Fort Lauderdale Strikers To Host Boca Juniors In July

The Fort Lauderdale Strikers, in cooperation with OnSide Entertainment, announced the club will play host to Boca Juniors, Argentina’s biggest soccer team, in an international match this summer. The clubs will compete for the inaugural Challenge Cup on Wednesday, July 1, at 8:p.m. ET at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The Challenge Cup will be an annual event to be played between top International teams and NASL sides.

"This match is a great opportunity to be close to thousands of Boca’s fans in the United States and to prepare the team for the second part of the year,” Boca Juniors head coach Rodolfo Arruabarrena said. “Boca is a very popular Argentinean team, and we're very proud to play against a top-level club like Fort Lauderdale Strikers."

Strikers Managing Partner Ricardo Geromel said, “South Florida has long been a destination for noteworthy international matches. The Strikers look forward to extending the tradition of world-class soccer in the region by bringing renowned Boca Juniors to Lockhart Stadium. With the help of OnSide Entertainment, Lockhart will be the place to be on July 1.”

The match comes one week before the Strikers kick off the NASL Fall Season on the road against Carolina RailHawks FC.

Founded in 1905, Boca Juniors is one of the largest clubs in South America. Based in the capital city of Buenos Aires, Boca Juniors has won more international titles, 18, than any club in the world.  Boca Juniors has also claimed more national championships, 63, than any team in Argentina. The club has competed in the Argentine Primera División every year since promotion to the top flight in 1913.

Boca has produced great soccer players along the years including, Carlos Tevez, Román Riquelme, Angel Clemente Rojas, and Antonio Rattin.

Boca’s roster features a number of current national team players highlighted by former Real Madrid midfielder Fernando Gago, Uruguay World Cup member Nicolás Lodeiro, and Italian international forward Dani Osvaldo.

The match is OnSide Entertainment’s second major event of the year in the U.S, having produced the “Copa Campeones de America” between Libertadores Champions, San Lorenzo de Almagro and Colombian powerhouse Atletico Nacional de Medellin, this past January at FIU Stadium in Miami.