SIN CITY CLASSIC HOSTS IGLFA 2019 INDOOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
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BY DIRK SMITH, SDL
occer (aka football) has always been a staple of the Sin City Classic (SCC). In addition to softball, it has regularly been one of the most popular sports and drawn a large number of participants at the world’s largest annual weekend LGBTQ multi-sport festival. But this year soccer is gaining a big spotlight at the SCC – it is hosting the 2019 International Gay and Lesbian Football Association’s (IGLFA) Indoor World Championship. The IGLFA has had an international representation since its inaugural tournament at the SCC in 2013. This year, however, according to Hans Furtado Laursen, tournament coordinator for the 2019 Indoor World Championships, the organization is fielding teams from the U.S., Canada, Mexico, England and Brazil. The SCC is the perfect event and location to host the IGLFA Indoor World Championship. Having grown yearly over the last seven years, the SCC is now considered one of the premier annual indoor soccer tournaments sanctioned and sponsored by the IGLFA, Said Furtado Laursen, “This year we will have players traveling from near and far, reaching across the pond … to include a European team for the first time, Stonewall FC from London. In addition to the 20 teams from every part of the United States, we will have players from Columbia, El Salvador, Brazil, two teams from Canada, and a record seven teams from Mexico!” The tournament is run according to IGFLA rules and regulations that also include the presence of teams at the Awards Ceremony from the tournament in which they participated as a matter of sportsmanship. The all-gender tournament is open to all who want to play and is taking place at the Big-League Dreams Field House in Las Vegas. Seven teams are competing in the Friday 5v5 Women’s tournament and 24 teams are competing in the
20 COMPETE 2019 Sin City Classic
Photos courtesy of IGLFA
