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Thunder partners with Conquista Group to host inaugural Unity Cup

June 21, 2005 - USL First Division (USL-1)
Minnesota Thunder News Release


ST. PAUL, Minn. (June 21, 2004)--An increasing interest in soccer among ethnic communities throughout the Twin Cities has led the Minnesota Thunder professional soccer team and several local organizations to host the inaugural Unity Cup amateur soccer tournament. The event aims to bring together the Hispanic and Hmong communities with a little healthy competition and a favorite pastime, soccer.

The Unity Cup will be held at James Griffin Stadium, home of the Thunder, on Friday, June 24 through Sunday, June 26. The tournament is being coordinated by The Conquista Group and sponsors include the Minnesota Thunder, Latino Communications Network (LCN), Hmong Today, Bremer Bank and the Minnesota Youth Soccer Association.

A press conference will be held Wednesday, June 22 at 11 a.m. at James Griffin Stadium. St. Paul Mayor Randy Kelly will declare June 25, 2005 as Unity Cup Day in the state of Minnesota.

The event will kick off with the Thunder game Friday night against the Toronto Lynx at 7:05 p.m. It's Hmong Heritage night with food, music, and two youth amateur teams playing before the Thunder match. For tickets to the Thunder match, call 651-917-TEAM or visit www.mnthunder.com

Beginning Saturday, the Unity Cup tournament will feature eight top local men's soccer teams, four Hispanic teams and four Hmong teams. The tournament will be single elimination and in a bracketed format, with a minimum of two games per advancing team. The championship game will feature the winner in each bracket with a grand prize of $5,000 for the winning team and $2,500 for the runner-up team.

"The Thunder is very excited to help make this an annual event for the Twin Cities community," Thunder General Manager Djorn Buchholz said. "We want to focus on the growing ethnic community's interest in soccer and this tournament is a great way to bring diverse cultures together."

Following the championship game on Sunday, a Hispanic and Hmong all-star team will be chosen to play against the Thunder in an exhibition game at 4 p.m. In addition, the Minnesota Thunder will choose up to four players from the participating teams to play in one future game as honorary members of the Thunder team.

Throughout the tournament, event coordinators will provide on-site entertainment with food and music representative of both cultures. Various Twin Cities corporate sponsors are taking an active role in the promotion of this multi-cultural event to ensure a successful weekend.

"We are confident that soccer has the potential to bridge the gap between a wide variety of cultures in the Twin Cities," Buchholz said. "Everyone in that stadium may speak a different language, but they all speak soccer."

Unity Cup Weekend Schedule

Friday, June 24, 2005
4:15 - 5:55 p.m. Two youth Hmong teams will play before the Thunder game
6:00 - 6:55 p.m. Hmong ethnic festival with music, food, and dancers
7:05 - 8:50 p.m. Minnesota Thunder vs. Toronto Lynx

Saturday, June 25, 2005
10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. Unity Cup Tournament games

Sunday, June 26, 2005
1:00 - 2:45 p.m. Hmong/Hispanic Championship game
2:45 - 3:15 p.m. Awards Ceremony
4:00 - 5:45 p.m. Thunder vs. Unity Cup All-Stars

Tickets

Adult Tickets
One day general admission $15.00
One day advance $10.00
Weekend pass $25.00

Child Tickets
One day general admission $10.00
One day advance $5.00
Weekend pass $15.00

**To purchase tickets in advance you can go to www.unitycup.net or any Los Gallos location in the Twin Cities area. Los Gallos locations are listed at www.boletronico.com.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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