Celticrugby
Jun 9 2004, 04:45 AM
Everton to play in Copa de Tejas
BY MARK BABINECK (http://www.foxsportsworld.com/named/Search?author=MARK BABINECK)
Associated Press
HOUSTON (AP)— Everton (http://www.foxsportsworld.com/named/FSW/Soccer/team?categoryId=562) will play Mexican teams Pachuca (http://www.foxsportsworld.com/named/Search?categoryId=2715)and America (http://www.foxsportsworld.com/named/Search?categoryId=2705) in the Copa de Tejas, an event created to help develop Reliant Stadium as a soccer venue.
The English Premier League club will face Pachuca on July 29 and America on Aug. 1. Reliant Stadium is the home of the National Football League's Houston Texans.
"It will be extremely hot, but it is a chance to play against two top Mexican sides, which is another change for us and will add some glamour to our preseason for both players and supporters," Everton manager David Moyes said.
Everton will have completed three weeks of preseason workouts before making the trip to Houston.
The subsidiary of the Texans that puts on soccer matches at Reliant, Lone Star Sports and Entertainment, first staged the Copa de Tejas between two Mexican clubs last year. Cruz Azul (http://www.foxsportsworld.com/named/Search?categoryId=2709) beat Tigres (http://www.foxsportsworld.com/named/Search?categoryId=2721) 2-1.
Previously, the stadium has hosted top Mexican teams in Interliga 2004 and staged a friendly between the United States and Mexico in May 2003.
Pachuca is the most successful Mexican team, having won the league title last year. America is generally is considered the country's most popular team and has won 13 league titles.
"It is an honor to play against a successful team like Everton, which has so much tradition," Pachuca president Jesus Martinez Patino said. "This is part of an internationalization process that our club has been carrying out."
The last time teams from the two leagues squared off was July 2003, when Manchester United beat America 4-1 in Los Angeles.
Jamey Rootes, president of Lone Star Sports, said research indicated area fans most wanted to see an English Premier League team play in Houston. That mission was accomplished after extensive negotiations with Everton and other clubs.
"We thought those would be the most compelling games to bring to Houston," Rootes said. The matches also reflect to important ethnic mixes in Houston, which has a massive Mexican-American population but also is attracting British business interests faster than any other U.S. city, with an average of one United Kingdom firm opening an office in Houston per week. BP and Shell, two massive London-based oil companies, both have major presences.
BY MARK BABINECK (http://www.foxsportsworld.com/named/Search?author=MARK BABINECK)
Associated Press
HOUSTON (AP)— Everton (http://www.foxsportsworld.com/named/FSW/Soccer/team?categoryId=562) will play Mexican teams Pachuca (http://www.foxsportsworld.com/named/Search?categoryId=2715)and America (http://www.foxsportsworld.com/named/Search?categoryId=2705) in the Copa de Tejas, an event created to help develop Reliant Stadium as a soccer venue.
The English Premier League club will face Pachuca on July 29 and America on Aug. 1. Reliant Stadium is the home of the National Football League's Houston Texans.
"It will be extremely hot, but it is a chance to play against two top Mexican sides, which is another change for us and will add some glamour to our preseason for both players and supporters," Everton manager David Moyes said.
Everton will have completed three weeks of preseason workouts before making the trip to Houston.
The subsidiary of the Texans that puts on soccer matches at Reliant, Lone Star Sports and Entertainment, first staged the Copa de Tejas between two Mexican clubs last year. Cruz Azul (http://www.foxsportsworld.com/named/Search?categoryId=2709) beat Tigres (http://www.foxsportsworld.com/named/Search?categoryId=2721) 2-1.
Previously, the stadium has hosted top Mexican teams in Interliga 2004 and staged a friendly between the United States and Mexico in May 2003.
Pachuca is the most successful Mexican team, having won the league title last year. America is generally is considered the country's most popular team and has won 13 league titles.
"It is an honor to play against a successful team like Everton, which has so much tradition," Pachuca president Jesus Martinez Patino said. "This is part of an internationalization process that our club has been carrying out."
The last time teams from the two leagues squared off was July 2003, when Manchester United beat America 4-1 in Los Angeles.
Jamey Rootes, president of Lone Star Sports, said research indicated area fans most wanted to see an English Premier League team play in Houston. That mission was accomplished after extensive negotiations with Everton and other clubs.
"We thought those would be the most compelling games to bring to Houston," Rootes said. The matches also reflect to important ethnic mixes in Houston, which has a massive Mexican-American population but also is attracting British business interests faster than any other U.S. city, with an average of one United Kingdom firm opening an office in Houston per week. BP and Shell, two massive London-based oil companies, both have major presences.