Looking Back at 2008...

Cal South’s annual Soccer Nation Expo, the largest free soccer festival in the United States, drew a record 37,000 visitors on January 5-6, 2008 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Despite a weekend of inclement weather, a record 22,000 visitors attended Saturday’s opening day, setting a new one-day attendance record for the event. Expanded to a two-day show for the first time in its history, Cal South’s family-friendly and fan interactive exposition attracted an additional 15,000 people over Sunday’s concluding day. The previous one-day attendance record for Cal South’s Soccer Nation Expo was 16,000, set last year.

Visitors were treated to question-and-answer and autograph sessions with Mia Hamm, the retired United States Women’s National Team star as well as soccer clinics from such dignitaries as CD Chivas USA head coach Preki, Club America captain Alfredo Tena, Manchester United Soccer Schools coaches Alex Weaver and Robin van der Laan, and Everton FC youth academy director Tony Farrell.

Major League Soccer was represented by both CD Chivas USA and the Los Angeles Galaxy, who each featured autograph sessions at their respective booths, with several players such as Jonathan Bornstein, Maykel Galindo, Jesse Marsch and Peter Vagenas greeting fans and signing throughout the weekend.

Soccer Nation Expo featured over 125 exhibitors that showcased and demonstrated their latest soccer products, equipment and technologies as well as sample consumer goods and services for active soccer families. Exhibitors include soccer industry giants like Nike, with its 30,000 square feet of exhibition space, Panasonic, Disney, La Curacao, Time Warner and the Nike Deadly 5 Futsal Tournament. (Click here to see the Deadly 5 results.)

For sponsorship opportunities and inquiries on reserving exhibition space for 2009 Soccer Nation Expo, please contact Cal South representative Kim Dyer at 714.451.1540 or kdyer@calsouth.com.

To see more 2008 Expo photos, click here.

2008 Coaching Clinic Video footage:
Alfredo Tena, Club America (link to video)
Preki, CD Chivas USA (link to video)
Manchester United Soccer Schools (link to video)