BY SCOTT HADDOW  
The soccer fields of Greater Sudbury will come alive next weekend as the largest Panhellenic Soccer Tournament ever is contested.
A total of 95 clubs from across Ontario are signed, sealed and
ready to deliver fast-paced action and brilliant
sportsmanship.
The most the tournament has ever hosted was 83 teams two years
ago.
In 2006, the tournament welcomed 65 teams.
Reputation of a solid event has caused the swelling of
numbers.
"This tournament is in big demand," said organizer
Fabio Belli. "We've been doing this for nine years now
and a lot of the increase in teams has to do with how well
organized the tournament is and how much fun they all have.
Teams leave and promote the tournament to other teams down
south. There's also not too many tournaments happening that
weekend."
Out of the 95 squads coming, 68 are from out-of-town. Teams are
travelling from Toronto, Windsor, Ottawa, North Bay, Timmins,
Sault Ste. Marie, Hamilton, Ajax, Pembroke and Orillia, just to
name a few cities.
"We've seen a large increase in the Under-11
girls' and Under-12 boys' divisions," said Belli.
"Those division have 11 and 12 teams respectively. We
usually only have four or five teams there."
The tournament will provide opportunities galore across the
city for people to go watch highly competitive soccer for
free.
"It's a truly Greater Sudbury event," said
co-chair Lloyd Rebeiro. "We're playing on every
available field in town. We're tying the tournament into
the Greek Festival, so there's even more for people to do.
This tournament gets better every year...we're doing
something right."
The 2007 version is being dedicated to the memories of Jeno
Tihanyi, Greg Olsen, Pablo Parada and John Sikora Sr.
"These gentlemen were all ambassadors of the sport of
soccer," said Rebeiro. "They were volunteers and
cared about the tournament and the sport. It's nice to
recognize people who have made a difference."
The local teams are anxious to fight for gold on their home
turf.
"We always have to travel out of town for big
tournaments," said Tiye Traore of the Panhellenic U-14
Lightning team. "It's nice to stay at home and get
really good competition. We want to win gold, especially since
we're playing in our own city in front of our own
fans."
The tournament is also an opportunity for Sudbury to showcase
the entire community to hundreds and hundreds of visitors.
"The tournament is a great way support Sudbury soccer and
show people what we have," said Kaitlyn Matson, goalie for
the Panhellenic U-14 Lightning team. "The competition is
tough, but we are out to win. We won gold two years ago and won
a silver last year."
The tournament runs from July 28 to 29. The games will be
decided at the following fields: Laurentian University, James
Jerome, Lasalle Secondary, St. Charles, Howard Armstrong, Delki
Dozzi, Queen's Athletic Field and Sacre Coeur.
The majority of the playoffs and finals will be held at James
Jerome and Laurentian University.