Rebecca Izad is off to Europe this weekend to begin training for the upcoming Gothia World Youth Cup in Sweden.
The Grade 11 student from Chatelech Secondary School has been training for several months with the European Football School in North Vancouver. After wanting to try out for a rep team here on the Coast, Rebecca had to switch to the school in North Vancouver when there were not enough players on the Coast to form a rep team.
She tried out for the team, and the coaches were more than impressed.
She played with a U17 team that represented the school at a major tournament in Kamloops over the May long weekend and helped the team to a 4-0 record and the championship.
The right forward scored three goals, including the game winner in the championship final, and added two assists.
"The first tournament was a great experience," she said. "Most of the other girls play pretty high level soccer, so they were really great offering me tips and helping me along. I'm really excited about the trip to Europe. It's going to be an amazing experience. I think travelling on the bus with the other girls will be fun. We're going to be staying in hostels - so that will be an experience too. I can't wait."
Rebecca leaves today (June 24) for Europe and a family wedding in London before joining the team as they travel to Germany, Denmark and Sweden for the tournament. Along the way they will train and play several friendly matches against local teams.
The tournament itself is one of the largest youth soccer tournaments in the world, attracting 1,567 boys' and girls' teams representing 71 nations and bringing together more than 35,000 youth soccer players for matches on 110 playing fields in Gothenberg, Sweden and the surrounding area.
The tournament begins on July 17 with group play. Teams are divided into groups of four or five with all teams playing each other once. The first and second team in their respective groups then qualify for either playoff A or B. The tournament finals are July 22 and 23 at Gamla Ullevi Stadium in Gothenberg and are expected to attract more than 26,000 spectators.
The tournament kicks off on July 17 with an Olympic-style opening ceremony which last year drew more than 50,000 spectators.
