Charles, Akers to Receive Awards
August 28, 2002 - Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) News Release
ATLANTA (Wednesday, August 28, 2002) - The Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) will honor two of the most important individuals in the history of women's soccer when league officials present Clive Charles and Michelle Akers with Lifetime Achievement Awards at the WUSA Gala on Thursday, September 19 at 7:00 p.m. PT. One of many events during the WUSA All-Star Weekend, the WUSA Gala guest list will include WUSA All-Star players and will take place at the Multnomah Athletic Club in Portland.
"The WUSA All-Star Weekend is a true celebration of the players and coaches in women's soccer," said WUSA Commissioner Tony DiCicco. "The efforts of soccer leaders like Clive and Michelle played an important role in making the United States an elite country in the sport of women's soccer. In addition, Clive and Michelle were instrumental in the WUSA becoming a reality."
The FIFA co-Player of the Century, Akers was an Olympic gold medallist (Atlanta 1996), a two-time World Champion (China 1991 and United States 1999) and scored 105 goals in 153 appearances for the U.S. women's national team. Akers, 36, who was born in Santa Clara and grew up in Seattle (where she was a three-time All-American at Shorecrest High School), is one of the WUSA's 20 founding players. She was originally scheduled to play for the Carolina Courage in 2001, but two shoulder surgeries that year prevented her from competing in the league.
She officially retired on October 12, 2001. Akers, who spends most of her time these days managing her Soccer Outreach International (SOI) organization, will suit up to play competitive soccer for the first time in more than two years when she plays for the Boston Breakers in a testimonial match against the Washington Freedom on September 14 at Nickerson Field.
The head coach of both the men and women's soccer programs at the University of Portland, Charles, 50, was the head coach of the U.S. men's Olympic team that finished fourth at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. In 16 seasons as head coach of the Pilot men's team, and 13 seasons with the women, Charles has amassed a 406-134-41 record in a combined 29 seasons, and is one of just five coaches in NCAA history to win more than 400 college soccer games. In addition, Charles has served U.S. Soccer in a number of coaching capacities throughout the years. From 1995 to 1998, he was an assistant coach for the U.S. men's national team under Steve Sampson, including World Cup France '98. Charles was also the head coach of the U.S. Under-20 women's national team from 1993 to 1995.
Prior to joining the coaching ranks, Charles played professionally for 17 years, including eight seasons in the English First Division (now the Premier League). Charles was transferred from West Ham United to Cardiff City in 1974. He made more than 100 appearances and scored five goals for Cardiff City before the Portland Timbers of the North American Soccer League purchased his contract. He played four seasons for the Timbers (1978-81) and had an earlier stint with the NASL's Montreal Olympique (1971-72). Charles, who was a three-time NASL All-Star and was selected to the all-time NASL Team by the legendary Pelé, also played for the Pittsburgh Spirit and Los Angeles Lazers of the Major Indoor Soccer League before ending his career in 1982.
Fans can purchase tickets to the WUSA Gala by calling (503) 553-5555. Individual Gala tickets are $60 and a table of 10 is available for $540. Each table will seat nine people plus one WUSA All-Star player. The price of the Gala includes dinner.
The 2002 WUSA All-Star Game will be held at PGE Park in Portland, Oregon on Saturday, September 21 at 4:00 p.m. ET (1:00 p.m. PT). The WUSA's inaugural All-Star Game, presented by Hyundai, will be broadcast live nationally on PAX TV to more than 90 million households in the United States and several other countries worldwide. Soccer fans can vote for their WUSA All-Star starters by going online at www.WUSA.com.
The format for the WUSA All-Star Game will feature the North All-Stars vs. the South All-Stars, as the best players from the WUSA's eight teams will be split into two squads. The North team will feature players from the Boston Breakers, New York Power, Philadelphia Charge and San Jose CyberRays, while the South will consist of athletes from the Atlanta Beat, Carolina Courage, San Diego Spirit and Washington Freedom.
WUSA All-Star Game tickets can be purchased at PGE Park and all Portland-area Ticketmaster outlets, including select Fred Meyer and G.I. Joe's locations. Tickets are also available by calling Ticketmaster at (503) 224-4400 or by going online at www.ticketmaster.com. Individual tickets to the WUSA All-Star Game are priced from $15-$45. In addition, a special $4.75 ticket is available for a limited time only in the Fred Meyer Family Seat Section.
Featuring the best women's soccer players in the world, WUSA athletes include Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain, Tiffeny Milbrett, Briana Scurry, Julie Foudy and dozens of international stars. The eight WUSA teams are the Atlanta Beat, Boston Breakers, Carolina Courage, New York Power, Philadelphia Charge, San Diego Spirit, San Jose CyberRays and the Washington Freedom.
Women's United Soccer Association Stories from August 28, 2002
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