Pins from the annual Fort Lowell Soccer Shootout.
We’re defining Tucson in 100 objects. The daily series began April 20. Follow along at: azstarnet.com/100objects
“Futbol,” as they call it in every country but this one, has been popular in Tucson for decades.
These pins, from the Fort Lowell Soccer Shootout, represent our soccer mania.
Every year, youth soccer teams from across the city, across the country and from Mexico fill the fields of Tucson.
For the 24th edition of the tournament last January, 328 teams, each with 10 to 18 players, participated.
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Soccer mania isn’t limited to that tournament. Youth leagues abound. Soccer is a major sport in area high schools. City and county parks have trouble keeping up with the demand for soccer fields.
The kids aren’t the only ones playing.
Adult teams — men, women and coed — play across the metro area. The University of Arizona has fielded a women’s soccer team since 1994.
Tucson has a semipro team, FC Tucson, with a large and growing fan base.
Fans pack Kino Sports Stadium for pro soccer exhibition games.
The conversion of that stadium’s fields for Major League Soccer spring training has eased the pain of Major League Baseball’s exodus from Tucson. The stadium was home to the Tucson Sidewinders and then the Tucson Padres, and it hosted the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago White Sox for spring training
