Soccer Nation Expo 2012 Wows the Crowds!

11,000 Attendees Celebrate the Beautiful Game at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Feb. 25-26

Thursday, March 1, 2012 (Los Angeles, CA) - Over 11,000 soccer-mad attendees poured through the doors of the Los Angeles Convention Center last weekend to share in the celebration of "the beautiful game" at Soccer Nation Expo 2012. Held annually by Cal South, the official state association for youth and adult soccer in Southern California, the 2012 edition of Soccer Nation Expo took place in the South Hall of the LACC on February 25-26.

Visitors to the show had a chance to visit with and get autographs from many famous soccer stars such as Olympic gold medalist and World Cup champion Tisha Venturini-Hoch, retired MLS and U.S. Men's National team star Clint Mathis, former U.S. Women's National Team star Leslie Osborne, U.S. Men's National Team icon Paul Caligiuri, and Major League Soccer Rookie of the Year and All-Star defender Omar Gonzalez of the LA Galaxy.

Highlights of Soccer Nation Expo 2012 included the many large, interactive areas where the soccer public could participate in numerous soccer-related activities organized by many of Cal South's partners and sponsors and other exhibitors. The LA Galaxy and Chivas USA each had miniature soccer stadiums set up on the floor where players could sign up and take part in 3v3 competitions and other games. Cal South teamed up with partner Kohl's to present free recreational coaching clinics, which were taught by staff from Cal South's coaching education department.

Nike hosted an area featuring their Elite 2.0 Tour, built to test the outer limits of a player's skills to develop them further. Sports Authority had their SKLZ team on hand to show visitors how to step up their training. A constantly popular area at the last three Soccer Nation Expos was the Futboleros Ultimate Soccer Arena, where crowds were not only entertained by the Futboleros soccer juggling troupe, but also got to participate in speedy 2v2 games inside a small circular cage. Players at the show also had a lot of fun taking on The Mule, a catapult-like ball-kicking system which fired a soccer ball through the air at a great distance, which each player would then have to control properly before scoring a goal. For the rest of the story, please click the link below...