Whitecaps launch PK World Cup
Contest includes prize money for charity
Thursday, March 16, 2006
VANCOUVER, BC -- Vancouver Whitecaps President John Rocha announced today the Whitecaps Penalty Kick World Cup. The Penalty Kick World Cup will comprise of 16 local ethnic teams competing for $50,000 in prize money for their local community cause during the halftime of Whitecaps 2006 home games.
“The Penalty Kick World Cup will be a fun opportunity for local communities to rally together and try to win some money for a specific charitable cause,” said Rocha. “The Penalty Kick World Cup, combined with the recently announced Whitecaps Nations Cup and FIFA World Cup, will make for a great summer of soccer and a celebration of Vancouver’s unique multicultural diversity.”
All ethnic groups are eligible to apply and if there are more than 16 applications, a playoff will determine the final qualifiers. To date a number of ethnic communities, including Bosnia, Brazil, China, Fiji, Greece, India, Italy, Portugal, Romania, and Scotland are already mobilizing.
The final 16 Penalty Kick World Cup teams will be placed in four groups of four teams. Each team will compete against the other teams in their group in round robin play (three matches total) and the group’s winner will qualify for the semifinals and then finals. The teams will comprise of five shooters and one keeper. The five shooters must include one adult male, one adult female, U16 girl, U14 boy and an additional male or female over 40 years old.
The Penalty Kick World Cup scoring system will have each shooter take one penalty kick (five shots per team per game). One point will be awarded for each successful penalty kick, and teams can earn additional points for having the best ethnic supporters section at a game. The group winners will be determined by the team with the most points. The $50,000 prize money will be split four ways, with the winner receiving $30,000, the runner-up $10,000 and the two other group winners will collect $5,000.
Penalty Kick World Cup Commissioner Mark Austin is excited about the responses from the local ethnic communities and has labelled India as an early favourite. “The Indo-Canadian Community has really embraced the Penalty Kick World Cup and, given their on-field success and large supporter turnout at Richmond’s Nations Cup, we anticipate strong support from India’s entry,” said Austin. “India’s team host Bindy Braich, who also coaches India’s team at Richmond’s Nations Cup, has been very active in generating early support.”
Sponsorship opportunities are also available for businesses in each participating ethnic community. For more information about how to secure Whitecaps ticket packages please call 604.669.WAVE (9283) or visit whitecapsfc.com.
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