Four Regional Tournaments Announced

After a successful Western Regional tournament in 2014, the USAFL has expanded the Regional series to include all three regions in 2015.

The East, Central and West will each hold two regional carnivals, one feature the 10s (Metro) format, and the other with full, 18-a-side teams.

“The USAFL, in partnership with local convention and visitor’s bureaus, will fully support these regional tournaments by covering umpires’ fees, field rental, and other costs,” said the league in a statement.  “This is in line with our vision of creating more quality competitions and products for clubs and members alike.”

While attendance at these regional tournaments is not compulsory, the results of these tournaments will play a large role into seeding for Nationals.

Four for of the six tournaments have already been confirmed:

Eastern 18’s ­ April 18, Ft Lauderdale, FL

Central 10’s ­ May 9, Des Moines, IA

Central 18’s ­ July 11, Racine, WI

Western 18’s ­ June 27, Davis / Sacramento, CA

The dates and locations Eastern and Western 10’s tournaments are still to be decided.

The Eastern Regional 18’s will take place at the Central Broward Regional Park and Stadium, which contains a total of three multipurpose fields.  The jewel of the complex is a cricket ground that can be repurposed for footy, featuring 5,000 covered seats and room to accommodate a crowd of up to about 20,000 total spectators.  The ground last held a regional-style tournament in 2009.

Des Moines, home of the Roosters, will host the Central Metro tournament, a year after hosting a carnival under the same format.  Racine, Wisconsin, which was a proposed host of this year’s Nationals, which host the Central 18’s.  The city is located about 30 minutes’ drive south of Milwaukee, and about an hour north of Chicago.  Teams will take part at the Soccer Complex of Racine (SCORe).

The city of Davis, California, will host the 18’s Regionals for the western clubs.  Located just minutes from downtown Sacramento, Davis is the home to the University of California at Davis, a large research school with an enrollment of about 35,000.

More info on these tournaments will be made available in the coming weeks.  Keep an eye out on USAFL.com for more details.