Over 500 soccer teams compete in Mayor’s Cup

There’s a good chance the world’s next David Beckham was in Las Vegas this weekend.

But as it stands, there’s not a good chance he or she will return to play for a Las Vegas Major League Soccer team before 2018.

Co-hosted by the city of Las Vegas and the Downtown Las Vegas Soccer Club, the Mayor’s Cup International Soccer Showcase, which was forecast to attract 400 college coaches and recruiters, took place across 53 local fields.

More than 500 international youth soccer teams traveled to the valley to be showcased with little hope of playing professionally here in the near future after MLS announced Thursday that Las Vegas would not be selected for a franchise through the 2017-2018 season.

Throughout the valley, teams from 31 states, Brazil, Canada, France, Mexico and other countries, played in matches Saturday and Sunday, according to the city.

“It’s the only event of its kind,” Assistant Tournament Director and President of Downtown Las Vegas Soccer Club Roger Tabor said Saturday. He said scouts from around the world come to the event, knowing they’ll find the next soccer greats.

Argentinian soccer celebrity Abel Balbo, who has played in three World Cups, was scouting for European football clubs, Tabor said.

Nine-thousand soccer players between 12 and 19 years old came out for the showcase, which began in the wake of the announcement that the Las Vegas City Council reacted to the MLS decision by ending its consideration of a downtown soccer stadium.

Players as young as 14 can be signed to professional teams, Tabor said.

Gustavo Vargas, 17, and Joaquin Raya, 18, of the Northern California Manteca Rebels were in Las Vegas for their second time to compete in an international tournament.

“I love it,” Vargas, team captain, and Raya said of playing soccer in Las Vegas. They proclaimed that if there were ever an opportunity, they would gladly play professional soccer here.

“It feels natural,” Vargas said about competing in the showcase. “Everyone is our rival.”

Nearing the end of their tournament, the young men and women were invited to attend the professional preseason game between the 2010 MLS Cup winners, the Colorado Rapids, and the San Jose Earthquakes at Cashman Field on Sunday night.

“We love our annual visit to Vegas,” Rapids president Tim Hinchey said in January. His team has played a preseason game in town for three straight years.

In the past, Vegas MLS games have been played at Sam Boyd Stadium. Sunday’s match at Cashman Field was the first one at the venue.

Tabor recounted a conversation with former Las Vegas Mayor William “Bill” Briare saying he once told him “I will not sign off on Cashman Field until soccer can be played.”

“Obviously we’d like to have an MLS team here someday,” said Tabor.

He speculates that it will happen within the next decade, because the community, everyone wants it, he says. Even Mayor Carolyn Goodman vocally supports it.

“I still believe our city would be the perfect location for a major league team, and I am saddened that we miss out on the opportunity to gain $450 million in downtown investment and job creation,” Mayor Goodman said in a statement Thursday.

Tabor expects hotel room bookings, car rentals, meal expenses and “other tourist expenditures” related to the event to bring over $17 million into the local economy.

“We think Las Vegas is an extremely attractive market for soccer,” Hinchey said. “We’ve enjoyed our association with the city so far. But a preseason game and a regular-season schedule are two very different things.”

Mayor Goodman ended her statement by saying “I hope the MLS will still consider Las Vegas for a team beyond 2018, and that the league’s decision will not be a negative influence on other major league franchises coming to our city.”

The winners of the weekend’s competition will be announced tonight. Just as it is in Las Vegas, the soccer future for these teens is up in the air.

Contact Kimberly De La Cruz at kdelacruz@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @KimberlyinLV on Twitter.