Steel City World Cup soccer tournament celebrates region's international flavor

Twenty teams representing 17 countries on five continents will converge in Coraopolis for a unique soccer tournament this weekend.

The Steel City World Cup will be held at the Montour Junction Sports Complex on Saturday and Sunday.

The event aims to promote diversity by hosting an international field of participants. Approximately 20 different languages will be spoken on the sidelines over the two-day World Cup-style tournament.

The last three winners have been Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Poland.

The tournament, which last took place in June 2019, is making its return after being canceled last year because of pandemic-related concerns.

“It’s an incredibly vibrant experience,” said Brian Magee, CEO of PUMP, which is one of the companies organizing and hosting the event. “One big grand global celebration.”

Each team that is put together can choose to represent any country in the world, as long as at least three players are from that country or have a parent from that country. Also, teams will have a mix of men and women.

Teams will kick off Saturday with five groups of four teams. The top 16 teams will then advance to an elimination bracket Sunday, where they will compete to become the 2021 champion.

“It’s wonderful to see teams mix players from around the world,” Magee said. “It’s really just a diverse and vibrant experience.”

Along with the diversity and inclusion the event promotes, it also benefits a good cause. Open Field, which is a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit organization, will get a portion of the net proceeds. Open Field primarily works with young immigrants and refugees to promote skills like leadership through the sport of soccer.

“They are just a tremendous organization,” Magee said. “Everything that we can do to help to get more resources to them, provide these opportunities for kids, we want to be a part of that.”

The event is free to attend.

“If you’re looking for the place to celebrate global Pittsburgh and global culture and people that are here from around the world, this is the place to be,’” Magee said.

For more information on the tournament, visit steelcityworldcup.com. To more information on Open Field, visit openfieldintl.org.