On Saturday, the Houston Dynamo hosted the third annual Greenstar Recycling Corporate Cup, in association with Dynamo Charities. Hosted at the new Houston Amateur Sports Park, the tournament featured 32 teams from the Houston area - the most in the tournament's three-year history - competing in 36-minute, seven-on-seven games.
In addition to competing in small-sided games, each team that competed in the tournament raised money for the Methodist Center for Sports Medicine. Methodist, in turn, was on-site offering its services to the Corporate Cup participants, including pre-participation and injury exams.
The tournament showcased a wide variety of competition, with teams from Greenstar Recycling, Shell, Wells Fargo, the Houston Texans, and many more. Several companies even invited players from their offices around the country and even South America, Central America, and Europe. Teams competed in four-team groups, each playing at least three games. It was a unique experience that united the corporate world through friendly competition in the world’s most popular sport, soccer.
“The Corporate Cup was a first-class event,” Dynamo president Chris Canetti said. “I think everybody, myself included, had an awesome time out at the Houston Amateur Sports Park, and I really want to thank all the sponsors and companies that came out, raised money through Dynamo Charities, and had a fun day on the field."
MORE: Pictures from Saturday's games
After a hot Houston Saturday full of Corporate Cup soccer, six teams – four on the men’s side and two in the coed division – qualified to play at the University of Houston this weekend.
The men’s semifinals, to be held at the Carl Lewis Track & Field Complex on Saturday, will feature Supermercado Teloloapan against Hungry’s Restaurant in the first Semifinal, with Wells Fargo going up against Armed Forces in the other. The winners will meet for the championship inside Robertson Stadium.
In the coed final, also held at Robertson prior to the Dynamo-Chivas USA match, CITGO looks to retain the championship title against Cal Comm. The finalists have the privilege of playing on the Dynamo game field for the ultimate championship experience.
