Prior to the Chicago Fire's game versus the New England Revolution this evening at Soldier Field, twenty-four area children will participate in the Chicago Fire Team Championship competition of the Sierra Mist MLS Dribble, Pass & Score program. The competition is scheduled to begin at 4:15 p.m. CT on the Soldier Field pitch, with a male and female champion in each of the three age divisions, 8-9, 10-11 and 12-14, to be crowned and recognized at halftime of the important Eastern Conference showdown between the Fire and Revolution, which kicks off at 8:00 p.m. CT.
The competition includes events in three soccer skills: dribbling through a slalom-style course of flags for speed, passing to zones for accuracy and shooting at a regulation-sized goal target for accuracy. The winners of each of the three different categories will have their scores matched against the other MLS Team Champions for the right to advance to the National Finals. This year's finals will take place during MLS Cup 2004 weekend from Nov. 13-14 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, CA.
The contenders for this Saturday's challenge won both local and sectional contests to get to the Chicago Fire Team Competition Finals. The previous events were held at soccer tournaments, camps, youth league complexes/game fields, Parks & Recreation facilities and Soccer Celebrations at MLS games over the past nine months.
The Sierra Mist MLS Dribble, Pass & Score program began in 1998 and is the official youth soccer skills competition of Major League Soccer. The program has been designed and implemented by Major League Soccer and sponsored by Sierra Mist.
