6 Crossfire Teams Heading for Europe in 2017
Crossfire Premier has committed to an ambitious slate of annual international competitions aimed at accelerating the development of the club’s players, and the 2017-18 season will see every single one of the club’s elite boys’ teams from U-10 (2007) through U-15 (2003) traveling to Europe to take on some of the world’s biggest names.
“We’ve always looked for international competition for our top club teams,” explained Crossfire Director Bernie James, “and while our partnership with AS Roma already provides our players with a lot of value in this area, we have now formalized plans to take each of our younger Development Academy squads into international competition each year.” Incorporated in this planning is a new partnership with a company specializing in professional club competitions—more information on this and more will be available soon. However, for now, James said this increase in international travel and competition is a result of the club needing to provide a more detailed, cohesive plan to get its players regular exposure to the highest levels of youth soccer in the world. “After taking stock of the performances of our 03 boys in Madrid this last summer (the group defeated Sunderland FC, drew with Paris Saint-Germain and lost narrowly to Real Madrid), and putting that alongside some of our previous trips, such as the 00s winning the Milan Cup two years ago, we realized this is an integral part of our players’ development.” It also stands as a benchmark for Crossfire coaches and directors, who can better evaluate where club players, training methodology and curriculum stack up worldwide.
“To be at its most effective, these players need to travel every year; they need that touchstone of competition at the highest possible level and then they can bring those lessons home to their daily training environment here in Washington. Then they’ll get it again by traveling the very next year.”
Crossfire Premier teams already follow an aggressive domestic travel and tournament plan, with teams competing in Surf Cup, Las Vegas Mayor’s Cup, Thanksgiving Surf, Disney Soccer Showcase, SC Del Sol Presidents Day Tournament, Man City Cup and Dallas Cup every year. Elite Crossfire teams also compete in the US Soccer Development Academy (on both the boys’ and girls’ sides beginning in 2017-18), as well as in the Elite Clubs National League for girls; these are the top league competitions in the United States for youth players.
2017-18 Crossfire International Lineup:
• 2007 Boys – Rood Wit U10 Tournament; Breda, Netherlands – May 23-29, 2017
• 2006 Boys – Liverpool FC Academy Cup; Liverpool, England – June 5-11, 2017
• 2002 Girls – Barcelona Summer Cup; Barcelona, Spain – June 26-July 1, 2017
• 2005 Boys – Euro-Bierbeek Miniementornooi; Bierbeek, Belgium – August 5-13, 2017
• 2003 Boys – Fitland U-15 Football Cup; Sittard, Netherlands – August 12-19, 2017
• 2004 Boys – Madrid Football Cup; Madrid, Spain – September 11-18, 2017
• 06/07 Boys (U-11/12 DA) – AS Roma Training & Exhibition Games – Spring Break, 2018
All of the boys tournaments listed above are invite-only competitions featuring some of the top professional sides in the world. Below are the tournament lineups that have been released so far.
Rood Wit U-10 Tournament / 07 Boys
1. Real Madrid, Spain
2. Paris Saint-Germain, France
3. Ajax, Netherlands
4. PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands
5. Feyenoord, Netherlands
6. NAC Breda, Netherlands
7. Rood-Wit W, Netherlands
8. Liverpool FC, England
9. Everton FC, England
10. Arsenal FC, England
11. West Ham United, England
12. RSC Anderlecht, Belgium
13. Club Brugge, Belgium
14. KRC Genk, Belgium
15. Red Bull Leipzig, Germany
16. Hamburger SV, Germany
17. RHB Køge, Denmark
18. Ilves, Finland
19. Crossfire Premier, USA
Finland U-15 Football Cup / 03 Boys
1. Fortuna Sittard, Holland
2. PSV Eindhoven, Holland
3. Borussia Dortmund, Germany
4. KRC Genk, Belgium
5. Tottenham Hotspur, UK
6. Mito Holyhock, Japan
7. AIK Stockholm, Sweden
8. Crossfire Premier, USA
For more information and current updates, follow Crossfire Premier on Twitter @crossfireprmr and on Instagram @crossfire.premier.