Updated at 11:35 a.m., Thursday, November 29, 2007
Beckham, Galaxy to play in exhibition event in Hawaii
Associated Press
David Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy will lead a four-team field for the inaugural Pan-Pacific Championship exhibition tournament in Hawai'i in February.The event also will include Japanese league cup champion Gamba Osaka, the MLS Cup champion Houston Dynamo and a team from Australian A-League Final Series.
Brian Ching, a Kamehameha Schools alum from Hale'iwa, plays for the Houston Dynamo.
The tournament will feature a pair of doubleheaders Feb. 20 and Feb. 23, with the first day's winners playing for the title and the losers for third place. Osaka will open the tournament against the Galaxy, with Houston facing the Australian team.
"Honolulu was selected as the host not only for its geographical location in the center of the Pan-Pacific, but also for its community, its terrific infrastructure and its history of hosting top international sporting events," said Doug Quinn, president of Soccer United Marketing.
The event is MLS' latest attempt to schedule matches against foreign opposition, joining the SuperLiga against Mexican opponents.
The Galaxy, which finished with the third-worst record in MLS this past season, is in New Zealand for the second match of its tour Down Under. The team played before a friendly crowd of 80,000 Monday night against Sydney FC and faces Wellington Phoenix FC on Friday.
"It's great we are going to travel to Hawai'i. I've never been there before," Beckham said in a statement. "It's good for the team to start off our preseason playing against quality opposition."
