TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – The 36th annual Fort Lowell Shootout kicked off on Friday, Jan. 16.
Tucson’s premier soccer tournament brought in around 412 teams who made their way to Tucson from across the country, including the southwestern United States and Mexico.
For people like Brian Lambert, the emcee of the opening ceremony, the energy the youth bring represents something special.
“This is home to everyone, and when you come here, you start as friends, but you leave as family, and we really want to send that message that it’s one big soccer family,” he said.
The international presence with the teams from Mexico is something officials with the Kino Sports Complex say they take pride in integrating throughout the event.
“It’s great for our market. We’re very close to the border, and we love hosting all of these international communities that come into this for any of our events. We love hosting everyone here,” said Jeff Gomez, the deputy director of the Kino Sports Complex.
A valuable experience, especially for teams with close proximity to the border, like those who reside in Tucson.
“It gets experience for the little ones, experience for the older ones. You get to see more than just your town. You get to experience outside (of it), international,” said Jesus Lopez, who has two kids on Club Tijuana.
But Flores admits the road for these international teams doesn’t come without its challenges in getting to the U.S.
“I think there are (challenges) just in terms of folks getting back and forth, there’s not a lot we can do, right?” Flores said.
However, despite the increased attention at the border this year, Flores said they worked with all organizations to make sure everyone had the chance to get to Kino.
“Kudos to those teams and those organizations, because really that lies on them to figure out, okay, let’s make sure that we don’t have problems. I personally have not heard of anything extra special this year that’s been more difficult,” Flores said.
As kids continue to get to experience teams from all over North America in this one-of-a-kind weekend.
“It feels nice to like see a lot of people here, and our competition,” RSL Arizona Player Kennedy Sanchez said.
The energy the kids bring is something organizers say makes it all worth it.
“It’s a melting pot, it’s positive, it’s so exciting. It’s a little bit chaotic, but it’s so much fun, and it’s not like anything else you’re going to see at pretty much any soccer tournament anywhere,” Flores said.
The shootout is expected to bring in over $4 million in economic impact this year, not including donations the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona is collecting throughout the weekend.
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