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Philadelphia’s Icarus Cup saw thousands connect through the culture of soccer, fashion and vibes throughout the weekend.
More than 1,000 players across 80 teams donned special kits designed for the tournament featuring local brands as sponsors, including Wooder Ice, Lapstone and Hammer and Carbon Copy brewery.
The bulk of the matches took place at the Vidas Athletic Complex at Drexel University on Saturday, with the skills competition wrapping up on Sunday.
The Icarus Football brand was started back in 2017 by Robby Smukler to design uniforms for soccer teams in leagues across America. It has since expanded to professional clubs overseas. When asked about the turnout to this year’s tournament, Smukler said it’s way “more lively than I could have even imagined.”
“It’s pretty amazing to see this thing that you’ve created,” he said.
CASA Soccer helped set up the tournament using its experience with setting up rec leagues across the country, including in Philadelphia, to manage the hundreds of players competing throughout the weekend. Ahead of the event, Executive Director Nolan Bair said the annual tournament is “like a little World Cup” with the mix of cultures participating.
“People coming in with different experiences, different soccer backgrounds, hearing what they’re doing in their city where they’re playing at, what their leagues are like, it’s so interesting,” Bair said. “And it really just adds a bit of flavor and character to the tournament.”
Rachel Sutton drove an hour from Harrisburg to play in the tournament with her team, Charm City FC. As the name suggests, the team came from Maryland and repeated as champions in their division on Saturday.
“We have a great team with great vibes,” Sutton said. “People from different places playing together, but we are always here to enjoy the culture, enjoy the people, enjoy the vibes, enjoy the tournament, and just do it all together.”
As matches rolled through the day, Smukler said he was just focusing on making sure the tournament ran as smoothly as it could. But one day, he said he’ll be looking back fondly on how everything went.
“It’s a really cool community in Philadelphia, and this isn’t possible without people really enjoying the game,” Smukler said. “So many people of all skill levels are coming out to play and want to be part of a community that is friendly and open and allows people to, you know, be themselves and find community.”
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Saturdays just got more interesting.
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