for the first time in the history of the Shindigz National Soccer Festival, see a match between the back-to-back NCAA Men’s National Champions. North Carolina (2011 NCAA Men’s National Champion) will take on Indiana (2012 NCAA Men’s National Champion) on Saturday, August 24th.
Through a unique partnership with Indiana’s newest professional soccer team, the Indy Eleven, will be present throughout the weekend at the Shindigz National Soccer Festival. The new team is headquartered in Indianapolis and will join the NASL in 2014. Meet Head Coach and Director of Operations Juergen Sommer as well as other staff and players. Sommer is very familiar with the Shindigz National Soccer Festival even though his goalkeeping days for Indiana University pre-date the beginnings of the event, he was an assistant coach when the Hoosiers appeared at the Festival from 2004-2007. The Indy Eleven hopes to promote awareness of the new team and ticket sales for next season.
“It’s just a perfect fit,” says Terry Stefankiewicz, President of Shindigz National Soccer Festival. “We want folks to come out to the Festival to see Juergen and the other Indy Eleven folks and they want soccer fans to know more about the new team and sell some tickets for next season. It’s a great partnership!”
What began in 2000 has now become the nationally known phenomenon of the Shindigz National Soccer Festival. What was merely a soccer event has now turned into a full-fledged, grass roots community supported soccer festival. Corporations, foundations, and personal donations are the backbone of the festival. The beneficiaries of the event are the city of Fort Wayne for the national recognition it receives; the area youth for the hands on interaction with the soccer players and coaches from national major universities; the local business people of Northeast Indiana, for the added commerce brought to the area; the area universities, for the added exposure and the average Fort Wayne citizen who knows nothing about the game, but loves to have fun in a family oriented atmosphere.
Currently, the Shindigz National Soccer Festival has evolved into a true community soccer festival, including youth clinics put on by major university coaches and players, wide ranges of live entertainment, opportunities for youth involvement, food vendors, giveaway prizes, and for the 21 and older crowd, beer tents, all located at the beautiful Hefner Soccer Complex on the campus of IPFW in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Shindigz National Soccer Festival is honoured again, this year, to bring top-ranked college soccer teams, along with highly prestigious high school teams, to Fort Wayne. Due to the great history of the event, Shindigz National Soccer Festival has been recognized nationally as the premier event to attend for pre-season collegiate soccer.
Related Images:
