adicup

adidas celebrates 2010 FIFA World Cup™ with a global football tourney, honoring its long-lived New York City tradition.

To commemorate the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, adidas' 9th annual FANATIC soccer tournament in New York City is "going global" with a new name - adiCup, 2010 FIFA World Cup™ edition. A record 28 teams will compete Saturday, May 22nd on the main field at New York's Pier 40, where the event first began eight years ago.

Hosted by adidas, FANATIC was created in 2002 as an immersive experience of soccer and community in New York. adidas sought out an eclectic mix of ‘football’ enthusiasts; an assortment of teams made up of originative activators in the creative scene. From music and media to fashion and hospitality, those involved were hand picked to re-engage the culture in downtown New York with the sport of soccer. Since its inception, FANATIC has grown with every passing year, drawing an abundance of teams vying to compete, and crowds of up to 1,500 soccer ‘fanatics’ and counting. In addition, the tournament was interpreted on a global scale in select cities every four years during FIFA World Cup™, and adiCup was born.

With higher stakes than ever, adiCup 2010 promises to entertain. The coveted NYC team slots have been filled with a record 28 crews, each consisting of eight players as opposed to six players in years past. With a wider playing field, returning teams such as Chinatown Soccer Club, United Bamboo, Freeman’s Sporting Club, Opening Ceremony, Paper Shredders and Vice F.C. will have the opportunity at some fresh faces, like newcomers ACE+CO, EVR (East Village Radio), V Magazine and The Standard F.C.

In true FANATIC form, Brother Jimmy’s BBQ will cater to the masses while DJ Neil Armstrong, former tour DJ of Jay Z, will keep the crowd going with as fresh a set as ever for what promises to be the largest audience to date. Also, as the UEFA Champion’s League™ finale takes place on the same day, adidas will screen the game live for fans in attendance.

As usual, special prizes will be awarded to the grand prize winning team and runners up, as well as to the teams with the best team spirit and best custom jersey. An ongoing tradition, the latter are cause for some of the most sought-after recognition in the tournament, following the coveted adiCup trophy.

For this special edition, similar tournaments will also be held in Tokyo, Berlin and London throughout the months of May and June. The grand prize winning teams from each of the four participating cities will then be invited to compete with each other at the adiCup 2010 World Finals at adidas' own headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany on June 26th. The 98,000 square meter Adi Dassler Sportplatz center features a state-of-the-art pitch which is currently host to the South African National Team who is training there for 2010 FIFA World Cup™.

Those four lucky teams will enjoy a trip filled with competition, a global adiCup tradition, and the ultimate in prizes. The Grand Prize winning team of the adiCup 2010 World Final in Germany will be flown to South Africa to attend the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ final game on July 11, 2010, courtesy of adidas.

In addition, a special edition adiCup 2010 Consortium pack has been created for each of the host cities, including a soccer jersey, bag and boot in honor of the games. Consortium represents adidas’ top tier footwear concept, focused on exclusive and limited edition product creations, and is distributed through select premium streetwear boutiques worldwide. Featured designs will include a USA pack from UNDFTD x arkitip Magazine, a Japan pack from MASTERPIECE x houyhnhnm, a Germany pack from No74 x Highsnobiety.com, and a UK pack from No6 x EXIT Magazine, all to be released at retail on June 11th. A South Africa Final Pack, “46664" as in the prisoner number of Nelson Mandela, will also be released on July 11th with proceeds benefitting Mandela’s 46664 foundation. 46664 is the global fundraising vehicle for the Mandela charities designed to inspire individual and collective action towards a better world for everyone.

Finally, to celebrate adiCup, 2010 FIFA World Cup™ edition, adidas has launched adiCup.com, a website dedicated to adidas ‘fanatics’ interested in tracking every update and stat of this year’s global events. The website went live on May 13th, 2010 and will feature all pre- and post-event highlights from NYC (May 22nd), Tokyo (May 29th - 30th, Berlin (June 5th), London (June 20th), Herzogenaurach (June 26th) and Johannesburg (July 11th).