AUBURNDALE, Fla. — Adult soccer players from around the world are in Polk County this weekend for the Florida State Soccer Association Florida Classic.
- 110 teams from as far away as UK, Peru competing in Polk County
- The Florida Classic soccer tournament has a $1,000 cash prize
- Polk Sports Marketing officials say it's bringing $2.5M to economy
The tournament is being held at Lake Myrtle Sports Park in Auburndale.
Teams from as far away as Peru, the United Kingdom, and Trinidad and Tobago are competing. It’s an adult soccer tournament for women, men and coed teams.
“We just come for the challenge, fun, meet other people, build relations, relationships, and that's it,” said Stephen Choi-Yuen, a player on the 55 and older TNT X-Men team, one of three teams from Trinidad and Tobago.
Choi-Yuen’s team won three games as of Sunday afternoon and is hoping to win the $1,000 cash prize.
“We think that the competition is quite good for our age group,” Choi-Yuen said. “We love the type of grounds, and we love competing. And we will feel that this gives us a level of exposure to play other international teams."
There are about 110 teams and 2,500 players competing.
Polk County Sports Marketing officials estimate the tournament is injecting about $2.5 million into the local economy.
Games are open to the public. Sixteen teams will play for the championships from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday.