Surf Cup XXXI officially begins on Saturday (July 23)! The 2011 Surf Cup soccer games will see a total of 368 teams competing, with 200 younger teams the first weekend and 168 older teams the second weekend (starting July 30).

Ranked as the #1 soccer tournament in the country, the Surf Cup sees promising young soccer players travelling from across the globe to compete. Roughly one out of every two teams that applied was approved to play. Among the players competing this year, 65% of them are from areas outside of Southern California, with teams from over 25 states participating!

“We only accept the best of the best teams from around the country, and perhaps with the economy picking up, more teams were willing to travel this year,” says Surf Cup Soccer Tournament Director Mike Connerley, adding that Surf Cup XXXI is the most popular edition of the California youth soccer tournament.

Speaking of the economy, Surf Cup has a major economic impact on San Diego. While the average soccer tournament in San Diego uses around 1,500 hotel rooms, the San Diego Surf Cup uses 10 times that! In 2010, the tournament had a $22 million dollar impact on San Diego, with out-of-town players spending  $2.5 million dollars to rest their heads in San Diego after the games.

In addition to the coaches, players, family members and spectators, the San Diego Surf Cup attracts more than 300 college coaches and scouts each year. Says Connerley, “Surf Cup is a tournament a lot of college coaches enjoy attending; the competition is great and it is very easy to get around the Polo Fields and identify potential players. I am proud that Surf Cup has coaches from most of the best D1 college attending.”